James Hetfield was looking for a show of hands.

"How many people have seen Metallica [ tickets ] before?" the 45-year-old vocalist/guitarist asked the crowd during the band's Saturday (12/13) gig at Fresno, CA's Save Mart Center.

He then watched as the majority of metal-heads in the arena lifted their hands skyward.

"Welcome back," he smiled. "We must have done something right."

That's a bit of an understatement. During its 27-year career, Metallica has done so many things right, including amassing what's arguably the most impressive catalog of any recording act in metal history, and it's been rewarded handsomely. The group has won seven Grammy Awards, sold some 90 million albums worldwide and influenced hundreds, if not thousands, of other bands.

The band is also a clear favorite among the current batch of nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It will be shocking, to say the least, if Metallica's name isn't called come induction time next April.

Metallica's winning ways continued in Fresno as the quartet--featuring Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo--charged through a powerful 100-minute set that nicely showcased the newly released album "Death Magnetic," and included a fair share of old hits.

Known for putting on flashy, spectacle-style concerts, Metallica certainly didn't disappoint its Fresno flock with the stage show this time around. The head-banging heroes performed on a huge "in-the-round" stage that took up nearly half the space on the arena floor. The setting allowed for relatively close-up views of the band members as they constantly roamed the round.

The light show was amazing, a dizzying mix of colorful laser work and cool spotlights hung from lightning rigs that resembled coffins (see the cover of "Death Magnetic" if you want a proper visual). There also were enough pyrotechnics going on to cook every holiday ham in Fresno County, putting out the kind of heat that could be felt dozens of rows back from the stage.

Metallica opened the show, just like on "Death Magnetic," with a double shot of "That Was Just Your Life" and "The End of the Line." The near-capacity crowd ate up these new tracks, as well as other "Magnetic" offerings like "Cyanide" and "The Day That Never Comes," with the same hunger shown as they bit into many of the longtime favorites. The biggest returns on investment, not surprisingly, came when the group launched into the anthems "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman."

The Metallica men were in superb form throughout the concert. Hammett had two solos that lit up the night brighter than anything coming from the laser/pyrotechnics display. Trujillo, the metal vet who joined Metallica a few years after Jason Newsted left in 2001, has really found his place in this quartet and he added as much to this show as any of the band members.

Hetfield remains the most dynamic presence in metal, and one of the few vocalists in the genre that actually bothers to sing, and Ulrich is still a top candidate for most energetic drummer in the biz.

Closing down the show with "Last Caress," "Motorbreath" and "Seek and Destroy," Metallica left crowd members waving their "devil fists" in the air and chanting for more.

Hetfield would probably take that response as a sign that the band had done something right. We'll take it as an indicator that, in all likelihood, even more people will raise their hands next time the band comes to Fresno and the vocalist asks, "How many people have seen Metallica before?"

Set list:

That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
Wherever I May Roam
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
The Unforgiven
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Last Caress
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy