Metallica's Reviews

S & M

Better than you might expect

According to an article in Rolling Stone magazine, legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola stormed out of this concert in disgust; as a classical music fan (and a season-ticket holder with the San Francisco Symphony), he apparently hated the melding of his beloved symphony with metal music. He should've stuck around, because he might have been heartened by the audience's reaction. The metal crowd actually gets into the classical sound; just listen to the beginning of "-Human". It was a new song, never before heard by the live audience. Yet, as the orchestra pounds away at the hammerblows of the first twenty-four seconds of the song, the audience begins chanting in perfect unison, providing a perfect accompaniment to the orchestra, carrying on the chant even as the orchestra switches gears just before Metallica kicks in. Absolutely glorious. They even cheer in response during the string section's brief bridge interlude in "Enter Sandman". In the same vein, the crowd's reaction to the album opener - a shortened version of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold," from "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly," performed without Metallica - is awesome. The bell hit that opens the piece sounds like the opening to Metallica's "The Unforgiven"; maybe that's what made everyone cheer. Nonetheless, I wish I had been there to see Metallica walk onstage to such heroic-sounding music.

My favorite tracks on this set are "Nothing Else Matters", "One", "Enter Sandman", "Master of Puppets", "The Call of Ktulu", "Battery", and "The Ecstasy of Gold". The mastery of "Nothing Else Matters" is a given, since conductor Michael Kamen arranged the original version, and he expounds on his work here, but his takes on "One" and "Sandman" are especially memorable. The extended intro to "One", even with the Vietnam War-sound effects at the beginning (helicopters and machine guns in the background), is haunting.

Of course, Metallica is in high form throughout. It's kinda funny to hear the rhythm guitar in "Puppets"; it sounds like James Hetfield has slowed down the song's tempo a bit so the orchestra can keep up. You shouldn't hate the group for trying something different. Some of their songs have always sounded like mini-symphonies played with guitars, and the orchestra proves how brilliant Hetfield and Co. were at writing and arranging their songs.

As for the late conductor and film composer Michael Kamen, I admit I was a bit skeptical. When I heard his name attached to this work, I immediately thought of his music for the "Lethal Weapon" movies, and I thought his collaboration with Metallica would sound cheesy - or, at least, not fitting of Metallica. Boy, was I wrong. I hadn't considered his best work - the stunning score to "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (VERY expensive and hard to find, unfortunately), his collaboration with Queensryche on "Silent Lucidity", or his work with Pink Floyd on songs such as "Comfortably Numb". Kamen is the real star of this album. His arrangements of Metallica's songs are excellent, and his love and knowledge of rock music shines through here. If you love Kamen's music, this is a must-have.

I think this is an excellent CD. Not every song is a gem (I could've done without "Hero of the Day" and "Fuel," which knock off a star), but there's a lot to recommend here. There have been "symphonic tributes" to other rock groups, but this set blows them all out of the water. If you're a fan of Metallica, and/or the music of Michael Kamen, you owe it to yourself to get this album.

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