One of the nicest things about the summer is its perennial favorites.

Roses, day lilies, Metallica.

Yeah, that's right. Metallica.

The undisputed kings of all things loud and raucous were back in town last night at the Molson Amphitheatre to test the mettle of their rabid fan base, and themselves.

With a set list that stretched back 14 years, the California band could hardly fail.

And so, Metallica played it straight, whipping the sold-out crowd of 16,000 into a frenzy with nothing but a few flashpots and the clutch of thundering favorites.

Part of the band's success lay in the fever pitch their audience managed to stir up.

Chants of "Metall-i-ca!" started up the moment well-received opener Jerry Cantrell, lead guitarist of Alice In Chains, disappeared into the wings.

It took a swirl of pre-recorded spaghetti-western theme music -- a suitably epic soundtrack that signalled the band's arrival -- to momentarily pacify the audience.

Metallica fired up Helpless with pulverizing volume, accented more by Lars Ulrich's lung-rattling kick drums than by the guitar and bass attack of frontman James Hetfield, lead wailer Kirk Hammett and bassist Jason Newsted.

What followed looked like a bizarre political rally. Devil horns and middle fingers penetrated the air, apparently as a sign of respect, although Hetfield is not the kind of guy you'd want to flip off face-to-face.

Not that there was much reason to.

By song two, Metallica were knee-deep into hit territory with the 1986 opus Master of Puppets.

Nothing Else Matters, Four Horsemen, Fight Fire With Fire, and the band's top tune, 1988's One, followed suit.

If Metallica's more recent material has tested the patience of die-hard fans, new tunes like Where The Wild Things Are and Fuel certainly seemed to fit the bill.

On the downside, the band's limited use of blinding pyro on encore numbers Enter Sandman and Creeping Death tended to dangle rather than deliver.

After all, there are more senses to assault than just the hearing.