Metallica: S&M

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)

I'm not a huge fan of Metallica and I don't really like all of their music (the songs from the Black album, as well as ...And Justice for All and the single "I Disappear" are quite good but the rest kind of sound the same to me) -- but this live version even made me love the songs.

It's conducted with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, who ironically enough contacted THEM with an interest in performing their songs with an orchestra.

The result is a loud, powerful, emotional (!) experience. The deep, rich sound of the symphony really makes the songs all sound different. It's quite an experience.

The performance is two and a half hours long and the DVD/CD has tons of bonus features including a documentary covering the conception and execution of the entire ordeal.

All in all, a real treat, especially for Metallica fans, and perhaps even more so for non-fans who may find they like the music more like this.

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.

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

Metallica have done some wild things before this.. they've put a 'Grammy Award LOSERS' sticker on their AJFO album, they've released one of the heavyest albums of all time (The Black album) and they've played a concert near the Artic Circle, but this just beats all. This hellauacious concert with the San Francisco Symphony has to be one of the greatest listening experiences of a lifetime. Alone Metallica's songs are great, but with the backing of a 100 piece orchestra, it blows most of 'Tallica's songs away.

Video: 9 The video quality of this DVD is spectacular, with crystal clear quality.

Audio: 10 Blown away in 5.1 digital sound, the DVD sounds better than the CD. Not only is the audio quality outstanding, the audio extras make this DVD worth the buy. Not only can you chose 2.0 stero quality sound, you can listen to the band only, or even the symphony only.

Extras: 10 A bit to play with, with the audio extras above, you get a 41 min documentry on the making of S&M, a 'Mastro Cut' version of 'No Leaf Clover' and the 'No Leaf Clover' Video. Plus, you get 4 songs with different camera angles of the band members. (You can watch James, Lars, Jason, or Kirk seperately)

Overall: 10 A true buy, a must own for any Metallica Fan, or any real fan of music.