This Day in 2011: Metallica’s Original Lineup Reunites

Eight years ago today, Metallica took to the stage of the Fillmore in San Francisco and performed a pair of songs in a manner that they hadn’t been performed since 1982: with Dave Mustaine and Ron McGovney in the lineup.

It was part of Metallica’s 30th anniversary celebration, an occasion which proved sentimental enough for Mustaine, who’d left the band with considerable acrimony in 1983, and McGovney – who’d quit the band 29 years ago that very day, weirdly enough – to take the stage with former bandmates Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield for a few songs. Also in the mix: Lloyd Grant, who’d played guitar on the original recording of “Hit the Lights” back in early 1982 but who’d never before played live with the band.

It was a moment for the ages, one so affecting for fans that Rolling Stone actually wrote of the performance, “If there’s ever a movie made about Metallica, last night’s concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco should be the final scene.”