On September 28, 1991 "Metallica" performed in front of a crowd of 1.6 million people.
(Photo: Reddit/Metallica)
"The Monsters of Rock festival" in Moscow in 1991 stands as a monumental event in both musical and political history, forever etched into the collective memory of rock fans and historians alike.
On September 28, 1991, only a month after the "August Putsch" failed, 1.6 million rock and metal music fans converged in Moscow at "Tushino airfield" for the first open-air rock concert, as part of the "Monsters of Rock" series. The concert was completely free, causing many people to flock to the concert, making it one of the largest rock concerts ever held. This unprecedented turnout represented a staggering gathering of people, a number that had only been matched a few times in history. The sheer scale of the event is often captured in iconic aerial shots, showing a sea of people stretching as far as the eye could see, illustrating the enormity of the crowd that came to witness the performances that day.
For "Metallica", the event marked a pivotal moment in their career. The band had recently released their self-titled album, commonly referred to as the "Black Album," which propelled them to new heights of global fame. Their performance at "Monsters of Rock" in Moscow is considered one of their most momentous and celebrated concerts, with their powerful set contributing to the festival’s legendary status. The thunderous energy "Metallica" brought to the stage in their 10 songs setlist, reverberated through the audience, with hits like “Enter Sandman”, “Creeping Death” and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" amplifying the raw emotion of the event. Their performance, immortalized on video released in 1992 - "For Those About to Rock: Monsters in Moscow", has become a symbol of the band's dominance in the metal genre at the time and remains a touchstone for rock music history.
Without diminishing the greatness "of "Metallica's" performance, we have to mention the closing act of the festival, the band that the Russian people demanded to see as the main act - the legendary "AC/DC". Starting with "Back In Black" they played a stellar two-hour set complete with fireworks, gigantic half-naked blow-up dolls, and their legendary "Hells Bell". It was a mind-blowing show that made a lot of impact on both, the crowd and the band that would later said that they got phone call from Boris Yeltsin inviting them back to Moscow.
However, the significance of the festival transcended music. Moscow in 1991 was undergoing a seismic shift, politically and socially. The Soviet Union was teetering on the brink of collapse, with the dissolution officially happening just months later in December. The atmosphere of uncertainty, combined with the people’s longing for freedom, made this free, open-air rock concert all the more impactful. It was the first time the Russian public had the chance to experience a major Western music event without the restrictions that had long governed the country under Communist rule. The concert became a symbol of newfound freedom and openness, providing the Russian people with an exhilarating taste of the culture they had been denied for so long.
"Metallica’s" performance, alongside other legendary acts like "The Black Crows", "Motley Crue", "AC/DC" and "Pantera", resonated with the feelings of rebellion, freedom, and change that permeated the air. In retrospect, the concert became a defining moment in rock history, an emblem of the cultural and political shifts that would soon shape the world. The video footage of "Metallica’s" performance, capturing the overwhelming size of the crowd and the intensity of their set, has since achieved iconic status, symbolizing not only the power of music, but also the end of an era in global history.
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