Metallica @ SECC, 26 Mar

Hailing from the Sabbath school of down tuned guitars and illegible logos, tonight The Sword (***) belie the doom metal roots of their records with a stoner rock groove familiar to those who can survive a Clutch vs. Kyuss round of Name that Tune. Of course, the kind of muddy sound typically reserved for support bands in the SECC serves them terribly – but even that can’t mask the Texan quartet’s collective prowess. It’s half an hour of unashamedly retro bullhorn pulling, but here – surrounded by thousands of Metallica fans - they competently hold their own in the round.

Touting their inimitable brand of fury under the same roof for the second time in four months, Machine Head (***) are becoming old hands at this arena rock caper. Now two years deep - to the day, as front man Robb Flynn roars in celebration - into a tour supporting The Blackening, it’s a surprise that the Oakland veterans are still playing second fiddle. They're dealt a bum hand by the sound man too, but drummer Dave McClain keeps the crowd in awe with the sheer spectacle of his piston-like precision. Material from the band’s frankly embarrassing rap metal phase of yore is traded for the melodious but brutal yin-yang of Halo, Beautiful Mourning and a grinding, almost punishingly slow Davidian to finish.

As Ennio Morricone’s euphoric The Ecstasy of Gold breathes life into the PA to announce the headliners, it’s an early reminder that communal experiences rarely arrive quite so enthralling as Metallica (*****) in concert. James Hetfield forewarns the uninitiated debutantes in attendance: “Once you go ‘Tallica, you never go back.” And absence only makes the heart grow fonder, this being the bay area thrashers’ first Scottish indoor appearance since 1996. However, unlike the truncated medleys the band once peddled, indelible classics like One, Master of Puppets, Fight Fire with Fire and Trapped Under Ice are duly delivered in their entirety amid near ludicrous eruptions of pyrotechnics. Of Wolf and Man is a surprise highlight from a veritable treasure trove of bobby dazzlers and material from last year’s Death Magnetic looms dominant, but it’s Seek and Destroy from 1983’s Kill ‘Em All that brings the curtain down on the show the Scottish metal community is going to be buzzing about, until next time. Always with the last word, Lars Ulrich says that won’t be far away: “How about we do this again real fucking soon?” Yes please.