Metallica’s ‘Minneapolis Takeover’ concerts are now available as live recordings

Less than a month later, Metallica is now selling live recordings of its two “Minneapolis Takeover” concerts at U.S. Bank Stadium in August.

Each of the metal vets’ high-impact two-hour performances on the Minnesota Vikings’ field can be bought as two-CD sets via livemetallica.com. They’re priced $25 apiece or $40 for both. Digital downloads of the sets are also available in the same price range.

Metallica is offering live recordings from all the stops on its M72 Tour, another way the band modeled the weekend-long affairs after similar marathons by fellow San Francisco rock legends the Grateful Dead. Only Minneapolis, however, got to hear guitarist Kirk Hammett sing the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” TV theme. Lucky us.

Would someone really ever want to buy a live recording from U.S. Bank Stadium, where the acoustics have an even worse reputation than the “St. Anger” album? If anyone, it’d probably be Metallica fans.

Per reviews of the shows, the thrashy quartet had two of the better-sounding concerts in the NFL stadium’s eight-year history — a feat likely helped by the band’s familiarity with the vast space (it previously played there in 2016), and by these shows’ in-the-round stage setup, which filled seats all around the venue instead of leaving empty sections. Also, the recordings come off the soundboard, so they are less impacted by the sonic issues heard around the room.

Fans can go to the download section of livemetallica.com to sample the Minneapolis live tracks before purchasing the sets, from opening song “Creeping Death” on Night 1 to the finale “Enter Sandman” on Night 2.