Matthew Reine
Every music fan has heard of a little band called Metallica. Whether you’re a fan of rock and heavy metal or not, when someone utters their name, you immediately recognize it. Like any big artist, not everything the heavy metal titans did has been very popular.
Metallica have made a lot of controversial decisions in their career. From adopting a more stripped metal sound with the Black Album and an even more toned down style with Load, to shedding their rock hard image by cutting their hair, to taking online MP3 sharing giants, Napster, to court. None of those events were probably as gutsy though as their decision to play live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra 15 years ago. It’s hard to imagine the same band who performed tracks like “Blackened” and “Hit The Lights” would go on to play with a symphony.
Now a few rock bands have experimented with symphonies over the years like Scorpions and KISS but none of these collaborations were as memorable. Scorpions did it well past their time of relevance and actually did it right after Metallica did so it was dismissed as a knock-off. Gene Simmons is known to jump on every musical trend throughout KISS’ history so playing with an orchestra isn’t a stretch for the group. The only exception might be Finnish band, Apocalyptica, who made a name for themselves by covering Metallica’s songs on cellos.
Now let’s all take an honest look at Metallica’s 1999 live album titled “Symphony & Metallica”, or “S&M”, for short:
Metallica recorded this LP over the course of three live shows in April 1999. For these concerts, Metallica teamed up with composer, Michael Kamen, who led the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in accompanying the group’s hard hitting tracks with the sweet sounds classical music. This actually wasn’t the first time Metallica had worked with Kamen as he handled the orchestral tones for the song “Nothing Else Matters” in 1991.
The double CD opens live with a cover of The Ecstasy of Gold, played solely by the orchestra, which intros the band taking the stage. A tune they’re used for their entrance since the 1980’s. We then go into The Call of Ktulu, an understated instrumental track from Metallica’s second album, 1984’s Ride The Lightning which fits perfectly here. This version would actually win the foursome a sixth Grammy award in 2001.
Metallica then goes into the crowd pleasing and live favorite, Master of Puppets. It gets to be a bit much though when lead singer, James Hetfield, lets the crowd sing the chorus. Sometimes they aren’t loud enough and can alienate people not familiar with the song. Next is Of Wolf & Man from the Black Album. It is probably the least known single from the record but it’s still a pretty damn good song. Bassist, Jason Newsted, shines here with his back-up vocals and the way the flutes and clarinets help with the songs opening riff is haunting. It sounds like the climax is a horror movie when the villains moves in for the kill. We go back to Master of Puppets next with The Thing That Should Not Be. The orchestra really shines with his one during the breakdowns. One of the best uses of the San Francisco Symphony on this record.
The next two tracks here are the first two singles off the album, Reload: Fuel and The Memory Remains. Fuel is led in after a rich symphonic melody that started after “The Thing…” ended while The Memory Remains picks up a lot of steam towards the end when the audience start singing Marianne Faithful’s part. The crowd echoing throughout the venue with “La da da da” with the symphony backing them gives a weird Christmas vibe to the listeners. It’s a damn good vibe, though!
Now the next track, No Leaf Clover, was previously unreleased and was provided as the album’s lead single. After a great intro with violins, cellos, and horns, It proves to be a decent song and hardcore Metallica fans wondered what it would sound like without the orchestra playing. A studio version has never been released but it has been performed live since “S&M”, most notably during Summer Sanitarium 2000, a tour Metallica performed on with Korn and Kid Rock in the summer of 2000.
Up next is a single from Reload’s predecessor, Load entitled Hero of the Day which makes one of the best orchestral uses on the entire record. The orchestra performs a soothing melody but gets heavy once the rocking guitars start after the second chorus. The first disc nears its end with a rendition of an obscure song from Reload, Devil’s Dance. Not one of Metallica’s better songs but I dig the bassline at the beginning. Disc one ends with Bleeding Me, an underappreciated single from Load. I would like to point out that I don’t hate Metallica’s post-Black Album work as much as most people do (or did at least. Haven’t heard much criticism in the past few years). Load and Reload are good albums, they just aren’t what people expected from Metallica. Look at the songwriting objectively and anyone will see that it’s pretty good. Anyway, that’s an argument for another day. Bleeding Me’s live symphonic rendition is solid and runs a lot longer than the studio version with crunching guitars and trombones that end the CD on a high note.
Now on to the second disc. The CD very appropriately opens with the power ballad, Nothing Else Matters, the song Michael Kamen previously worked with Metallica on. The song is on par with the original studio recording although you can barely tell the orchestra is there until the chorus hits. I’d like to point out how impressed I am at how much James’ voice held up in 1999.
We then go into Until it Sleeps from Load. The original clip for this song is actually one of my favorite Metallica videos. The S&M version leads in with a beautiful harmony. The ambiance of the violins and horns are a nice touch as the band rips into the chorus with tremendous feeling. James’ voice is really hyped for this song. Him quieting the crowd with “Shhhhh” at the end of the song to add symbolism is a nice touch.
The band then blares into an old classic, For Whom the Bell Tolls, which really gets the crowd pumped. James leads the crowd with the classic chanting of “Ay!” throughout the intro. The symphonies create the perfect ambiance complimenting the song. One of my favorites on S&M.
Now we get into a second unreleased track entitled -Human. This apparently was a b-side from the Black Album. While not as popular or engaging of a song as No Leaf Clover, it’s not a bad tune either. Violins and drums create the introduction for a neat little lead-in. To my knowledge, this song was never performed again after this recording and no other versions exist.
Now we get to Wherever I May Roam from the Black Album. I appreciate the little things from this version like drummer Lars Ulrich’s little drum intro to the final chorus and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett’s solos. The orchestra almost doesn’t factor in other than the neat intro replacing the opening guitar riff from the original.
The song The Outlaw Torn seems like a really odd choice from a distance. The song is the closing track off of Load and runs over nine minutes in length here. I’m not really a fan of the original or this version but I do like the harp that plays throughout so it has that going for it.
Now we go into more familiar territory with the Black Album classic, Sad But True. Nothing really special to note here. Just a really solid live rendition.
We then go into the only song from …And Justice For All to be included on this setlist in One. This song is probably the most appropriate to be backed by a symphony orchestra.
There’s no way a Metallica show is performed without the inclusion of Enter Sandman. I think the band wanted to see how fans would have reacted to one of their favorites being played with a backing symphony orchestra. The fans respond positively and sing along with James.
We close disc two and the entire record with Battery, the headbanging opening track from Master of Puppets. The symphony replaces the spanish guitar intro from the studio recording. Lars kills it on drums and James’ voice struggles but makes it to the very last note.
James, Kirk, Lars, and Jason say their goodbyes and the album ends.
Overall, a little more Load/Reload heavy for my tastes though it can be argued that those songs fit in better with an orchestra than something like say “The Four Horseman” but it would have been interesting to try. In the end, I think this is a solid live effort and the orchestra mostly enhances the tracks, not weakens them. If there is still criticism to this record, I hope those same people revisit it and see the true motives behind it.
