Catch Metallica’s Rare Performances and Covers at the Helping Hands Benefit Concert

Metallica’s Benefit Concert Highlights

Metallica delivered two electrifying sets brimming with fan favorites, rare tracks, and unexpected covers at their annual Helping Hands benefit concert last night (December 14) – check out the footage below.

Setlist Overview

The initial performance occurred at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The first half featured an acoustic set, where, after a 25-year hiatus, the Four Horsemen revived a deeper rendition of “Low Man’s Lyric” from “Reload.” This segment was followed by covers, including Diamond Head’s “Helpless”—marking their first performance since 2018—and a premiere interpretation of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Away From Home.”

Additionally, Metallica showcased “If Darkness Had A Son” from last year’s “72 Seasons” acoustically for the first time, along with “Nothing Else Matters” complemented by strings.

During their electric set, they performed “The Unforgiven II” and a reimagined rendition of their classic hit “Fuel” for the first time since 2015. Other songs like “Orion,” “Until It Sleeps,” and “Screaming Suicide” also graced the stage, with Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament joining them for “Hit The Lights.” The concert concluded with the powerful “Master of Puppets.”

The annual charity show supports the band’s All With My Hands Foundation, which “aims to help and enrich the lives of members of the communities that have supported the band over the years, as well as encourage participation from fans and friends.”

Check out the footage below:

This performance marked Metallica’s final show of the year, which will be available in its entirety on YouTube starting December 19th.

Additional News

In other news, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan remarked that “Feel” is “scary close” to the Pumpkins song “Tales Of A Scorched Earth.”

“James has composed some of the greatest, most incredible riffs and continues to create amazing music. But if you listen to ‘Tales Of A Scorched Earth’ and the Metallica song: ‘Give me fuel, give me fire, give me what I want.’ … So, which song originated first?”

He further noted that he holds no resentment regarding the similarities, as he does not believe it was intentional. “I don’t think James would steal anything from me, but when I first heard (‘Fuel’), I thought, ‘That’s pretty close’… But I adore a little bit of James.”

It was recently disclosed that Metallica and Linkin Park were set to earn several million dollars each for their performances at Sick New World 2025, which was ultimately canceled.