On Wednesday, June 15, Metallica kicked off a run of European shows with their headlining slot at COPENHELL, a heavy metal festival at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen. Coming off of a slew of South American dates and a couple of stateside concerts, Metallica pulled out all the stops in Denmark.

Check Out Metallica's Official COPENHELL Concert Poster

The first major difference fans experienced in Copenhagen—and something that will be part of all of Metallica's European concerts—was the infamous Snake Pit. This is a unique way for fans to enjoy the show as it brings them up close and personal with the band, and it's exclusive to members of the Fifth Member Fan Club.

For the first three songs, the entire band—including Lars Ulrich—performed at the end of the Snake Pit's walkway. You can get a sense of the stage set-up courtesy of Metallica photographer, Jeff Yeager, below.

In addition to the Snake Pit, Metallica surprised fans with a fresh approach to their setlist.

For much of 2022, Metallica have been following a pretty similar setlist night after night, swapping out a song here and there. As they took the COPENHELL stage Wednesday night, it appeared like they might be doing the same thing, opening with the Kill 'Em All classic, "Whiplash"—a song they've opened with several times this year.

But the rest of the night proved Metallica had plenty of tricks up their sleeves, including pulling out live rarities like "Dirty Window," "Trapped Under Ice" and "Bleeding Me."

Metallica Setlist — June 15, 2022 at COPENHELL in Copenhagen, Denmark

1. "Whiplash"
2. "Creeping Death"
3. "Enter Sandman"
4. "Harvester of Sorrow"
5. "Trapped Under Ice"
6. "Bleeding Me"
7. "Sad But True"
8. "Dirty Window"
9. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
10. "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
11. "Moth Into Flame"
12. "Fade to Black"
13. "Seek & Destroy"
Encore
14. "Damage, Inc."
15. "One"
16. "Master of Puppets"

Denmark holds a special place in the band's heart. First off, Ulrich was born in Gentofte, about five miles from Copenhagen. Not only that, but Metallica recorded two of their studio LPs at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen: Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets.

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COPENHELL runs for four solid days. In addition to Metallica, there are several other acts on the festival docket, including Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest, Korn, Mastodon, Mercyful Fate, Bad Religion and many, many others.

See Photos From Metallica's Performance at COPENHELL

Watch Lars Ulrich's Announcement About Metallica Playing COPENHELL

Here Are Some of Our Favorite Metallica T-Shirts

Metallica have not only created some of the best heavy metal in the last 40 years, they've also created some of the most iconic T-shirts. In the last four decades, they've worked with incredible artists like Pushead, Brian Ewing and others to bring their songs and albums to life. In the gallery below, we've picked out some of our favorite T-shirts that are currently available at Metallica's official online store. Which one is your favorite?

Some of Our Favorite Live Photos of Kirk Hammett

Kirk Hammett is a shredder, plain and simple. Or more specifically, he's a ripper. The Ripper.

Whether you're listening to him ripping or watching videos or staring at photos, one thing is obvious: this guy is a six-string master. While we could never create a collection that covers Hammett's entire history with Metallica, we've picked a handful of some of our favorite photos over the last 20 years showing the guitarist rocking out and having fun.

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