To say that there’s been a lack of international music in Israel since Bruno Mars appeared at Park Hayarkon on October 7, 2023, is an understatement.
Between the October 7 massacre and subsequent Gaza war, the demonization of Israel around the world, the two wars with Iran over the last year, and the dearth of flights to and from the country, Israel has dropped off the itineraries of every touring act.
That’s why Thursday night’s performance by the Black Metallica Symphony Tribute at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv was such a big deal, and why the nearly sold-out audience of 2,400 - most of them army or reserve duty age - reacted to the show like it was the legendary hard rockers in the flesh.
The quartet from Serbia was joined for the performance by the Ra’anana Symphonette Orchestra, and it was a match for the ages.
After reacting tentatively to the first few songs, audience members began standing and then moving forward, before a surge ensued and the entire front below the stage was filled with headbanging enthusiasts, much to the band’s delight. It might have been the first time the members of the orchestra received a reaction like that, and they, fueled enthusiastically by the bouncing Serbian symphony conductor, Mikica Jevtić, seemed to be caught up in the frenzy.
With the band roaming the stage, and the orchestra thrusting away in unison, there were many instances of a buildup that recalled the orchestral climax to The Beatles’ “Day in the Life.” The band’s hits like “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” were greatly enhanced by the orchestration, adding to the emotional force.
The sound was thunderous, like waves passing through the chest cavity
Between the thunderous guitars and drums, abetted by the full orchestra, the sound was thunderous and could sometimes be physically felt like sound waves passing through the chest cavity.
The fact that the band onstage wasn’t actually Metallica simply wasn’t a concern on this night. After two and a half years of war, loss, reserve duty, and stress, the crowd of young Metallica lovers melded with the band onstage, who didn’t care about the perceived dangers or the politically incorrect decision to perform in Israel. There was release, celebration, and hope.
For those two hours, they were Metallica. Nothing else mattered.