Metallica rocked Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, so hard they caused an earthquake! It sounds crazy, but it’s true, as the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory recorded two tremors on May 7, 2025, while the band was slaying the stadium with their biggest hit “Enter Sandman.” The event was dubbed the Metallica Quake, and it was attributed to the force of 60,000 fans jumping at the stadium. Luckily for us, the band uploaded a pro-shot clip of their planet-shaking performance of “Enter Sandman” from the show.
There’s something about the barnstorming main riff of “Enter Sandman” that is just undeniable – you don’t even have to be a fan to appreciate it. It’s just built for walloping stadiums, and the Man of Metal James Hetfield matched the riffs with a thunderous vocal performance. We have to say that the 61-year-old Papa Het is in absolutely phenomenal form vocally, and the band’s live clips from the ongoing M72 World Tour have been a testament to that.
The Four Horsemen’s encore performance of “Enter Sandman” at Lane Stadium hit 3.6 million views across multiple YouTube uploads. Many fans noted with appreciation how many younger fans were throwing down to the riffs of the ’80s thrash icons and added comments such as “As a structural engineer, this is scary; as a metalhead it is just epic” and “One of the best crowds Metallica has seen in a while.”
It’s a great era to be a ‘Tallica fan, as the band has been uploading high-quality captures from their live shows to YouTube several times a week recently. Many of the live performances are from their 2025 tour, but due to the band’s recent Load reissue, some older cuts have also gone live. One of the best recent old-school uploads is their November 16, 1996 take on “Bleeding Me” in Stockholm, Sweden. This slow-burn masterpiece features a brooding bass solo intro from former ‘Tallica bassist Jason Newsted.
Metallica released “Enter Sandman” on July 29, 1991. The instantly recognizable main riff was written by lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. However, drummer Lars Ulrich famously rearranged the riff to take it from an A-B-A-B form to an A-A-A-B form, with the tail only landing in the final bar, turning it into the riff we all know and love. Metallica were underground metal legends in the ‘80s, but the nine-times Platinum success of “Enter Sandman” made them bona fide rock royalty. Readers may recall that “Enter Sandman” was the lead single from the band’s self-titled fifth album, known by fans as The Black Album. The success of the single helped drive the album to 30 million sales worldwide, making it the biggest-selling metal album of all time.
