Last night (Dec. 16), Metallica held their third annual All Within My Hands Foundation benefit concert and auction to help support their charitable cause. The show took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, and in addition to many other awesome tracks and moments, it saw the live debut of the band’s latest single, “Lux Æterna,” from their upcoming studio LP, 72 Seasons.
According to setlist.fm, the song came near the end of their second (electric) set – which was proceeded by a shorter acoustic set – and had a “false start” due to an issue with Lars Ulrich’s drums.
In the fan-shot footage below, you can see frontman James Hetfield introducing the song by saying that they’ve been waiting for 72 Seasons “for a long time.”
He continues: “[We were] putting together . . . the beginnings of it on Zoom. Covid. It’s coming out pretty soon. We’re super excited for that, and we thought that this is such a special gig here that we’d play ‘Lux Æterna,' which is the first single from it. We’ll play that for the first time here live. How about that?”
Naturally, the audience (which, attendees reported, spanned a wide range of ages) went wild, and rightfully so since it was a killer performance. In fact, one concertgoer compared the show as a whole to Metallica’s Nov. 6 concert at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. (in tribute to the late Jon and Marsha Zazula).
Of course, that wasn’t the only cool part of the evening (which was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and opened by special guests Greta Van Fleet). For instance, both iconic skateboarder Tony Hawk and iconic actor Robert Downey Jr. were in attendance, with the former giving a speech about Metallica in between their two sets. Reportedly, Q-Prime management founder – and Metallica’s co-manager – Cliff Burnstein was there as well.
As for the rest of Metallica’s set, highlights included live debuts of them covering Thin Lizzy’s “Borderline” and UFO’s “It’s Killing Me” during the acoustic portion. During the second half, occasional collaborator Avi Vinocur joined them for an electric take on the acoustic version of “All Within My Hands.” Likewise, they brought out St. Vincent for “Nothing Else Matters” (which opened with a doodle from guitarist Kirk Hammett).
You can watch a few clips of Metallica performing “Lux Æterna” in its entirety below, as well as see a photo they shared to Instagram of the setlist and a collage of Dunlop guitar picks. Of course, you can view the full setlist, too.
Lastly, be sure to check out Metallica's upcoming 2023 tour dates. You can purchase tickets here.
Metallica Performing “Lux Æterna” at the “All Within My Hands” Benefit Concert on Dec. 16, 2022
Metallica Setlist —“All Within My Hands” Benefit Concert (Dec. 16, 2022) [via setlist.fm]
Acoustic:
01. "Blackened” (“Blackened 2020” Version)
02. "The Unforgiven"
03. "Borderline” (Thin Lizzy cover. Live debut)
04. "It’s Killing Me" (UFO cover. Live debut)
05. "Whiskey in the Jar" (traditional cover)
Electric:
06. "The Call of Ktulu"
07. "Harvester of Sorrow"
08. "Holier Than Thou"
09. "All Within My Hands” (with Avi Vinocur. Acoustic version; Played electric)
10. "Creeping Death”
11. "Enter Sandman”
12. "Lux Æterna” (False start due to a cymbal fall; Live debut)
13. “Nothing Else Matters” (with St. Vincent. Kirk doodle intro)
14. “Seek & Destroy”
15. “The Unforgiven III” (played from tape)
