It’s been a little over 20 years since Metallica first teamed up with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra which was documented and originally released on video and CD back in 1999. It was a period during Metallica’s career that sparked controversy among fans and encouraged curiosity from those who were in the outer edges of the Metallica world which only 8 years prior launched one of the biggest albums in music history with the Black album.
Yeah that was only 8 years prior, hard to imagine now considering 8 years prior to the latest Symphony release this past week was the 30th celebration of Metallica’s career. Time sure has flown by but 2020 sees the band once again take on the symphonic stuff, which was first recorded and then theatrically released in cinemas last year and now finally released on physical and digital formats.
Getting the CD + Blu Ray boxset, it was great to see a well put together boxset release which also optionally comes in the expanded set with vinyl and the stand alone CD and DVD formats. Yes it’s also available on digital streaming but a release like this is almost pointless to be enjoyed there, you need to watch it to really appreciate the grand scope of this show. Liner notes feature words from musical director and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas who describes the synchronicity of Metallica and classical music, something which many Metallica fans are deeply aware through the epic song structures the band have incorporated in their music through out the years. Drummer Lars Ulrich also adds a few more words along with a few snaps and slick, contemporary artwork.
What seperates this show and the original S&M show ultimately is the setlist. While Metallica have consistently been changing up their sets at every show for the last 15 or so years now, here we see a very unique one which is exemplified even further by a few key additions from the orchestra group including one of the highlights of the show, a tribute to Cliff Burton from Scott Pingel with his brilliant rendition of “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth“, complete with Lars coming in half way on the drums just as he did on the original recording back in 1983 on their debut album “Kill ‘Em All”. But also included is a couple of performances of stand alone classical pieces, “Scythian Suite” a real progressive number and “The Iron Foundry“, a tribalistic performance and one which Metallica themselves took part in. It’s these unique moments that give even more justification for this second round of S&M.
The stage show itself has a very intimate feel despite the largeness of the brand new Chase Center in San Francisco where the recordings were held, production was mesmerizing and the ‘In the round’ setup worked brilliantly to add to the intimacy of it all, another element that was different this time around where previously it was done from a traditional stage at front, crowd in front setup.
On what still connects the two Symphony events together outside of the two entities collaborating, expected favorites returned which makes the original inclusions further cemented as the right choices. “The Call Of Ktulu” was powerful the first time and personally I thought it completely blew away the original recording on “Ride The Lightning“, here on S&M2 it’s largely the same although I did find the sound slightly muddier than the original.
“For Whom The Bell Tolls” was solid as always, “The Outlaw Torn” was epic and I was very happy it made a return while staples “One” and “Master Of Puppets” were as good as the first round. But it really was the newer stuff that made the most impact and a worthwhile reason to pick this up. “The Day That Never Comes” worked seamlessly with the symphony and is slowly becoming a Metallica classic up there with the vintage stuff, “Confusion” was a nice surprise and surprisingly worked well, “Halo On Fire” was grandiose in much the same way Outlaw and Ktulu are and the acoustic version of “All Within My Hands” shows there’s still some juice left in the old St. Anger tank, even if it had to be re-worked a little. Add to that a solo performance by James Hetfield on vocals with the symphony on the latest in the Unforgiven series which I thought was quite ballsy to do and you start to really see how different this event is compared to the 1999 one.
Of course “No Leaf Clover” made an appearance, a song that was mostly written and exclusively released on the original S&M album but has made the odd addition to their sets over the years since. It is a pity that the other exclusive S&M track, “-Human” never made it on this one, it’s a song largely forgotten and was only ever played with the symphony back in 1999 but it still stands as one of the heaviest Metallica pieces ever written.
Overall there is plenty of reasons to check out S&M2, as a Metallica fan I think there is far more justified to revisit this idea again outside of the 20 year anniversary just based on the setlist alone and the unique performances that were also thrown into the mix. It also showcases the astonishment of how the band are now pushing closer to the 40 year mark can still belt out a performance as tight as what is seen here, seeing it originally in theatres last year was a must and really magnified the performance ten fold. Yeah they are a little older now, the gray hairs are on full display (except for bassist Rob Trujillo, who seems to be defying age somehow with very little change since he first joined in 2003) but this is still a powerful performance by the veteran metal act.
If you aren’t a fan of anything Metallica post 1991, fair enough but you’re missing out when it comes to great things like this release.
9/10
TRACKLIST
The Ecstasy of Gold
The Call of Ktulu
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Day That Never Comes
The Memory Remains
Confusion
Moth Into Flame
The Outlaw Torn
No Leaf Clover
Halo on Fire
Intro to Scythian Suite
Scythian Suite, Opus 20 II: The Enemy God And The Dance Of The Dark Spirits
Intro to The Iron Foundry
The Iron Foundry, Opus 19
The Unforgiven III
All Within My Hands
(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth
Wherever I May Roam
One
Master of Puppets
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
