Last Update: 8/30/2008 1449

Fade To Black
Premiere: February 9th, 1985 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom Last Played: August 20th, 2008 - Dublin, IE - Marlay Park

Click Here For Lyrics

Notes:

• When the song was first released Metallica were blamed for some teenage suicides.
  They were found innocent of any wrongdoing...and it was ridiculous to begin with
  since that's the opposite of what the song is really about. (See note #2)
• About the song: Generally speaking, it's about the will to carry on. More specifically,
  it's about when all of Metallica's gear was stolen from a gig in Boston. Among the stuff
  stolen was a unique amp that was very special to James. They had to search on multiple
  continents to find a similar one.
• James was burned by pyro during Fade To Black in Montreal in 1992. The pyro-tech
  didn't inform the band that new pyro would be going along with the old pyro which only
  ignited along the wings of the stage. James assumed that the new pyro cancelled out the
  previous pyro, so he stood on a point where a 12 foot flame from the old pyro ignited.

Different Versions:

• March 8th, 2004 - San Francisco, CA - Cow Palace - Kirk's guitar string breaks and the
  intro is extended approx 2 minutes while it is fixed on stage.
• June 6th, 2004 - Donington Castle, GB - Donington Park - Lars absent due to medical
  emergency. Drums were played by Flemming Larsen, Lars' long time friend and drum technician.