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As the lights went out, a heartbeat shook the arena to life Sunday night. Opening with “That Was Just Your Life” and “The End of the Line” off of Death Magnetic, Metallica had returned to Boston, with massive sound and lasers.

When singer James Hetfield told the crowd that the new songs went well with the old ones, he wasn’t joking. Snubbing Load, Re-Load, S&M, and St. Anger, they stuck close to their early catalog, with songs, such as “Harvester of Sorrow”, “Battery”, “Hit the Lights”, “Sad But True”, “And Justice For All”, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” including fan favorites “One” and “Enter Sandman”. They even threw in their cover of Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy”, this was quite an impressive set. Other Death Magnetic tunes included “Cyanide”, “The Day That Never Comes”, “Broken, Beat and Scarred”.

Set up on a large stage in the center of the floor, James, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Rob Trujillo ran from side to side displaying their skills. Drummer Lars Ulrich was planted in the center, and after a group of songs his kit would rotate to face a new angle of the crowd. Metallica once again proved they are excellent showmen.

Show closer “Seek and Destroy” was played with the house lights on and large black beach balls dropped from the rafters. Also suspended from the rafters were large coffins with lighting apparatus that would swoop in on the band from time to time. The coffins resemble the cover of their latest album.

Yes, the guys are getting older, and it took a few songs for them to kick into high gear, but this was a great show. Openers, The Sword, sounded like an updated Black Sabbath, while Machine Head could have passed for Pantera, but they were a little over the top.