Rockin’ With Axl, Bruce, Metallica . . .

Two of the year’s most important pop tours crossed paths here this week, leaving audiences not only with lots of memories, but with a few questions.

* Who walks away the winner in the much-heralded Guns N’ Roses-Metallica matchup?

* Is it possible for Axl Rose to get through an entire performance without some kind of incident?

* Is Bruce Springsteen, blessed with two albums’ worth of strong new material, playing it too safe by devoting half his time on stage to old songs?

* Or is it asking too much of his longtime fans to do without both the E Street Band and “Hungry Heart” in Springsteen’s first U.S. tour in more than four years?

First, the Guns/Metallica show, a 7 1/2-hour affair that lasted until 2:35 a.m. Thursday morning at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands complex across the Hudson River from New York City.

Though both groups express admiration for each other in interviews and strenuously deny any “battle of the bands” rivalry on a tour headed toward Southern California, it’s hard to imagine the 48,000 fans at the show not filling out personal score cards on the way home. Picking a favorite is part of the fun of this rare pairing of two stadium-caliber acts.

The long affair started off with a winning 45-minute set by Faith No More, a band that shows considerable independence and integrity in its new album, “Angel Dust.”

Rather than race after easy sales by churning out clones of the song “Epic,” which made its last album a runaway bestseller, the San Francisco-area quintet moves in interesting, if less accessible new directions in the album. While sacrificing some immediate sales, Faith No More may be building a more solid foundation for itself.

Metallica, which followed at Giants Stadium with a 2 1/4-hour set, already has a solid foundation, thanks to a series of albums and performances in the ‘80s that established the quartet as a sort of thinking man’s heavy metal band.

Without abandoning the intensity and relentless assault associated with the genre, Metallica has written songs that moved, musically and lyrically, beyond the bombast and cliches of basic metal.

Still, there isn’t a lot of range to a Metallica performance, especially in a stadium where the emphasis is on power, not nuance. In a stadium setting where many mainstream hard-rock fans may be seeing the group for the first time, this could be a severe limitation.

But Metallica--one of rock’s most consistent entries--played with such lean, persuasive force Wednesday that even the mainstream fans appeared caught up in the power and precision of the group.

In the closing barrage of tunes--including the accessible “Nothing Else Matters,” “One” and “Enter Sandman”--the band stepped up an even more dynamic level, matching sonically the fireworks extravaganza that accompanied some of these tunes.

When lead singer James Hetfield raised his hand in salute to the wildly enthusiastic audience at the end of the stirring set, there was some question whether even a band as seductive as Guns N’ Roses could successfully follow Metallica.

For one thing, Guns is a much less consistent band than Metallica, one controlled on stage by the emotional mood of Axl Rose. When on target, it can be the most captivating band in American rock. But there were some nights on its lengthy arena tour when it was discouragingly flat.

An added handicap Wednesday: the show’s length. Guns didn’t go on until after midnight and it was easy to picture some of the weary Metallica fans heading for the exits early, especially on a weeknight.

Yet Guns lived up to the challenges, holding the crowd to the end with a blistering performance, complete with literal and figurative fireworks of its own. Rose seemed especially comfortable and confident, racing around the stage with his normal intensity, alternating vocally between his patented shrieks and tender crooning. The rest of the band, notably guitarist Slash, also seemed inspired.

As the concert headed toward a spectacular finale, however, it came to an abrupt halt when Rose stormed off the stage during the group’s version of Bob Dylan’s soothing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

The rest of the band continued playing for almost five minutes with bassist Duff McKagan taking over the vocals before announcing that Rose had left the stage because he had been hit in the groin by a lighter thrown from the audience. McKagan then announced the show was over--about two songs--or 10 minutes--ahead of schedule.

It’s not uncommon for unruly fans at outdoor hard-rock shows to hurl objects, ranging from coins to fireworks, at the stage, and Rose has repeatedly warned audiences that he won’t stand for it.

Crowd reaction was mixed.

There was some booing by fans who thought Rose was being a spoiled brat, which is how he is frequently portrayed in the press. Mostly, however, the crowd accepted the announcement and headed for the parking lot.

A band spokeswoman Friday announced that the lighter wasn’t the only thing bothering the singer at Giants Stadium. He was also suffering from a severe sore throat. In fact, the group’s next three concert stops were postponed because of the ailment.

So who was the winner?

In this case, both bands benefited from this unique pairing as the inherent competition brought out the best in them. The tour includes stops Aug. 14 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego and Aug. 22 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

At Springsteen’s concert Tuesday night at the Brendan Bryne Arena, also in the Meadowlands complex, he spotlighted 10 songs from the new “Human Touch” and “Lucky Town” albums in the first half of the three-hour-plus performance. They ranged from the rousing celebration of “Better Days” to the haunting drama of “Living Proof.”

During this 70-minute sequence, Springsteen and his new band, complete with five backup singers, turned purposefully to old songs--including “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Badlands”--to comment on or clarify the feelings expressed in the new material.

But he only included four of the new songs in the 15-song second set, thus shifting the emphasis to the past. While some of these songs, including the acoustic “Thunder Road” and “Cover Me,” still work in the context of the performance, some of the other choices, including “Bobby Jean” and “Hungry Heart,” do not carry the contemporary revelation of such new material as “Book of Dreams” or “Real World.”

Mostly, however, the show was classic Springsteen--still a man of considerable heart musically and supreme instincts as a performer. At times, you miss the various elements of the old E Street Band, especially Clarence Clemons’ saxophone. At other times, however, the band performs the new material so well that the change of musicians isn’t an issue.

The most moving moment in the show was perhaps the end when Springsteen closed with the haunting “My Beautiful Reward,” a song of benediction from one of the new albums.

It was a moment as captivating as hearing “Born to Run” for the first time in the mid-’70s--and it is remarkable that he can continue to come up with moments like that after all these years. Tuesday’s show was part of an 11-night run at the arena. Some of the 20,000 fans came to celebrate the old. The lucky ones realized that there is still much to enjoy and learn. The tour includes stops Sept. 24, 25 and 28 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.