Metallica: S&M

This is a fantastic concert performed by one of the greatest bands of all time - Metallica. Guitar work by Hammett, Hetfield and Newsted is superb, as is vocals by Hetfield, and percussion by Lars. The songs are amazing, the symphony adds a new dimension to some already excellent tunes. The dvd extras are also great, the controllable camera angles in Enter Sandman and Of Wolf And Man are great additions.

All round great concert and dvd. 10/10

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

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.

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.