Relive Metallica’s 2006 Performance of ‘Master of Puppets’ Album in Germany

After two months off the road, Metallica returned to the stage on June 3, 2006, in Nürburg, Germany, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Master of Puppets at the Rock am Ring festival. It was a huge show with two encores and 19 songs that not only covered the entirety of Master of Puppets, but plenty of other albums from Metallica's career.

Because of the Master performance, there were plenty of "firsts" at the show, too, including the first time "Disposable Heroes" was played in Europe in nearly 13 years, the first time "Orion" was ever performed live in full and the first time the whole album had ever been performed.

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The next day, June 4, they traveled to Nuremberg to perform at Rock im Park, and once again, they performed Master in full. Two days later, on June 6—yes, 6-6-06—they found themselves in Berlin performing at the Waldbühne theater and they decided to pull out the legendary album for another night of celebration.

During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Metallica launched #MetallicaMondays, sharing full concerts online for fans to enjoy in the safety of their homes. The June 6, 2006, concert was part of that series and you can check it out in the video below.

Watch Metallica's Full Live Show in Berlin, Germany on June 6, 2006

It was another massive, 19-song, two-encore set, this time including a cover of The Ramones' "Commando"—openers Avenged Sevenfold helped out with the background vocals—as well as the debut of a brand-new song. Fans may recognize the new song, in part, as "The End of the Line," which would come out a couple of years later on Death Magnetic. "We don't even have a title for it," James Hetfield said, which was met with tremendous applause.

Fans can stream and download Metallica's shows from 2006—including the previously mentioned Germany gigs—at LiveMetallica.com and via nugs.net.