The metal legends capped the weekend’s Sonisphere Festival with a two-hour set, ending the festival’s İstanbul leg on a high note following three days of live performances by some of the world’s biggest rock and metal acts, including Manowar and Rammstein.Sunday’s show was the fourth stadium gig in İstanbul for Metallica, whose last appearance here was in 2008.
The İstanbul leg of the international festival, taking place in 11 cities across Europe, got under way on Friday afternoon with an appearance by Turkish rocker Ete Kurttekin. Turkish heavy metal band Pentagram, grunge rockers Alice in Chains and German metal band Rammstein were the headliners of the first day.
The second day featured five acts, including Turkey’s Hayko Cepkin, but the headlining act was the long-running American heavy metal band Manowar, who took to the stage ahead of another legendary act, Accept.
The festival’s final day was the most eagerly anticipated, with Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer making back-to-back appearances ahead of Metallica’s grand finale, which stunned festival goers with a two-hour set that ended around midnight.
The festival is now headed for Madrid, where it will have a two-day stint on July 9-10. On Aug. 7 and 8 the festival will travel north to Sweden and Finland.
