Fans crazy about Metallica, queue up for concert

Fans are are "excited and impatient for the gods of heavy metal to arrive" and described it as a lifetime opportunity. More than 600 people aged between 18-25 had by 11 a.m. gathered at the venue, which has the capacity of 25,000 and apparently tickets are still being bought. The concert starts at 7.30 p.m.

"People are going crazy. We came here at 11, but there are others who are standing here since 9 a.m. Everybody wants to get the best place, so that they can have the best view," Umang Gulati, a 23-year-old student, told IANS.

"I have been waiting for years and it is more like a dream come true. It's a life time opportunity. I have been listening to their songs since I was in class seven. They are the ultimate gods of metal. I love James Hetfield," he added.

The show will see the band's lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (who joined the band in 1983), bassist Robert Trujillo singing and playing alongside Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.  "My expectations from Metallica are equivalent to my expectations from god. I started listening to the big four when I was 14. We are excited and impatient for the gods of heavy metal to arrive," said Akshay Nangia.

"The ticket counters are dry as people had already booked online. Everybody has come prepared to treat their ears with the loud and head banging music tonight," said Gulati.

Metallica came to the fore in 1981 and has not lost it's shine even after a three-decade long journey, said Deepak Singh, the drummer of Sifar band.

"All the people today have covered Metallica songs. I discovered them back in school when the scene was developing. I still know all their songs from their first eight albums riff by riff, note by note, beat by beat -- that is how crazy I am about them," said the 23-year-old.

"Although my music taste changed drastically over the years, but even after all these years I can recall almost any song by them. Their music played an important role in familiarising me with the sound of the 1980s and 1990s when rock and metal truly ruled the scene," Singh added.

The band is known for albums like 1986 release "Master of Puppets", 1991 album "Metallica", which reportedly sold over 15 million copies in the US and 22 million copies worldwide and their last release "Death Magnetic".

It's not just young fans who are excited, professionals are equally ecstatic about the concert. VJ-turned host Nikhil Chinapa and composer Vishal Dadlani are kicked to be part of the concert.

"Metallica anyone? Heading to Delhi and have dug out/ dusted off my seriously frayed denim jacket with the Metallica back-patch," Chinapa posted on Twitter.   Dadlani wrote: "Pentagram's flying into Delhi just to see Metallica... Homage to lots a metal memories! Dead excited about seeing them together."