WINNIPEG -- Metallica are still the masters.

The San Francisco quartet proved to a manic sold-out crowd of 16,000 -- the biggest crowd to fill the Arena since the Jets left -- why they are considered the kings of thrash metal with a career-spanning set and every arena rock trick in the book.

From the moment the band hit the stage a half-hour late with Blackened they could do no wrong. Fans of old school Metallica ate up songs like Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Creeping Death and Fade to Black, while those who got into the band after the release of the Black album in 1991 dined on Sad But True and I Disappear.

Metallica only played two songs off their new album, St. Anger -- the title track and Frantic -- focusing on the material that made them the biggest metal band in the world and wisely avoiding their two weakest albums, Load and Reload, with only Fuel making an appearance.

The stage was set up in the middle of the Arena with eight video screens using shots from a multitude of cameras set up all over the stage providing close up views of all the band members and drummer Lars Ulrich's feet.

Lead singer James Hetfield took turns on microphones set up around the edge of the stage and on two platforms, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo roamed the stage and played to every fan.

Ulrich played on a riser set up on the floor which moved throughout the night so he could play to the whole room.

The band's later albums haven't contained their strongest material, but live is where the band shines. Hammett is an absolutely amazing guitarist and has two of the fastest hands in the business, while Ulrich, love him or hate him, is an incredible drummer who hasn't lost any of his precision.

The stage production was top-notch, with plenty of pyro, lasers and explosives to thrill any fan of over-the-top arena spectacles.

Some of the audience baiting could get annoying at times with Hetfield's regular coaxing to chant or other such nonsense and they could have dropped a few ballads in exchange for some good-old speed metal, but otherwise the night was as flawless as it could get. Even the sound was good, and not overly loud, in a venue not known for its acoustics.

At press time just over an hour into the concert, Metallica were ripping through the classic Battery with Master of Puppets, One and Enter Sandman still to come. The band is playing a different set every show, with various older songs thrown in.

Boston's Godsmack opened the night with a 45-minute set of grunge-inspired rock in the same vein as Alice in Chains, but less sludgy.

This was the band's second visit to the city since September and last night's show was the better of the two.

The band is touring in support of a new acoustic album, The Other Side, but surprisingly didn't slow things down at all.

Unlike many opening acts, Godsmack was given the chance to have full use of the stage and they took full advantage of it, setting off some pyro of their own, concussion bombs and employing the use of two drumsets on rotating platforms with singer Sully Erna putting down the mike to jam with his drummer Shannon Larkin.