Optus Stadium has weathered some wild nights but none like this.

Metallica shook the $1.6 billion arena to its rubbish tip foundations last night delivering a blistering two-hour set in front an estimated 60,000 black-clad fans.

The heavy metal titans returned to the banks of the Swan River, having performed at the old Burswood Dome in 2010, for the first leg of their five-city Australian tour.

The sexagenarian quartet tore through classics from 1980s and ’90s as well as some later material in a spectacular light and sound show at the city end of the stadium — a part of the field is usually dominated by nimble footballers less than half their age.

Hitting the stage just before 9pm and walking out to Ecstasy of Gold — Ennio Morricone’s instrumental theme from The Good The Bad The Ugly —

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