There’s genuine cross-generational appeal at the metal titans’ show, parents bringing their children to experience Metallica live for the first time, passing on the baton of riffs that once defined their own youth.

The no-repeat nature of the setlist means anyone at the first night — or who did their homework ahead of Sunday — knows what tunes to expect. Seek & Destroy and Master of Puppets ‘should’ probably be played at every Metallica gig, but what an epic pair of songs to close on Friday. Ears are probably still ringing as 8.15pm arrives and AC/DC’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) and Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy of Gold again herald Metallica’s arrival to their ‘in the round’ stage.

And then. And then. Oh boy. “Dublin, are you alive?!” roars Hetfield as the opening riff of Whiplash explodes from their 43-year-old debut album Kill ‘Em All. Pure euphoria follows as they tear into For Whom the Bell Tolls and the insane riff of Ride the Lightning. Any fears they wouldn’t have enough killer tracks for two separate shows disappear instantly.

The sun shines down and Hetfield declares the band is in a good mood. We called his banter cheesy on Friday, but tonight he keeps it to a minimum — and the show is all the better for it. Rob Trujillo and Kirk Hammett’s ‘doodle’ jam — paying tribute to a song associated with the host country — is also better on Sunday. Their go at Dirty Old Town gets the Aviva’s approval as well as the obligatory 'Olé Olé' chants. 

We are barely an hour in when they unleash Fade to Black. Forty-two years on, its chiming intro and slow-building power still feels sophisticated; a landmark moment where Metallica moved beyond pure thrash into something bigger. It swells magnificently around the Aviva.

The Call of Ktulu, like Orion two nights before, is dedicated to “our fallen brother, Clifford Lee Burton" — the band's original bassist died in a bus crash in Sweden in 1986. Once again the band huddles close for the eight-plus-minute instrumental; a special moment — and exactly the kind of deep cut that only happens in a no-repeat setting.

“There’s a certain song we have to play or we’re not getting out of this town alive,” Hetfield announces, as the band teases the riff of And Justice for All before launching into Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey in the Jar. The track featured on their covers album Garage Inc in the late 1990s, when Metallica were past both their pomp and commercial peak. 

Whiskeygets the biggest cheer of the whole weekend, greeted by roars of joy and a massive stadium-wide singalong. Hetfield has shared on social media how he visited Phil Lynott’s statue on Grafton Street as well as his grave over the weekend. We can imagine Philo's cheeky grin to hear “Whack for my daddy-o” sung with such gusto.

They close with One and Enter Sandman, barely taking a breath between them. Lars Ulrich’s thunderous signature double-kick drums signal the frenetic second half of the war epic. Kirk Hammett, who took a tumble from the stage into the crowd near the end of Friday’s set, doesn’t put a foot — or a fret — wrong as he wheels out the sensational solo.

Enter Sandman, Metallica’s biggest song, sends everyone home in a state of pure awe as branded beach balls are released and bounce from the stage. On Sunday, Metallica let the music, the riffs, and the memories do the talking. Truly a night to remember.