Metallica began their M72 World Tour, elevated by Meyer Sound’s 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements.
The tour, which began in April 2023, stops for two nights in each city, presenting two sets on “no-repeat weekends.” Fans experience a stereo mix in every seat, one that’s faithful to 40 years of studio recordings, explains FOH Engineer, Greg Price: “Our goal was to bring that intimate environment into a stadium.”
Staged in the round, the tour is supported by a staggering 522 Meyer Sound loudspeakers, including 288 PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers, 96 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements, 48 VLFC very low‑frequency control elements, 16 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, 22 ULTRA-X40 compact loudspeakers, and 8 UPQ-D2 full-size loudspeakers.
The system, supplied by Clair Global, is configured in three concentric rings. Outer ring arrays are suspended from eight towers, with two PANTHER arrays on each tower. Each tower carries six VLFC elements; 2100-LFC and 1100-LFC elements provide sub support from the ground.
An inner system comprised eight hung arrays of PANTHER loudspeakers. The “Snake Pit” fan section in the centre of the stage is covered by inward-firing UPQ-D2 loudspeakers, while the outer side of the ring employs 22 ULTRA-X40 compact loudspeakers as front fills. Wedges comprise 36 MJF-210 and 8 MJF-212A high-power stage monitors. The system is controlled by 35 Galileo GALAXY network platforms.
The team swapped out 96 1100-LFC elements with 96 2100-LFC elements when the tour returned Stateside in August. “I was the catalyst for making the change to the 2100-LFCs,” said Metallica Creative Director, Dan Braun. “The results of the PANTHER arrays have been stunning from the moment we deployed them, so it wasn’t a big leap for me to think that we could make some serious gains in low frequencies as well. And the tighter end-fire array that we’re able to put together allows us to steer this thing and get higher fidelity into more seats. It’s not about turning up the bass. It’s about creating more seats that have that nearfield monitor experience.”
“When we showed up at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, we put all of my 96 1100-LFCs on a ship, shipped the entire PA without subs, and had 96 2100-LFCs show up,” Price explained. “I put them in place where the 1100-LFCs were, and turned it on. I swapped out subs in the middle of a six-month tour and I didn’t touch a thing in my mix and it was absolutely jaw dropping.”
Price and Braun had gotten familiar with the 2100-LFC in Price’s production facility before staging a test system at Clair Global headquarters. “I just took a leap of faith and said, this is going to be much better,” added Braun. “With Clair, we figured out how we could convert from the 1100-LFCs to the 2100-LFCs on the fly.”
“Of course, we did our due diligence,” said Price. “I worked with Bob McCarthy and Josh Dorn-Fehrmann from Meyer Sound and our great system engineer, Chris Rushin. But at the end of the day, we pulled a truck up, pulled those subs out, put the new ones in, turned it on, and boom. It did everything we expected.”
The M72 system runs on three Milan networks, designed by Meyer Sound’s Josh Dorn-Fehrmann. “Metallica has been using Milan since 2016 when we had early versions of AVB,” said Dorn-Fehrmann. “On this tour, because of its unique size and scale, we’ve implemented one of the largest, if not the largest, touring AVB network in the world.
“There are isolated primary and secondary Milan networks for a distributed system of GALAXY 816s in every tower,” he explained. “That feeds the analog inputs of all of the speakers in the system. A third network is what we call the Milan endpoint network, with ten GALAXY 408 platforms at front of house.”
“What I try to do with Metallica is create the best environment I can for them to be the best they can be,” added Braun. “And when all of the production is working, and the audience is responding, that is something that the band feeds on, and I know we’re doing the right thing. Part of that is absolutely the change to the 2100-LFCs.”
“There’s a reason why we’ve sold more than a million tickets,” added Price. “People are hearing about this show. We are seeing people come that I don’t think have ever been to a Metallica show. Fans have been walking on air the next day. This is the change John and Helen Meyer have made. They’re creating a sonic experience that will forever change the concert experience.”
“To turn an 80,000-seat football stadium into an intimate club is unheard of,” he added. “And, we have a toolbox that is unbelievable. Think about it: GALAXY paired with PANTHER and 2100-LFC. It’s game over.”
