Metallica’s First 2021 Live Performance Comes on Super Bowl Edition of ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’

Metallica's first performance of 2021 came on television as they closed out a Super Bowl edition of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

After a quick intro from the talk show host, the video cuts to the band at their headquarters. A floor stage is decorated with a wall of amps made from previous special event appearances such as their 30th anniversary gig, the X-Games, the San Francisco Giants baseball team's "Metallica Night," and New York Yankees pinstripes from another "Enter Sandman" live spot.

Rob Trujillo even had a bass cab bearing the name of one of his past groups, Infectious Grooves.

The multi-cam CBS performance clip showcases James Hetfield in particularly fine form, hitting the song with loads of tight vibrato. As for Kirk Hammett, who has a number of custom guitars at his disposal, he elected to play a purple glitter Oujia board guitar with star inlays.

Right at the end, the video cuts back to Colbert at his desk, exclaiming, "Metallica, everybody! You see? They bring it!"

Watch the clip below.

"Enter Sandman" was elsewhere in the mainstream this year and was featured in a television commercial for just the second time ever. The Black Album hit was used in an ad for the new Ford F-150 Raptor truck, which you can view here.

As for potential for new music from Metallica, Lars Ulrich recently assessed the band's progress and said it was moving at a "glacial" speed, but that isn't the case for his 92-year-old father, Torben, who just dropped a new record.