Watch Metallica Play a Small Chicago Club Way Back in 1983

I would like to invite you to join me in the DeLorean as we attempt to hit 88 mph and travel back in time to the days when Metallica still played small clubs. I have found a new share of an old bootleg of the band play a small club in Chicago and it's vintage Metallica in every sense of the word.

The date was August 12, 1983 and the venue was The Metro in Chicago. According to Setlist.fm, this is the order of songs that James, Lars, Cliff and Kirk blazed through that night.

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This is the raw video captured that night. A couple things to note. First, you can count on plenty of NSFW language since this is Metallica and then...well, this is Metallica. Second, treasure this video as it shows that late Cliff Burton in action just 3 years before he would be taken from us in the tragic bus accident.

The summer of 1983 was the era before "Ride the Lightning" would begin to propel Metallica from the small clubs like the Metro to arenas once "Master of Puppets" began its domination later in the 80's.

The energy of Metallica back in those days was staggering for such a young band, The fact that their crowd was packed into The Metro which I believe had a capacity of only 1,100 on a good night back in those days is even more daunting.

This video is a rare glimpse back to the band that would conquer the world before they were a household name simply blowing the roof off of a club in Chicago on a hot August night in 1983.