The Cover Songs Metallica Opened + Closed Woodstock ’94 Set With

When Metallica played on Saturday night of Woodstock ’94, they opened and closed their 15-song set with cover songs.

The band’s stock was still soaring, even three years removed from their most recent album at the time, which happened to be 1991’s self-titled affair better known as “The Black Album.”

Sandwiched between Nine Inch Nails, whose mud-caked set is one of the most historic across all Woodstock festival editions, and rock ‘n’ roll legends Aerosmith, Metallica delivered a memorable performance lined with nothing but classics.

READ MORE: Metallica’s Five Best Country Songs

The set largely favored ‘The Black Album’ (four songs) and 1984’s Ride the Lightning (three songs). Today, it looks quite shocking to see that the only track culled from Master of Puppets was an abbreviation version of that hallowed title track.

But it’s the decision to bookend a set with covers, right as Metallica were more popular than ever before, that makes it interesting.

They kicked things off with Budgie’s “Breadfan,” which was first released as a B-side to singles “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Eye of the Beholder.” By 1998, it more properly appeared on the Garage Inc. covers compilation.

And, to end the night, Metallica selected the most un-Woodstock song imaginable, tackling Anti-Nowhere League’s vulgar and explicit classic “So What.”

Watch video footage of both cover songs directly below and see Metallica’s complete Woodstock ’94 setlist further down the page.

Metallica, “Breadfan” (Budgie Cover at Woodstock ’94)

Metallica, “So What” (Anti-Nowhere League Cover at Woodstock ’94)

Metallica Interviewed at Woodstock ’94

An interview with MTV’s Riki Rachtman at Woodstock ’94, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield offer a glimpse at what life was like for the band at the time.

While Woodstock is an iconic name, the Metallica members appeared to be unfazed by the significance of the event. Hetfield joked it was “just another crappy gig.” Obviously, he was kidding, but it shows how the group had begun to normalize such massive achievements.

“We just got here, we don’t really know anything about what’s going on,” Ulrich told Rachtman before the band was set to go onstage. Hetfield added, “We don’t even know who is playing,” when asked what other bands at Woodstock he was looking forward to seeing.

Metallica Setlist — Woodstock ’94 (Aug. 13, 1994)

01. “Breadfan” (Budgie cover)
02. “Master of Puppets” (short version)
03. “Wherever I May Roam”
04. “Harvester of Sorrow”
05. “Fade to Black”
06. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
07. “Seek & Destroy” (includes “The Outlaw Torn” jam)
08. Guitar Solo
09. “Nothing Else Matters”
10. “Creeping Death”
11. “Whiplash”
12. “Sad but True” (preceded by “A National Acrobat” jam)
13. “One”
14. “Enter Sandman”
15. “So What” (Anti-Nowhere League cover)

via setlist.fm