For the past 15 years, Metallica's "Enter Sandman" has boomed out of Yankee Stadium's speakers whenever a tight lead for the Pinstripes required the services of Mariano Rivera, the team's elite closer. On September 14th, the heavy metal anthem will once again emanate from the new House That Ruth Built, even though the Bronx Bombers will be playing in Seattle that day: The Big Four of heavy metal -- Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer -- have announced plans to make New York's ears bleed at Yankee Stadium. The only Big Four U.S. gig so far was held in Indio, California on April 23rd. Yankee season ticket holders will get first dibs at Big Four tickets starting May 4th. Anyone concerned with metalheads trashing the new home of the Yankees will be glad to know that Anthrax fans are surprisingly well behaved.
It's unfortunate that Metallica won't be able to bring out Rivera onstage during "Enter Sandman" given the closer's connection to the track, but maybe they'll just play a collection of Mo highlights instead; there are easily enough to bridge the song's five-plus-minute runtime. While the cross-town rivalry between the Yankees and Mets has diminished slightly recently in the face of the Mets' financial woes and mediocre on-field product, their respective stadiums seem to be battling over who can land better musicians: Shea Stadium and Citi Field have scored several nights of Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Dave Matthews Band shows, while Yankee Stadium was one of only two stops on the Eminem/Jay-Z tour last year. Concert supremacy was the one thing Mets fans had over the Yankees, but thanks to the Big Four even that bragging right is being torn away.
[Full disclosure: The Amp is written by Mets fans.]
[Photo: Mike Ehrmann/WireImage.com]