Master of Tremors: Metallica’s set registers on the seismograph

Who knew that if you go to a heavy metal show, you could be part of a seismic event? Well, I guess this wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card, but it happened. The eagerly awaited Metallica show at Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium was more than simply a show; it was a momentous occasion. The opening notes of “Enter Sandman” have long been a beloved and thrilling football game music for Hokies, causing a coordinated outburst of yelling and bouncing. This cherished custom reached previously unheard-of heights in Blacksburg on Wednesday night, as the combined energy of the estimated 60,000 attendees astonishingly culminated in anomalous seismic readings. Ground vibrations caused by the tremendous energy of the concert were captured by the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO). It peaked right before the band’s famous rendition of “Enter Sandman.” VTSO Director Martin Chapman told FOX Weather that their seismograph, located about a mile from Lane Stadium, detected the ground motion created by the fervent spectators. The FOX Forecast Center stated that although the small seismic activity, which was swiftly dubbed the “Metallica Quake” online, was not dangerous, it was too small to register on the Richter scale or receive a rating. According to Chapman, “the magnitude would have been less than 1.0,” “Too small to be felt even a mile away.”