Some sites prefer to steal our news and pointers PLEASE give a link and line of credit if you use our News stories.. that's all we ask! Check News Archive at the bottom of this page for last month updates. Got a scoop? E-mail Zach, our News Director and fill us in! DECEMBER 1999 NEWS Moments before taking the stage at the Orange Bowl on Tuesday night, members of Metallica went on the radio to say their show would use more pyrotechnics than ever. It was a promising yet hardly necessary introduction for the elder statesmen of heavy metal, a band that appeals to burly, tattooed white males and stylish sorority sisters alike. Capping off a six-hour rock extravaganza that also featured Sevendust, Kid Rock and Creed, Metallica lived up to its seniority, turning out anthem after anthem, each passionately chorused by the approximately 35,000 in attendance. As for the pyrotechnics, they were, like Metallica itself, filled with impact yet elegant. More than 15 years since its beginning, Metallica still doesn't rely on the cheap antics that have made heavy metal the butt of so many jokes. Instead, the quartet weaves long, intricate songs like Master of Puppets with fury and a certain stylishness, accentuated by the sparseness of the all-black outfits, the short hair and the economy of movement on stage. Beginning with No Leaf Clover, tunes start frantically, then abruptly switch gears, lyricism interacting with furious chanting. With Metallica, thrashing guitars coexist with melody, rhythmic complexity and intelligent lyrics. Metallica was aided by an impeccable sound mix, something of a miracle in an open-air venue. And what a pit of a venue. The Bowl's dirty, dingy hallways might have seemed appropriately gloomy for a metal afternoon, but instead they reeked of garbage and indifference. Compound that with no parking and several ushers having no idea where specific seats were, and you marvel that rioting didn't break out. Still, Metallica's solid performance outweighed even the Orange Bowl and the lack of large TV screens, which made it hard for those far away to intimately connect with Hetfield and his cronies. But the scope of Metallica is undeniable. In Nothing Else Matters, one of a handful of encores and a throwback to anthemic '70s rock, James Hetfield took the stage alone, singing evocatively over the classic-tinged chords of his guitar. This is the kind of contrast that eludes wannabe heavy rockers like preceding act Creed, which, despite an obvious growth from its last South Florida performance, remains one-dimensional. Leila Cobo is The Herald's pop music critic. Thanks to Pseudotrue@aol.com!