THE rock monster that is Metallica trundled into Birmingham aiming to prove it was bigger, badder and better than anything that had gone before.

After all, this band don’t do anything by halves. Even their near disintegration was played out on the big screen as the recording of their disastrous St Anger album was immortalised in the cinema film Some Kind Of Monster.

But their new record, Death Magnetic, has restored their credibility and they’re well on their way to reclaiming their title of the world’s biggest band.

The stage was set up in the centre of the LG Arena so the concert could be ‘in the round’ but this was no ordinary stage – it was massive, appearing to take up almost half the floorspace.

And above it were huge lighting rigs in the shape of coffins, as seen on the cover of Death Magnetic, which during the show were raised and lowered.

The band reached their stage positions by walking through the crowd, Wrestlemania-style, to the strains of a Spaghetti Western theme.

Bravely, they opened the two hour 15 minute set with the first two songs from the new album. And the sold out crowd loved them, probably because That Was Just Your Life and The End Of The Line featured the familiar pummelling drums and staccato guitar riffs that rocketed Metallica to must-see status.