Watch: Metallica releases never-seen footage of legendary Delaware concert

Ryan Cormier | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Metallica performs at Rock in Rio Heavy metal group Metallica takes to the stage on the second day of the Rock in Rio festival on Saturday night.

Unless you were there, it might be hard to believe that Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Metallica once played a show in a 1,000-person room on Main Street in Newark.

It was August 7, 1989 — a Monday night — with tickets costing $13 for the smallest show on the already hugely popular band's 50-state, 222-show "Damaged Justice" tour.

To put it in perspective, the heavy metal act led by the 26-year-old red-headed James Hetfield played The Spectrum in Philadelphia just four months prior.

You no longer have to use your imagination to envision one of the biggest-selling bands of all time rocking the legendary, long gone Stone Balloon Tavern and Concert Hall to its core.

Why is video showing up now?

To promote the upcoming remastered re-release of the band's 1988 album "...And Justice for All" on Nov. 3, the Los Angeles-born act has just released previously unseen footage of the show.

While there is a circulating audio bootleg of the show, video has not appeared online over the years.

Where did it come from?

The video looks like a fan video, and the band says it came from "our buddy Otto Weyer," but there's no other information on its origin.

How can I get the video?

The video will be included in the four DVDs that come with the $200 deluxe box set version of the 30th anniversary re-release.

"On August 7, 1989, we packed all of our gear inside a small college bar in Newark, Delaware for what was probably the smallest gig on the 'Damaged Justice' tour," the band wrote on Facebook.

For the first time ever, feast your eyes on Metallica rampaging through "Harvester of Sorrow" and imagine your chest thumping from the amped-up sound system:

Q&A: This fan remembers the night

One of the 1,000 or so lucky Metallica fans to squeeze into The Stone Balloon that 70-degree summer night was Wilmington's Vince Kilpatrick, who was 23 at the time.

He's a musician (Jake & The Stiffs, The Keefs, Hellbomber), who also books rock shows at Wilmington's Oddity Bar.

We talked to him about reliving that wild night thanks to the unearthed footage.

Q: What was it like being in that room that night?

A: I saw them at The Spectrum and the 'Monsters of Rock' tour [with Van Halen, Scorpions and Dokken] at JFK Stadium before that, so you can imagine the difference. The intensity in the small room was insane. It was hot. It was nothing at all similar to what it was in those other larger places. It was amazing. The intensity, volume and everything made it a huge rock show packed into a small club.

Q: How did the crowd react? Were they at 100 right off the bat or did it build and build?

A: At the time they were the biggest band in the world, so everyone was into it from the beginning. It was just the right time and it was a fevered pitch in there.

Q: These days we're used to acts like Paul McCartney or the Foo Fighters being able to play Delaware thanks to Firefly Music Festival, but back then it wasn't usual for huge acts to play here, right?

A: That's true, but you have to remember that around that time The Stone Balloon was bringing in The Ramones, Run-D.M.C. and Cheap Trick. They got some bigger bands.

Q: The other most legendary Stone Balloon show was Bruce Springsteen on Aug.13, 1974, but that was early in his career just as "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" was gaining steam.

A: Yeah. Metallica was not quite at the height of their popularity, but almost there. The "...And Justice For All" period gets overshadowed by [1991's] "The Black Album" because they got even bigger. But at that time they were huge.

Timeline: The Stone Balloon

1972 Original owner Bill Stevenson opens The Stone Balloon Tavern and Concert Hall in the old Merrill’s Tavern.

1974 Bruce Springsteen performs a nearly five-hour show.

1975 Playboy magazine recognizes the club as one of the best college bars in the country.

1976 Wolfgang Jack falls off a chair in owner Bill Stevenson’s office and hits his head. Stevenson is surprised “the tough old bird” isn’t seriously injured.

1981 Balloon hosts promotion for new network called MTV.

1981 The Rolling Stones agree to play a non-advertised show at The Balloon to warm-up for a concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. They cancel the show after bad weather hampers soundcheck at JFK.

1982 David Crosby can “barely talk, let alone sing” when he gets on stage, Stevenson says. Crosby leaves stage to “freshen up” in his bus. The bus then starts up and leaves, never coming back.

1985 Ray Charles performs.

1989 Metallica (and their rabid fans) storm the club.

1992 Warren Zevon performs the first of several shows at The Balloon.

1995 The legendary punk band The Ramones perform.

2002 My Morning Jacket take the stage.

2005 The Balloon closes.

2006 The bar is razed and replaced with is eventually replaced with the Washington House Condominiums.

2009 The Stone Balloon Winehouse, an upscale wine bar and restaurant, opens on the ground level.

2013 The Stone Balloon Winehouse becomes 16 Mile Taphouse.

2014 16 Mile Taphouse closes.

2015 Stone Balloon Ale House opens and embraces the rock club's legend, complete with a wall listing all the major national, regional and local acts that once rocked the space.

2018 The old Stone Balloon comes alive one more time via a previously unreleased video of Metallica's 1989 concert, which the band releases online to promote the Nov. 2 re-release of Metallica's 1988 "…And Justice For All" album.

Metallica setlist at The Stone Balloon

1. Creeping Death

2. For Whom the Bell Tolls

3. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

4. The Four Horsemen

5. Harvester of Sorrow

6. Phantom Lord

7. Master of Puppets

8. Fade to Black

9. No Remorse

10. Seek & Destroy

11. Last Caress (Misfits cover)

12. Am I Evil? (Diamond Head cover)

13. Motorbreath

Encore:

14. Hit the Lights

15. Blitzkrieg (Blitzkrieg cover)

16. Damage, Inc.

Encore 2:

17. Breadfan (Budgie cover)

Stone Balloon owner Bill Stevenson in 1981 talking about his club

A look inside The Stone Balloon in 1994 with Love Seed Mama Jump

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).