Metallica paused its performance of ballad “Fade to Black” right before its bridge Friday night, as frontman James Hetfield stepped to his vintage microphone and raised a hand.

“This song goes out to all who struggle,” Hetfield told the capacity crowd at Allegiant Stadium, “because we all do. We all struggle, and if you think you’re the only one, that’s a lie. You can talk to your friends. Talk to somebody, because you are not alone.”

The words took on extra power coming from Hetfield, who has publicly battled with alcohol addiction. He returned to rehab in late 2019, forcing the cancellation of Metallica’s final pre-pandemic tour.

The 58-year-old frontman looked healthy and appeared upbeat during the metal quartet’s first performance of 2022, stalking every corner of the stage throughout a two-hour set and exuding warmth during frequent addresses to the crowd.

That engagement added a heft to Metallica’s first Las Vegas stop since November 2018, even beyond the one created by the massive environment.

Metallica has always held a close bond with the Raiders—Hetfield is an outspoken fan—with the band going so far as to play playing tailgate parties in the Oakland Coliseum parking lot before games there. The group might have been the most natural concert fit for the football franchise’s new 65,000-seat venue, and a lock to play in the blackened “Death Star” within the first year of it hosting concerts.

Metallica’s Allegiant date is one of just three non-festival performances scheduled for North America in 2022, and the band’s fanbase jumped at the chance to catch the band in the new environment. The cheapest get-in price on secondary ticket sites was $160 minutes before the show began.

Though some of Allegiant’s other concerts have struggled with sound, the sonics were crystal-clear on Friday, even during less-than-memorable support sets by young retro rockers Greta Van Fleet and satellite-radio-friendly metalcore act Ice Nine Kills. Opening for Metallica is often regarded as a thankless task, given the diehard nature of their fans, but both bands received a solid response.

Ice Nine Kills seemed to win over a portion of the audience with a high-production value that included masks to go with the group’s horror-themed songs and an actress re-creating a scene from The Exorcist. Still, the theatrics couldn’t completely overcome Ice Nine Kills’ cloying pop-punk choruses and generic breakdowns.

Greta Van Fleet hit a couple of peaks during guitarist Jake Kiszka’s jamming but were otherwise as stiff as their rehashed 1960s-indebted songs.

Metallica wasn’t technically perfect, either, struggling with the breakneck pace of opening rager “Whiplash” from 1983’s debut LP Kill ’em All and stumbling with the timing of mid-set number “Wherever I May Roam” off 1991’s self-titled black album. But a key part of the band’s live charm is knowing every performance will be authentic without the crutch of a backing track, so that’s forgivable.

Metallica got such a loud response from “Ride the Lightning” and “Seek and Destroy,” Hetfield joked that the band needed to “play one you don’t like.” Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and drummer Lars Ulrich then comically broke into a snippet of “Escape,” generally regarded as the weakest track on 1984’s Ride the Lightning.

In contrast to a 2018 stop at T-Mobile Arena, Metallica stuck mostly to older material at Allegiant. The only newer song the band performed on Friday just happened to be its best song younger than 24 years old—“Moth Into Flame” off 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. “This is a song about fame,” Hetfield said introducing it. “I don’t know if anyone knows about that in this town, but it can mess you up. It’s another drug.”

Vegas-centric visuals then lit up the screens behind the band during the song, including classic neon signs from the Stardust, Binion’s Horseshoe, the Flamingo and Glitter Gulch. In its return to the road and first visit to Allegant Stadium, Metallica made the moment feel meaningful.

Setlist:

“Whiplash”

“Ride the Lightning”

“The Memory Remains”

“Seek & Destroy”

“Fuel”

“One”

“Sad but True”

“Moth Into Flame”

“Wherever I May Roam”

“For Whom the Bell Tolls”

“Creeping Death”

“Fade to Black”

“Master of Puppets”

Encore:

“Battery”

“Nothing Else Matters”

“Enter Sandman”