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[SKINNER!]

Released way back in 1999 on CD and DVD, Metallica's second live album "S&M" (Symphony & Metallica) brought forward an intriguing - and to some, controversial - concept that collided their feriously loud tracks with the delicate orchestral sounds delivered by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In my opinion, for the majority of the songs, I thought the orchestra instrumental complimented Metallica's classics very well and, to some extent, breathed new life into them. By all means, it isn't completely perfect as certain Metallica songs (like Orion, My Friend of Misery, Unforgiven or Fade to Black) that didn't make the setlist would've been far suited than Fuel and Enter Sandman. But for what it is, it was a bold experiment that worked out well in the end. My favourite tracks: Call of Ktulu, Master of Puppets, No Leaf Clover, One and Battery.

I remember going into a small record store around June 2000 and seeing the - then shiny and new - DVD on the shelf and asking the store clerk if it was any good. "You kidding me? The best video and sound quality, Different audio tracks (one with the symphony orchestra and one without), different camera angles, a feature where you can select which band member you can focus on throughout a song, backstage footage, 2 new songs" OK, so he was trying to sell me the product but you gotta admit, at that time when VHS was still king but slowly coming to it's demise, that was impressive. So I saved up every penny I could and picked it up. Went home and watched it on the PC (the only dvd player in the house at the time) and was blown away.

Setlist:-
The Ecstasy of Gold
The Call of Ktulu
Master of Puppets
The Thing That Should Not Be
Fuel
The Memory Remains
No Leaf Clover
Hero of the Day
Devil's Dance
Bleeding Me
Nothing Else Matters
Until It Sleeps
For Whom the Bell Tolls
-Human
Wherever I May Roam
The Outlaw Torn
Sad but True
One
Enter Sandman
Battery

So what did you think of the album/DVD?
Favourite tracks?
Tracks that sounded great/didn't work?
Reasons why the concert was great/why it sucked.
Were you there? Mandatory sharing pics/stories.
Was it the last straw that put you off Metallica for good? (You'll be surprised how many times I've heard this)

One last thing, At the end of the concert, Lars declared "same time next year". Was he refering to another S&M performance or just simply another normal concert at the Berkeley Community Theatre? Either way, Damn you Lars! There should've been an S&M world tour.

 

[Rich!]

It's great. However, I will use this opportunity to simply state this:

RIP Michael Kamen.

 

[haikira]

Nothing particularly profound to say on the matter. But man. I remember in my teens, i played the hell out of No Leaf Clover. Love that track.

Love the whole thing as a matter of fact, despite not being the worlds biggest Metallica fan. Which is ironic, since I've somehow seen them live a bunch of times.

 

[Callo Merlose]

I love it. It was released on the same day the Powerpuff Girls premiered. And fuck yeah, Michael Kamen. <3 He fucking nailed Battery's intro. It made me love The Outlaw Torn even more.

 

[Aiii]

I remember this coming out and desperatly wanting it. But it was so frigging expensive, so good when I finally bought it though, listened to it for ages.

And I agree, No Leaf Clover remains one of Metallica's best tracks.

 

[soundscream]

No leaf clover was the only track that was a standout IMHO.

 

[beyond_death]

IMO, some song benefited from the symphony backing (Call of Ktulu, Nothing Else Matters) while most others simply watered down some awesome songs (Battery, Master of Puppets). Also the setlist was pretty bad, but considering when this was recorded it wasnt that surprising. No Leaf Clover was a good song though. All in all though I would have loved to have seen it live just for the experience.

 

[fabricated backlash]

No Leaf Clover was on repeat for me for months and months. It still is my favorite Metallica Song ever. It just all falls into place there.

I like the Album, allthough the DVD is a lot better as it offers a much better mix. The CD really muffles the band too much.

I won't go into any discussion about Metallica as musicians, but I will maintain that they are one of the best live bands out there. Even today. And S&M is just immaculate in it's performance, theme and execution.

I wish they would've played So What though^^

 

[PinkCrayon]

No Leaf Clover and Ecstacy of Gold for daaaaaaaays and daaaaaaaays.

 

[TAJ]

I always thought it was funny that Francis Coppola walked out.

 

[sgossard]

I always thought it was funny that Francis Coppola walked out.

Care to elaborate?

 

[FoxSpirit]

As a lover of both metal and classic, it's a big letdown.
I had heard the "Rage and the Lingua Mortis Orchestra" before and S&M was a big step down.

Unlike the Rage album, S&M doesn't really fuse classic and metal, metal takes the forefront with mostly orchestral backing.

So yeah, I am not really fond of it. Was expensive too. Maaan.

 

[TAJ]

Care to elaborate?

He had season tickets and went to every performance. Once he realized what he was in for, he ran for the exits.

 

[Yager]

I love The Call of Ktulu, but even more that version with the orchestra. Simply amazing.

 

[sgossard]

He had season tickets and went to every performance. Once he realized what he was in for, he ran for the exits.

Wow, never heard that story. Not too surprising though.

 

[Takamura-San]

I was into this album before owning a computer.

I didn't get to know how people felt about it. I always thought that people hated it.

Glad to hear the "No leaf clover" love here. It is also my favorite track from the album and maybe Metallica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd9ohpDDCRU

Edit: I miss Jason and fuck Lars.

 

[gdt]

No Leaf Clover is amazing, but besides that the album is good. Not something I'll always pull out, but cool to hear a few times.

I remember thinking the Load/Reload songs sounded great on it. The 80's stuff not so much.

 

[SKINNER!]

Glad to hear the "No leaf clover" love here. It is also my favorite track from the album and maybe Metallica.

Edit: I miss Jason and fuck Lars.

yeah, I miss Jason. He was the guy who got me into playing the bass guitar. Sure he wasn't a remarkably bassist in the world but every time he's on stage you know he gave 110%. He was never the "boring bassist guy who just stood in the back" guy.

As a lover of both metal and classic, it's a big letdown.
I had heard the "Rage and the Lingua Mortis Orchestra" before and S&M was a big step down.

I just gave that a listen for the first time today and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Wow, never heard that story. Not too surprising though.

Haha, that's quite funny. I can just imagine him getting up and slowly walking out looking all disgruntled and disappointed.

 

[strafer]

I love it. Needs a Blu-ray release.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

No Leaf Clover is great, but I've never been a huge fan of the rest. Far too often, especially in the 80s songs, it sounds like the orchestra is playing one song while the band is playing another, and then they just mashed these two different melodies into one.

 

[ascii42]

Call of Ktulu and One benefitted the most, I think.

I'm not huge on listening to live albums, so I would have liked to hear a studio quality version. Sort of like the Black Album version of Nothing Else Matters. I'm sure it's awesome singing along to Master of Puppets or whatever when you are at the show, but when I listen to the CD, I hear:

END OF PASSION PLAY, CRUMBLING AWAY
mmmr mmmr mfr mfr mmrmmr
VEINS THAT PUMP WITH FEAR, SUCKING DARKEST CLEAR
mmmr mmmr mfr mfr mmrmmr

There are some good moments with the crowd though, like in The Memory Remains.

 

[CassSept]

I love love love the album. It's amazing. My fav track is probably Battery. The transition from Call of Ktulu to Master of Puppets is stuff of legends.
I'd disagree with your opinion on Enter Sandman though. The part after 4:15, with the calm bridge and then coming back to song is great. The quality of the video isn't too good, it sounds better on proper album version obviously.

 

[Maddocks]

I love the album. Greatness came from it.

 

[MickeyKnox]

Loved this album when it came out, haven't fucking thought about it in YEARS, thanks for sending me on a nostalgia trip.

I'll just leave this here:
http://youtu.be/sqPVn7cgy6I

 

[radios shipping overview]

I was excited for this back when it came out, but it didn't take me many listens to start to dislike it. The orchestral parts don't add much or integrate well with most of the songs. It's like they just sit on top of the guitar parts like frosting.

It's almost like Kamen wrote and conducted a film score to illustrate what he saw happening in the Metallica songs, as if they're the onscreen action. If that makes sense. Each party is off doing its own thing.

Pretty overblown, but then, so are most things Metallica does.

 

[ReadingRambo]

The track "Human" on the album is by far my favorite. The S&M version is the only one I've ever even heard of that particular song. Symphonic metal being a guilty pleasure of mine, I loved the whole thing.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

The track "Human" on the album is by far my favorite. The S&M version is the only one I've ever even heard of that particular song.

'-Human' and 'No Leaf Clover' were written specifically for the S&M collaboration, which is why there's never been studio versions of those two songs.

 

[jmdajr]

No Leaf Clover is good.

A lot of other stuff is hit or miss.

 

[Leunam]

Maybe it was my speakers, but the orchestra overpowered Metallica a lot.

 

[God...frey Jones]

No Leaf Clover is literally brilliant.

A very underrated Metallica song, up there with the best.

 

[SKINNER!]

The love for No Leaf Clover is absolutely phenomenal in this thread.

 

[Credo]

I still listen to No Leaf Clover regularly to this day. I really need to check out some of the other tracks based on GAF recommendations.

 

[stuminus3]

I wish Metallica went in this direction in the studio, S&M really brought life to otherwise bland 90's Metallica songs. Unfortunately they completely lost the plot instead.

 

[Maddocks]

went back to listen, man so many good songs. Outlaw, Devils Dance, - Human, No Leaf....

if only Michael Kamen hadn't passed, we would have had part 2 already.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

if only Michael Kamen hadn't passed, we would have had part 2 already.

I don't know, I don't think even Kamen could've saved their post-ReLoad songs from being mostly awful.

 

[jmdajr]

The love for No Leaf Clover is absolutely phenomenal in this thread.

Well it was written with orchestra in mind so it just works perfectly.

 

[dorkimoe]

Easily my favorite metallica album of all time

 

[RedNalgene]

I'm not sure why, but I really like the version of Outlaw Torn on S&M. I think the original version sorta sucks, but there's something about the live orchestra version that just clicks.

 

[ascii42]

I'm not sure why, but I really like the version of Outlaw Torn on S&M. I think the original version sorta sucks, but there's something about the live orchestra version that just clicks.

Yeah, I agree. The other songs from Load are good on it too.

The Thing That Should Not Be feels empty without the orchestra as well.

 

[Nekofrog]

great idea, very poorly executed.

also metallica always sounds like shit live. anyone remember the live stream metallica concert thread we had on gaf? so funny/

 

[Vio-Lence]

whoever thought the gateway drug of heavy metal + backing orchestra would suck?

 

[Chuckl3s]

Their best live album in my opinion!

The best rendition of For Whom The Bells Tolls and Master of Puppets!

 

[dionysus]

Thought the orchestra overpowered the guitars in most of the tracks. So overall a few great songs and then the rest worse for the experience.

 

[funkystudent]

Yeah No leaf Clover is pretty great. One of my favs and I was happy I got to hear it live a few years ago when I saw them.


From S&M I remember I really liked One, Bleeding Me, Outlaw Torn, Clover and ktulu.


Havent listened to much metallica in the last few years. Maybe I should bust this album out over the weekend.

 

[RobbieH]

No Leaf Clover is amazing, but besides that the album is good. Not something I'll always pull out, but cool to hear a few times.

I remember thinking the Load/Reload songs sounded great on it. The 80's stuff not so much.

Agree with all of this. No Leaf Clover, Bleeding Me and Outlaw Torn are probably my favourite tracks on the album.

Seattle '89 is where it's at.

 

[123rl]

I bought the DVD about 10 years ago and I still listen to it on Spotify occasionally. It's an awesome show. I'm surprised Master Of Puppets isn't getting more appreciation because it really fits the orchestra sound. It fits in perfectly inbetween the small solos and the flow of the song. The audience was great on this one too. I don't know if "Fuck Awesome Metal Stadium Rock" is an official genre but, if it is, this is the song that fits that description

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODh8_f9f_2s

Also, RIP Michael Kamen and thank you for your role in one of my favourite concerts of all time

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

I really liked it, but as a couple others have said, the band really gets buried at times on the CD. It can be really hard to make out the guitar solos particularly. S&M versions of Outlaw Torn and Bleeding Me are the definitive versions as far as I'm concerned.

Also, some people have mentioned No Leaf Clover was written with the orchestra in mind. I could very well be wrong, but I don't think that's 100% correct. I always thought it and -Human were in some form from the Load sessions (though not completed). Thought that's what they said during the making of stuff. Have to check.

EDIT: I was remembering correctly. The making of, James says No Leaf Clover had been on tape for a couple of years at least.

 

[Draconian]

The Thing That Should Not Be is one that is a marked improvement over the studio version. imo It's the weakest song on Master of Puppets, but it's great on S&M.

 

[ascii42]

The Thing That Should Not Be is one that is a marked improvement over the studio version. imo It's the weakest song on Master of Puppets, but it's great on S&M.

Yeah. Kind of weird that they cut out one of the verses, however.

 

[DrSlek]

I actually listened to this album so much in my car that the disc never left the CD player except to wap between discs 1 & 2. This ended up being a big problem after a couple of summer heatwaves. 5 years after purchase disc 1 was unreadable.

Queue purchase of second copy and also the live concert DVD.

Most played songs - Master of Puppets/For Whom the Bell Tolls