Metallica have always appeared larger than life when they've performed. If that doesn't seem the case anymore on their upcoming Madly in Anger Tour, it's only because the stage will be a mere three feet off the ground.

At San Francisco's Cow Palace on Friday night, the band previewed its new stage set for around 300 radio show winners and friends. The actual tour begins Tuesday night in Phoenix with Godsmack opening (see [article id="1484454"]"Planets Align For Annihilation: Godsmack On Metallica Tour"[/article]).

The Madly in Anger stage is reminiscent of one the band used in 1997 on the Poor Touring Me outing. The sectioned stage is set up in the middle of the floor so the audience surrounds the band, and a platform in the middle continually rotates. As with past Metallica ventures, the show will feature lasers, pyrotechnics and projectors.

In addition to playing the St. Anger songs "Frantic" and "St. Anger," both of which they performed on Summer Sanitarium, Metallica added "Dirty Window" to their February 27 set. And unlike their last North American tour, in which the band didn't play any songs from their 1996 and 1997 albums, Load and Reload, Metallica bashed out "King Nothing" from the former and "Fuel" from the latter. There were three encores, and the group ended the evening with the Misfits cover "Last Caress" and "Hit the Lights," which appeared on the compilation album Metal Massacre in 1982 a year before resurfacing on Metallica's debut, Kill 'Em All.

After their last date with Godsmack -- May 15 in North Little Rock, Arkansas -- Metallica will head to Europe, but they'll return to North America in August for another leg of the tour. So far the band has announced six summer dates in the Midwest starting August 16 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and ending August 30 in Ames, Iowa. There is also a gig scheduled for September 24 in Columbus, Ohio. No opening act has been announced for these shows, and it is unknown whether Metallica will embark on a second Summer Sanitarium package tour, their publicist said.

Dates for the new leg of Metallica's Madly in Anger Tour, according to the band's publicist:

• 8/16 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
• 8/20 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
• 8/22 - Moline, IL @ Mark of the Quad Cities
• 8/24 - Peoria, IL @ Civic Center Arena
• 8/27 - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
• 8/30 - Ames, IA @ Hilton Coliseum
• 9/24 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center