S&M - Metallica

Advantages: endless dimensions added to songs, all your classics...only better!
Disadvantages: nothing.

...years, but again the S&M version made it even more special to me. The music sounded more distorted and atmospheric, which was perfect for the imagery in this song. The added vocal treats Hetfield did was great and at the end he does like this wolf call thing, which was so cool and it was reflected with the roar of the audience. The live element really did make this song even more powerful and emotional, which you feel instantly when the strong drum ...
...'NO LEAF CLOVER' - is one of those 'new' songs, along with human, which is only featured on this album. I was initially wary, because I was deeply disappointed with 'I want to disappear' on the MI2 soundtrack. But this is a great song! It is really complex and have so many messages in it. The use of the language suggests death coming towards you, but with the description of 'like a freight train coming your way', suggests that death will hit you ... Read review

Advantages: Old classics sound even sexier
Disadvantages: none

...and because of this, the S&M version of this song far exceeds even the force and ruggedness of the original. Track Time: 8.54 4/ ?Of Wolf And Man? is the song that links the old school Metallica, with the new look, new sound Metallica. Taken from the Metallica self titled, or also known as ?The Black Album?, this is again a progression through the ages, and of course through the maturity of the band?s music, as they started with age to rely on the ...
...the perfect complementation to the S&M album. The track sounds far better on this album than it did on ?The Black Album?. The orchestral content of the song adds depth to the instrumental side, and as with all of the tracks, with only the exception of the newer songs taken from the ?Load? and ?Reload? albums, the maturity of Hetfield?s voice adds even more depth to the vocals. Track Time: 4.18 5/ ?The Thing That Should Not Be? takes us back to the ... 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 ...
...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. The 'S&M' CD itself was originally performed to a live concert hall audience, the video and DVD of which gives testimony ... Read review

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...monster of a jam session. S&M is the result of that meeting - and a damn fine album it is too. ~~The Tracks~~ ~~Disc 2~~ (reviewed first because it is infinitely better than Disc 1) ~Nothing Else Matters(Metallica)~ Whoever told Metallica that they should create a ballad should have been shot at dawn...without the blindfold option. Nothing Else Matters is Metallica’s first ballad, from the ‘Black’ album, and whilst not being the ...
...of the best tracks on S&M - absolutely superb. ~Fuel(Reload)~ A high-octane track is given an extra injection of adrenaline in the collaboration seen here. Pacey strings, accompanies Metallica’s own thrashy guitars and rasping vocals to throw Fuel on the fire ~The Memory Remains(ReLoad)~ It strikes me when writing this review, just how weak the first CD in this double album actually is. The Memory Remains is yet another off of the ReLoad album ... Read review

Advantages: Familiar songs with a new twist
Disadvantages: A couple don't work to well

Where exactly James, Lars and Co. got the idea to do this I don’t know (Well, actually I do – Conductor Michael Kamen contacted the band and suggested it) – but I’m glad they did. It’s very rare that a live album manages to capture the energy of the actual performance but Bob Rock, the producer, has managed it. Metallica, not reputed for being the fastest writer’s of songs even managed to pen two new songs to play with the orchestra. In the main ...
...songs. For Whom the Bell Tolls and Call of The Ktulu being particularly good examples. With Fuel and Until It Sleeps (Despite a promising intro) coming off worse with the orchestra. The two new songs, No Leaf Clover and Minus Human (- Human) are both fantastic, especially compared to most of the tracks of ReLoad. I only wish I could have been there to watch it myself, though now they finally got round to releasing a DVD of the concert I will get ... Read review