CALGARY -- Reassurance.

It's something most diehard Metallica fans could use at this point in the band's 23-year career and something many of the 18,000 Calgarians packed into the Saddledome last night were hoping for.

The thunder gods have gone through an incredible number of changes over the years, especially of late: The detoxing of frontman James Hetfield; the transformation of drummer Lars Ulrich into a pariah thanks to his well-publicized crusade against Napster; the contentious switch in bassists from longtime member Jason Newsted to Robert Trujillo; and finally St. Anger, the first studio album in six years, which failed to meet the expectations of those who had been promised a return to thrash form.

So you can very well understand the anticipation greeting a Metallica concert, especially considering the almost mythical reputation their shows have.

As a live Metallica virgin, it's impossible to compare how last night's sold-out show stacked up against previous outings (their last local one being seven years ago).

But as someone who's seen a goodly number of gigs in his days, all that can be said is: Wow.

Metallica do arena rock right. Any concerns that all the group therapy and band bonding would produce a fuzzier, cuddlier heavy metal act was quickly and quite violently shoved aside.

Sure, like any lumbering behemoth, it took them a few minutes to get going, a song or two to hit their stride -- part of that was the early minimal lighting and sound that was slightly soupy -- but once they did, there was no stopping them.

Loud, heavy, relentless, the iconic quartet took the throngs on a double decker bus tour through its influential thrash history, the new material, such as Frantic, standing up well alongside the old -- Enter Sandman and the classic One couldn't have been more powerful had you been dropped in the middle of a war zone.

With twin guitars blazing and ADD drummer Ulrich and newbie Trujillo bulldozing a backbeat, it was like getting smacked with a concrete girder for two solid hours.

And as far as stage shows go, Metallica is almost without equal in the hard-rock field.

For Nickelback to invoke the name Metallica as they did a couple of months ago at the 'Dome is an embarrassment. Sure, the veterans use pyro, flashy lighting and some of the same cliches, but comparing the two is like comparing Sir Laurence Olivier with a four-year-old reciting Shakespeare.

Metallica may not have written the heavy metal playbook, but they've certainly turned it into something that's all their own.

With the multi-tiered platform in the centre of the 'Dome -- turning Ulrich and his kit slowly around -- the three unseated band members worked the room -- the ultimate hair-flailing, arm-pumping images of cool.

Reassurance? That and so much more.

After showcasing their thenthitivity on the wussy new acoustic EP Other Side, Boston act Godsmack seemed intent on proving last night they're worthy of sharing a stage with the masters of metal. They ain't.

They only proved there's zilch that distinguishes them from the rest of the faux-metal masses, including their tuneless, sludgy angst and forgettable presence, entirely out of its element on the massive stage.

And frontman Sully Erna's berating of the crowd for its lack of enthusiasm came across as sad and desperate.

"You're not (expletive) in your (expletive) living rooms with your (expletive) remotes in your (expletive) hands," he said. "You're at a (expletive) rock show."

Of course, he was right -- if we were at home in front of the tube, the channel would have been changed minutes into the band's dull, predictable act.