S&M - Metallica/Michael Kamen/San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Advantages: Old songs with a new twist
Disadvantages: not everones cup of Tea

...nothing else matters. S&M is a unique live approach taken by Metallica to push their music beyond the perceived image of a purely heavy metal band. After working with Metallica before and fresh from a project with Pink Floyd on "Division bell" Michael Kamen approached Mettalica with the idea of performing some of the their most well known songs live with a full symphony orchestra. Metallica deliver a powerful and stunning performance and Kamen ...
...a fan I never though were missing and add a special touch and a depth, complimenting the band so completely that just sets those hairs tingling up your spine. The concert, itself a rather low key affair, was recorded at the Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California between April 21st and 22nd 1999. The double CD album of this concert S& M was then released on November 23rd 1999. The combination of an world class orchestra and a powerful ... Read review

Advantages: An Amazing listen
Disadvantages: none

At first glance this may look like some sort of joke, but look closer and you will find a coplexed, imaginative audio revalation. Metallica team up for a gig with The san fransisco symphony orchestra to bring there fans a 2 cd complied with 20 songs witch include such tracks as Devils Dance, Outlaw torn and Master of Puppets. The album/Dvd opens with The Call Of Ktulu and what a fit this is for an orchestra who take thw song to new hights and keep ...
...the fact that there are TWO new songs in the set list, -Human and No Leaf Clover Both of witch see metallica showing the world yet again that althogh everyone seems to be thinking that the band are selling out due to a long wait for a new studio album and no news on one, they step up to the mark and deliver a pice of things yet to come, more suprises more mayhem and more from the quartet of definative metal. This is an AMAZING listen/watch to anyone, ... Read review

Advantages: The ultimate metal sound
Disadvantages: Doesn't leave much room for improvement

...had a full album. The S&M album. The sound is unbelievable. It simply generates such an atmosphere that it is very difficult not to just slip away and lose yourself in the music. 2 CD's worth of this are not to be sniffed at, and whilst the price range is anything from 10 to 20 pounds, a second hand CD shop should sell it to you for no more than a tenner. And it is worth it. Such an impressive metal band, such a talented composer and conductor, ... Read review

Advantages: Amazingly easy to listen to
Disadvantages: None at all.

When I first saw this album advertised, i honestly thought it wasn't a good idea. Take Metallica, probably the best metal act of all time, and add Michael Kamen; in my opinion, undoubtedly one of the best composers of all time. Throw it all together with The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and you've got perfection. Lars lives up to his name as the best rock drummer in history, and doesnt put a stick wrong in this epic masterpiece performance. ...
...by Kirk Hammett, added with James's epic, roaring voice makes this album perfect. This album is seriously good, and is by far the best performance Metallica have recorded to date. The tracks are deliverd as a semi-medly, with hardly any auidence noise throughout the album. Everyone that considers themselves a Metallica fan, or even a fan of the genre should buy this album as soon as possible. ... Read review

Advantages: The best of metallica, redone
Disadvantages: Too melodic for some peoples tastes, some tracks just don't feel right

Metallica's finest songs, all together on one double CD album, what could be better? Well for some fans this album was a bit of a letdown. The songs are still their in essence, but things have changed. The added orchestral support does make this entire album very melodic, and to be honest this really doesn't suit some Metallica songs, such as Fuel and Battery, in fact it completely slaughters them. It doesn't sound like metallica being true to who ...
...fan you will enjoy this album anyway. It does have to be said however, that since it is live, Hetfield's voice does sound a bit old and used, which doesn't help the feeling that Metallica is going down in a slow painful spiral. The two completely new tracks are good, but it has to be pointed out that they were wqritten with the orchestra in mind, and as a concequence fit together well but completely miss the Metallica - thrash/metal image. The guitar ... Read review

Advantages: See above.
Disadvantages: See above.

...This is the final album to be released on the Vertigo label after the recent parting of Jason Newstead from THE BAND. For some swansong work with the rest of Metallica, the fans rejoiced that this release was not just the same old hits bashed out unenergetically. OH NO. This is a CD where two very different musical styles met. On 'S&M', the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under direction by artiste,conductor and composer Michael Kamen worked with Metallica to bring a very different side to Metallica songs to the fore. Hits such as 'Enter Sandman' and 'Memory Remains' show a very different faucet to their sound. Kamen and the band worked very closely together on moods, arrangements, melodies, and counter rythms for the different parts of the orchestra. Kamen himself chose which songs to perform, many of which are fairly unexpected... Read review

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