Watch: Metallica’s Sphere Residency Opens With A Monster

Metallica have officially arrived at Sphere, and they turned the stage into a heavy-metal nightmare.

The iconic band launched its highly anticipated residency Thursday (Oct. 1), opening an 18-song set with "Battery" and delivering a career-spanning performance that featured songs from their 1983 debut Kill 'Em All through 2023's 72 Seasons.

Sphere's enormous screen transformed throughout the show with towering tombstones, stained-glass imagery and a surreal, multidimensional depiction of the Lovecraftian monster Cthulhu during "The Call of Ktulu." Watch the clip here.

The visuals also took a darker turn, featuring nooses, crosses, flooded landscapes and ruined buildings.

"For modern technology and old guys playing loud music, I have to say this is pretty awesome," frontman James Hetfield told the crowd, per Pitchfork.

The Thursday opener was the first of 24 scheduled Metallica performances at the Las Vegas venue, with the residency currently running through March 2027.

The shows are being billed as "No Repeat Weekends," meaning the rockers will perform different setlists each weekend.