Bangalore, Oct 31 (IANS): Defying dark clouds and a sudden downpour, about 50,000 frenzied fans rocked to the item numbers the American heavy metal band Metallica belted out late Sunday in the Bangalore Palace grounds here amid tight security.

Putting behind the cancelled debut gig at Gurgaon Friday due to safety concerns, the four-member band - James Hetfield (lead vocalist), Lars Ulrich (drummer), Kirk Hammett (guitarist) and Robert Trujillo (bass player) electrified the already surcharged atmosphere with their popularhits that had the enthused audience asking for more.

Among their hit songs the group treated the fans during their two-hour show included "Kill 'Em All", "Master of Puppets", "Death Magnetic", and "Ride the Lightning".

Swaying to the deafening high octane sound of drums, guitars and other electronic musical instruments under colourful floodlights, the fans, including boys and girls, were seen screaming, cheering and dancing to the beats of one of the world's leading rock bands.

"It was fantastic! I was excited to be part of the concert as Bangalore had the privilege to host the iconic rock band first in the country after the fiasco at Gurgaon. We are grateful to the rock quartet and the organisers (DNA Networks) for not letting us down now," Paresh Jain, a techie with a leading IT firm, told IANS after the show.

Though rain and heavy screening delayed the start by an hour, the Metallica band came on the centre-stage after an Indian band and a Scottish band warmed up the fans with some lilting numbers that set the tone for the Sunday night fever.

After the live performance at Gurgaon was finally cancelled Saturday, the band's technical team worked overtime to airlift the massive equipment from New Delhi and Mumbai to the city as many instruments, including acoustic, were damaged by enraged fans.

The audience had a large number of fans from Gurgaon/Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Mysore as they did not want to miss a rare opportunity to watch live the popular rock band.