[According to this review from Consequence (formerly Consequence of Sound), a new Metallica concert film made for the Apple Vision Pro spatial computing headset evokes considerable presence and could indicate that virtual concerts will eventually serve as a replacement for attending concerts in real life. The original version of the review includes a short video trailer (which is also on YouTube) and a different image. A press release about the film is available from Apple. The excerpt from an UploadVR review that follows below suggests that rather than an alternative to attending live concerts in person, the Metallica film and others like it may inspire fans to attend real-life concerts. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Apple]

Is Spatial Computing Ready to Disrupt the Live Music Experience?

Metallica’s new concert film for Apple Vision Pro will turn you into a believer

By Alex Young
May 28, 2025

The post-Covid concert industry feels like a completely different reality. High ticket prices, initially attributed to pent-up demand, supply chain issues, and sky-high inflation, have yet to come down some three summers later — and there’s no indication they ever will. Especially when it comes to major stadium and arena tours, $600 floor tickets and $300 lower bowl seats have become the new norm, and that might be optimistic. (Cough cough Beyoncé). And that’s if you can even manage to get your hands on tickets — headlines about chaotic on-line sales have become standard fare for major tours of late.

Could spatial computing be a possible solution for a more economical and overall quality better concert-going experience? To state the obvious, nothing will ever replace the live experience: whether it’s thrill of the being part of a pit that’s packed to the brim as a band plays their absolute hearts out, or the joy of being able to check off a bucket list live act (I’m still holding out hope for one last Tom Waits tour, or a Fleetwood Mac reunion tour after I stupidly passed up seeing their last jaunt in 2019).

Recently I had the opportunity to experience Metallica’s new immersive virtual reality concert film, shot exclusively for the Apple Vision Pro. Going into the demo I was very much a VR skeptic. I questioned whether such a device, from an aesthetic and pricing standpoint (the Vision Pro starts at $3499), could really appeal to a mass market.

But after viewing Metallica, I’ll admit it: I do indeed see an obvious gateway for music lovers, and there are indeed possible game-changing long-term implications for the music industry.

The 25-minute film was captured during the Mexico City stop of Metallica’s “M72 World Tour,” the result of 14 Apple Immersive Video cameras using a mix of stabilized cameras, cable-suspended cameras, and remote-controlled camera dolly systems that moved around the stage. It’s more than a front-row seat to the show: it’s like you’re on stage with the band. You can see the sweat quite literally drip down Lars Ulrich’s face as he bangs through “Whiplash,” James Hetfield’s vocal cords verberate as he sings “One,” Kirk Hammett’s taped fingers move up and down the fret as he plays “Enter Sandman.” If you were this close to the band in real life, you’d definitely be arrested. In the Apple Vision Pro, you can enjoy the ride without consequence.

For hardcore Metallica fans who’ve ridden the lightning and braved the Snake Pit, the Vision Pro film is the next level of a premium VIP experience. It’s indulgent, no doubt, but an experience bar none.

As I wore the headset, I also couldn’t help but wonder what implications this technology might have on the future of live music. At the moment, the Vision Pro’s selection of content is limited to Metallica, an upcoming Bono film Stories of Surrender, live performances from Alicia Keys and RAYE, and an immersive Weeknd music video. But if Apple builds out its library in a substantial way, an argument could certainly be made that the headset could pay for itself in the longterm. Perhaps we’re still years away from such a reality,  but one could certainly envision a future where a subset of music fans, tired of competing against scalpers, opt instead for a front row seat to their favorite music act’s summer stadium tour via Vision Pro. Or, some thirty-something parents, unable to attend shows with as much regularity as years past, are able to check out their favorite band from the comfort of their bedroom. And then there are the fans who live with a physical disability, usually forced to watch a concert from some sectioned off area far away from the stage, who may benefit most from this sort of technology.

For now, the Vision Pro isn’t a replacement for being there, but Metallica’s virtual set is a hell of a ride. And if VR keeps evolving, who knows how wild things might get?

—

[From UploadVR]

“Heavy Metal Is Godhead”: Metallica On Apple Vision Pro Sells VR And Then Some

By Ian Hamilton
March 14, 2025

[snip]

The concert cuts between wide views of the entire venue and intimate eye-to-eye contact with both the band and crowd. One of the angles is set up inches from Lars Ulrich, close enough to feel sweatier at the sight, another sees you looking down at the crowd as if you’re surfing over them, others set the vibe backstage or walking out with the band. When an inflatable ball that was dropped on the crowd came toward me I tried punching it away.

[snip]

If you could be the spirit of Heavy Metal for 25 minutes it would feel like this, disembodied and floating in space between the music and fans.

I saw Metallica in reality once in Los Angeles and again, decades later, with my VR headset when they played in Mexico. Many of us have a mental model of VR experiences eating physical ones, but this isn’t exactly right. I went to a Metallica concert with a friend in VR and listened to their music for hours afterward. I then looked up tickets to one of their physical shows for the first time in years and started making plans for how I can intersect with their ongoing tour.

There’s absolutely a marathon haptic, visual and auditory experience to be had with Metallica at a physical concert. I needed VR this good to remind me how great physical reality can be.