Metallica: S&M

The shameless exploitation of the old "Metal Meets Mozart" gimmick drags on, this time with metal band Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The publicity that surrounded this stunt surprised me, seeing as how countless rock acts have already included symphony orchestras in their music, such as Pink Floyd (with whom San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conductor Michael Kamen had previously worked with), Van Morrison, and David Byrne...except those legends actually did it right. Usually, when a concert film is plagued with feverish, inaudible music (like this one), it depends heavily on cinematography and camera tricks, just as "S&M" tries to. But its attempts don't work. A poor effort from the usually worthwhile Metallica.

Well What to say, Combine the biggest Heavy Metal band the world has ever seen with the power of an orchestra and you get one hell of a ride. Now I must say that I am a very Big fan of Metallica so This may be biased.>

The orchestra fits in well with the power of Metallica, coming to the fore in crucial moments and fading into the background when Hammet's pounding riffs come into the fray.

The two new songs are both great and it is a shame the most will never hear how they sound with out the symphony backing them up. All of the classics are here and as always are a pleasure to listen to.

The DVD contains many extras including a documentary on the making of S & M as well as the ability to change cameras at will. This is a MUST have for any Metallica fan and a great rental for any music fan at all.

10/10 (7/10 for non metallica fans)

Okay, so Metallica are my all-time favorite band and therefore I'm obviously going to offer a biased opinion, right? Wrong. Granted, this audio video extravaganza couples the greatest heavy metal band of all time with an accomplished, internationally recognized orchestra and manages to surprisingly produce a sound which is breathtaking at times. However, I can't help but think that the Orchestra's sound sometimes encroaches on the traditional 'Tallica sound of pounding riffs and fantastic vocals which often leaves you cursing at Kaymen for getting in the way. However, Kaymen is evidently masterful in his own element and this is indeed a credit to him and his team.

However, this is but a mere blotch on the paper as the orchestra and 'Tallica blend almost perfectly at times; most notably in "Master of Puppets" which gives the song a new edge, the orchestra filling in the sound gaps while at the same time giving the right background sound to the quite frankly sublime solo's by James and Kirk. The whole performance is faultless by all members plus the orchestra. One thing I find disappointing though, is the apparent lax attitude of "fans" the further back the camera's went, how could they not clap and shout and throw the horns over such a brilliant performance.

Needless to say for a die-hard Metallica fan like myself this is an absolute must for the collection. But, for a non Metallica fan but nevertheless an appreciator of the genre, this is still a thoroughly entertaining watch and i cannot recommend it more.

Rock on Metallica, Rock on

9/10

The S&M DVD is possibly the best live work Metallica have done. Through sheer quantity Binge & Purge may be more highly regarded, but quality-wise I think S&M is better. Every track (barring Outlaw Torn) is just amazing, all benefiting from the extra dimensions a symphony gives - and the expert vision of Michael Kamen.

We start off with The Ecstacy Of Gold, performed beautifully by the San Francisco Orchestra.

The Call Of Ktulu, a much overlooked classic is the first Metallica song played and it sets the mood splendidly, it has power but also grace, 9/10.

Master Of Puppets is next up, which as always, is amazing, 10/10 on this one.

Of Wolf And Man is the first of many tracks on this DVD that are much improved with the aid of a symphony. I'm not a massive fan of the album version but I love the S&M version, 10/10.

The Thing That Should Not Be is well done but i'm not the biggest fan of the song, 8/10.

Fuel, always a crowd favourite, again benefits from the orchestra and earns it's 10/10.

The Memory Remains is also well performed with good crowd interactions, 9/10.

No Leaf Clover, a new song, is quite good, not heavy but likable all the same, 8/10.

Hero Of The Day is next and possibly my favourite performance on this DVD. Not their best song but is the most improved with the symphony 10/10.

Devil's Dance again, as above, not a great song but they manage to pull it off well, 8/10.

Bleeding Me tends to close the first DVD as Ktulu opened it, an epic song well done, 8/10.

The 2nd DVD starts off with Nothing Else Matters, a classic and was originally done with an orchestra, so is more than adaptable, 10/10 for sure on this one.

Until It Sleeps is a good post-black album song and holds it's own here, not the best performance of the day but still good, 7.5/10.

For Whom The Bell Tolls... Well, what can I say? They made a near perfect song another step closer to that title, 10/10.

-Human is the 2nd new song. Heavier and the symphony help out this song, 8/10.

Wherever I may Roam was next up and is my favourite track off the Black album, it's well done but not the outstanding performance on this DVD, 8/10.

Outlaw Torn was next up and I just can't bring myself to like it. A fan of the song might think differently but I can't give this more than a 6/10.

Sad But True is another great song which is performed well but i'm not overly convinced the symphony add too much to it, still a great performance though, 9/10.

One - Possibly the best Metallica song ever and is expertly performed by both Metallica and the symphony, can't fault it: 10/10.

Enter Sandman, a favourite of most was, like Wherever I May Roam, not an outstanding performance, in my opinion the symphony drowned out Kirk and James, and for a song like Enter Sandman that is not a good thing, 8.5/10.

Battery closes this DVD and has a brilliant intro by the symphony, 9.5/10.

Overall this is a brilliant performance to own, but musically and visually stunning. Any fan of Metallica would love this possibly even a few fans of classical music. A very solid 9/10 overall, with special mention to Hero Of The Day, Of Wolf And Man, Master Of Puppets and Nothing Else Matters.

This dvd is loaded with lots of features. It has four songs where you can choose the camera angles. You can choose to view it with the camera angles on only one member of Metallica at a time, or the way they edited it for vhs and dvd. You can also listen to just Metallica or just listen to the symphony. It also has a documentary talking about how they chose the songs they used for the concert. Overall I give it a 10.