Folks who have checked into this year's Summer Sanitarium have noted how all the opening bands are singing praises to Metallica. Limp Bizkit even cover "(Welcome Home) Sanitarium" and flash the words "Metallica is the sh--" onscreen during their set. Such over-the-top idol worship might seem a bit forced, but the headliners insist it's not. And the admiration goes both ways.

"The highlight for me is just the vibe between the bands," drummer Lars Ulrich said during the Philadelphia stop of the tour right after spending 30 minutes hanging out with Linkin Park. "Sometimes when you play these big places and everybody's doing a lot of press, you don't see each other as much as you like. But I'm digging trying to get up onstage and see other bands. A couple nights ago in Toronto I went up and sat behind John Otto [of Limp Bizkit], who's just the king sh-- drummer. All of a sudden they were playing 'Seek and Destroy' snippets, 'Master of Puppets' and then 'Sanitarium.' Sitting there and seeing him play Metallica stuff was just so cool."

The positivity of the tour is a touch surprising given the comments Deftones frontman Chino Moreno made in the August issue of Revolver about the other bands on the bill. He was especially critical about Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. "A big problem for me was opening for them — two bands that wouldn't exist if it weren't for me." But Moreno also took a stab at Metallica: "Metallica have a vast catalog, but live? Motherf----ers just stand there and play." Metallica frontman James Hetfield takes such jabs in stride.

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—Jon Wiederhorn, with reporting by Gideon Yago

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