At a few minutes to 8pm tonight, thousands of thrash fans who’ve amassed in AsiaWorld Arena will be loosening their neck muscles in anticipation of banging their heads and throwing their bodies about in possibly the biggest mosh pit Hong Kong has ever seen. That’s right: tonight sees colossal metal band Metallica’s first ever show in our SAR, a concert that toasts the four-piece’s 10th album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, which was released just a few weeks ago. And we’re there to catch the mayhem.
Ahead of the show, we’re lucky enough to catch up with Metallica’s bassist, Robert Trujillo. And he’s stoked to be playing the band’s first-ever gig in our city. He says: "Hong Kong is amazing. It's very exciting to be here. We arrived late last night from Beijing and when we got here it felt like there was an energy that felt so good and so fresh." Trujillo, whose wife and two kids are here with him, says he spent his day at the 10,000 Buddhas in Sha Tin which 'just blew our minds' before 'having a nice lunch at Stanley Plaza'. He also added that the band has 'really embraced Asia on this tour' and cited Japanese metal act Babymetal as one of his top supporting acts during their recent run of gigs. "These are exciting times because everything is so fresh. we are just starting this tour cycle for Hardwired, so things are fairly new, so we're playing a fair amount of songs off the new album which is exciting and a challenge for us." Trujillo added that there will also be classics played, of course, at tonight's show, which has no support act.
The 52-year-old from Santa Monica, California is the fourth Metallica bassist in the band’s 35-year history and says he feels 'blessed' to be playing with the band, in addition to his previous stints with the likes of Ozzy Ozbourne and Jerry Cantrell. He joined James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett in 2003 after Jason Newsted had departed and has been a world-class star ever since. He once thrashed the bass for metal act Suicidal Tendencies and has also been in the Black Label Society lineup, as well as funk metal act Infectious Grooves. He’s worked with the likes of the aforementioned Ozzy Osbourne and Jerry Cantrell and he also tours with experimental metallers Mass Mental. In short, Trujillo owns got a CV that most bassists would envy with a passion.
On the impending inauguration of the new US president, he added that the situation was 'just surreal'. But he added that 'it doesn't matter who runs the country as long as we are all together as individuals'. He also says that the Metallica lads are all individuals but they come together as a band – and that's how they're able, after more than 30 years, to still be entertaining fans across the world. Like here in Hong Kong. Tonight. Enjoy and rock out.