This past Friday in Hall H Metallica debuted the trailer for Metallica Through the Never, which I’m sure you’ve all seen by now (I’ve included it below just in case). What you probably didn’t see from the panel was an extended clip from the film, created as exclusive content for the IMAX screens. It will run in all theaters before every showing of Elysium and Riddick. This movie, from director Nimród Antal (Predators, Kontroll), is definitely unlike any other concert film ever made.

It’s this clip that really explained (by way of example) how the overall film will work. It featured star Dane DeHaan in the middle of an apocalyptic war set in a downtown urban metropolis. Warriors on foot, and on horseback, clashed as DeHaan tried to avoid the chaos. Eventually it became apparent that one side of the combatants were functioning on the behalf of some kind of police state. DeHaan, tired of cowering, throws something at one of the horse-mounted assailants – who instantly gives chase.

All of this is interpolated with footage of Metallica performing, and the way it works is fairly seamless. While they cut away from the band for the story bits with DeHaan, it never feels like you’re “missing” anything. They’ve picked the best bits of performance footage and have edited the entire thing with a very musical, rhythmic flow. The film will be released by Picturehouse in North America on September 27, 2013, exclusively in over 300 IMAX 3-D theaters, and will expand into additional theaters on October 4, 2013.

Head below for Rick Florino’s report from the show along with some exclusive pics!

I should note that I was at the show as well, and it was indeed probably the loudest concert I have ever been to.

From Rick, “Big news at Comic-Con is typically debuted via a panel and then celebrated with a spirited evening party to follow. Metallica didn’t stick to the formula regarding the latter. Instead of simply throwing a run-of-the-mill shindig, the legendary heavy metal titans opted to host an intimate show at a tiny “secret” venue”. The Four Horsemen did a great job at keeping that spot hidden until mere hours before the show. Now, 500 Metallica fan club members got in as well as various convention attendees and “The Walking Dead” star Norman Reedus. Other than that, this was undoubtedly the hottest ticket in Southern California Friday night. With good reason, when was the last time you saw Metallica in a place this small? Chances are it was during the tour cycle for either “Kill ‘Em All” or “Ride the Lightning”.

That said, seeing Metallica in a tiny place delivers in every dream of what it might be. This generation’s accustomed to seeing them in stadiums and arenas. Most bands of this magnitude forget how to control a small stage. Then again, Metallica aren’t most bands. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Urlich blazed through ninety minutes of classics and a few oft-heard gems, namely “Ride the Lightning” and “Blackened”. They still made use of stadium-size sound, practically breaking the Richter Scale in terms of volume alone. “Creeping Death” immediately ignited the room, while “Sanitarium (Welcome Home)” evoked cinematic creepiness on par with any horror flick previewed during the day. Mirroring Comic-Con’s penchant for epic, “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman” exuded the requisite bombast, while the guys leaned closer to the crowd with an old school thrash panache. By the time, “Seek and Destroy” finished the assault, it was clear that Metallica had thrown the best Comic-Con party quite possibly ever.”