METALICA—THROUGH THE NEVER OPENING NIGHT
By Gary Murray
The AMC Theater at North Park Mall in Dallas was a sea of black on Friday night, the last of September. The masses of T-shirt clad men and women were jammed into the biggest auditorium to see the latest documentary Through the Never by the band Metallica. The screening had been sold out for three days and the anticipation was electric.
The 3D work is part concert film and part dramatic elements and it is all heavy metal. But, this is no ordinary screening.
Kirk Hammett the lead guitarist for the band Metallica is in town to promote the film and introduce the work to their fans. He and the rest of the band have been traveling independently to 18 different cities in the last few days to promote the film. Dallas was his third and final stop for the day.
Cindy Scull, the morning personality on 97.1 The Eagle, warmed the crowd up by throwing out promotional T-shirts and hats. She also had patrons show off their Metallica tattoos. The crowd needed little prompting to be excited about the film; some had been waiting hours just to get inside.
When Kirk walked into the auditorium clad in his best rock and roll black, the crowd erupted in a roar that could be heard three theaters over. The auditorium became a blinding light show as everyone with a cell phone or camera tried to get a picture of the rock guitarist.
Kirk took the mike and said, “I just want to say that we’ve been coming here for twenty-five, thirty years. I have so many great memories of rocking out in your fine city. I have had so many great nights in your fair city. I am so glad to come here. It is a really great honor to be able to introduce this movie personally to you.”
Cindy asked if there would be any more Metallica movies and Kirk answered, “After doing this, we had to take some kind of break and make our new Metallica album.” That broke the audience into thunderous applause. “We are going to start that at the beginning of the year.”
He was impressed by the side and enthusiasm of the crowd. “This is SO amazing,” he said. “Wait ‘til you see the film, it’s gonna blow your mind. You’ll love it.”
He finished by saying, “I want to say one final thing. This movie we have worked on hard for the last two and a half years and it is a really special thing to us and for us. We hope it is going to be a really special thing for you guys. It is really unique, it’s different. It is really a gift to you guys as Metallica fans.”
He was swiftly off into the night and the lights faded. The metal heads were fed by the cinematic beast of Through the Never.
