The last time Gigwise caught Metallica it was in the relatively compact surrounds of the House of Vans, where the thrash legends played an exclusive album launch gig to around 800 fans. Tonight the double-denimed congregation has swelled somewhat and we’re now housed in the gleaming corporate enormo-dome that is the 02 Arena to see the band unleash the full force of their new Worldwired Tour in support of that same album, Hard Wired… To Self Destruct.

The last few major shows the band has played on British soil have been headline festival slots and so they’ve gone all out with this tour production, creating a theatre in the round style stage which harkens back to their days of more extravagant stage structuring and provides fans in every seat of this giant arena a chance to see the hallowed godfathers of thrash strut, howl, bark and fist pump from every Instagrammable angle.

They kick off the two hour plus set with two new tracks lifted from Hardwired...It’s a solid opening salvo and shows that a band 40 years and 10 studio albums deep into their career can still produce new material that’s worthy of opening a show.

“We’re going to try and play all the new ones on this tour,” James Hetfield announces proudly, before treating the audience to a trio of classics in the form of 'Seek & Destroy', 'Leper Messiah' and 'Fade To Black'. A total of four other new tracks do get an outing tonight including 'Halo On Fire', 'Confusion', 'Spit Out The Bone' and 'Moth Into The Flame'. On the latter track the band are joined by a hovering swarm of LED-encrusted drones which swirl above them during the track before collectively returning to their nest beneath stage. It’s one of a handful of slightly bewildering moments throughout the set that although kind of cool in a techy sort of way, feel like spectacle has been swapped out for substance. For example, the group drum circle where the four members of the band beat out a tattoo on glowing cubes that have emerged from beneath the stage is like something out of Blue Man Group show and the peculiar dual guitar noodling sessions seem like they’re designed to kill time rather than show off an ability to slay the perfect solo.

As baffling as some of these production set pieces might seem, Metallica are still an incredible live act. The rounded stage admittedly does their sound no favours tonight, and at times it’s a lumpen dirge, but on tracks like 'Creeping Death' and 'One' the band find that lightning strike brilliance that reminds you just how great they can be when they hit their stride.