S & M

Actually, this was the first CD I purchased from Metallica because a prog friend of mine told me that this album is definitely prog. He mentioned that anyone who listens to this album would change his / her perception about Metallica. As I was not familiar with the music of Metallica, I bought this double CD album based on his recommendation. He's right, this album is totally progressive symphonic in its best. I was astonished by the first two tracks and in fact I did play them many times without even continuing to the next track because I was already satisfied with these two tracks. It blew me away at first spin of the CD. In fact, I then purchased the DVD of this live concert and made me totally satisfied with how great the heavy metal music blended beautifully with symphonic orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen.

By the time I am writing this review, I got only familiar with two albums of Metallica, i.e. ".And Justice for All" and "Black" album, plus a bit of "Master of Puppets" from Dream Theater version, instead of Metallica original recording. So, you can imagine that I am really newbie in Metallica. In fact, until now I have not heard the original version of the first two tracks "The Ecstasy of Gold" and "The Call of Ktulu" which blew me away at first listen.

Symphonic Orchestra at par excellent with Yes Symphonic

Combining orchestra and rock music has not been something new for me as I first knew it through Jon Lord's Window and Deep Purple Concerto for Group and Orchestra and later there was also Yes Symphonic. If you refer to my review in Yes Symphonic, I remember that I put full five star rating. So is the case with this "S & M" by Metallica. Both albums share similar style, i.e. combining rock music with symphonic orchestra, performed live. The major difference is the fact that Yes music is by nature already symphonic while Metallica is pure metal band with no symphonic touch. So that what makes me amused to this album by Metallica because Michael Kamen has demonstrated his brilliant talent putting together what best of orchestra music with what it can synergize with the heavy side of rock music. I really admire his genius in making such great blend like this live set.

All tracks performed here are excellent, even though I am not that familiar with the original version. Metallica still can perform their music loudly while Michael Kamen works his way to find where in the musical segments that he can intervene his brilliant orchestral work and everything sounds truly great to me. I cannot find any track that is lackluster here. It's probably the original version is not good but when the orchestra arrangement is added, it sounds truly great. I really enjoy this album. If you are not familiar with the loud and heavy nature of Metallica, follow my recommebdation: you should start with "The Ecstasy of Gold" (2:31) which serves as an overture of the concert. You can find here the grandiose composition dominated by orchestral maneuver by Kamen with great live vibes. The opening part of "The Call of Ktulu" (9:34) is really catchy and it might make tears flowing down from your eyes. The combination of string arrangement and Hammet's guitar fills is truly catchy and you can not deny that this is great piece of music with soft touch. When it enters minute 1:01 the bass guitar and drums start to roll with the music and it flows beautifully augmented with really nice string arrangements. The crowd shout creates great live vibes. The music moves in crescendo and it sounds louder and heavier. It's about time you put your amplifier's volume in louder position to get full subtleties of the music. Oh my God . I am totally nggeblak! man ..!!! This is really a greaaaaaaat instrumental piece of all time! The guitar solo by Hammett and Hetfield are great. I love the guitar solo at approximately minute 4:20. It's really stunning! Kirk Hammet rules! The next track "Master of Puppets" (8:55) is also great!

Overall, this is the same standard of Yes Symphonic and I cannot afford not to give five stars rating - a masterpiece of symphonic and metal work! Keep on proggin' .!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)

Oddly, this was one of the first 'Tallica albums I bought. I was such a newbie on metal by that time. It was 6 or 7 years ago I bought my first Metallica album (and my first album EVER), and it was... the extremely critizised, destroyed, blasphemous (for many, but not for me) St. Anger. That proves the influence a music channel like MTV can have on a child like me, by that time. Obviously, I loved the album, then I got back to Load and then bought this live album, not really knowing what I was going to get. S&M was the gateway to 80s 'Tallica, and that's why this album had a huge impact on me. I listened for the first time to absolute classics, like the concert opener, the instrumental The Call Of Ktulu, the all time classic Master Of Puppets, One, and of course the well-known hit Enter Sandman. Someone told me there was a close connection between metal and classical music. When I heard that, I really couldn't believe it, I thought it was the most un-classical music you can find (I was a rookie too). Right now, this album is the best example of that close connection: the Thrash masters played with a big orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen, who managed to fit very, very well with the songs. Big examples of this can be the instrumental opener, MoP, or the One intro. Oh, and how can I forget Nothing Else Matters. Even on the rockiest moments, the orchestra doesn't seem out of place (Fuel). After this album, I bought all the studio recordings and realised the repertoire here is great, and well balanced (I know many would prefer an 80s based concert, but it's a great for me, since I like very much the 90s 'Tallica too!). It would be useless to say the band sounds very tight and they play perfectly, the same versions than the sudio, with the enrichment provided by the orchestra. The production is top notch, it's so clear, one of the greatest live productions I've heard so far.

Overall, S&M was a seminal album for me, and it's a damn great live album that could serve as a good introduction to all the spectrum of Metallica music. Four stars, without a doubt.

Rating: 4.1/5

S&M means Symphony & Metallica. When people hear Metallica and Symphony in the same sentence, they might be a little confused. But it's true, they teamed up with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen, to make one of their best live shows ever. This is best compilations of Metallica songs ever put together, they covered songs from all albums except kill'em all, and added 2 new songs No Leaf Clover and Human.

Metallica has used The Ecstasy of Gold as the introductory music for its concerts since 1983, and again the show with it. Played perfectly by San Francisco Symphony is the best way to start live show. After intro, an incredible instrumental song The Call of Ktulu sounds like it is made to be played with symphony. After years of listening it sounds only better and better. Next song is named Master of Puppets classic of thrash metal, now sounds completely different. There are another 8 great songs on CD 1 which all need to be heard.

CD 2 Starts with best ever performance of Nothing Else Matters, must be heard. Other essential songs on CD2 are: 10 min long Outlaw Torn , and then last three songs are the cream of album starting with my favorite version of One. It opens with same war sounds that it does on the original version, then the violins really set the mood. The orchestra is keeping the sound all the way through.Next is famous Enter Sandman, And finally Battery concludes the show.

This album is a masterpiece that mixes classical music with metal, music you must hear.

This album had the potential to be really good but unfortunately was not. Don't get me wrong, Metallica is my favorite band, but I don't see how this is prog. The idea of having a symphony back up Metallica was an excellent idea, but ended up not succeeding. The main reason this album isn't very good is because the setlist is horrible. Over half of the songs are from 1996-onward. The only songs worth listening to are The Call of Ktulu, Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Sad But True, Enter Sandman, One, and Battery. That is only eight out of twenty-one. Hardly worth buying the whole album. I recommend just buying the MP3s of those songs. (I got the album for free, save for corrupted files of No Leaf Clover and Battery.) One positive thing is that the instrumentation, by Metallica and the symphony, is exceptional. James' voice sounds great, and although Kirk's soloing is his newer technique of using lots of wah pedal, it still sounds good. Even though this is not an album I'd recommend to proggers it is one I recommend to Metallica fans, just because it adds a new twist to old songs. (Note: this album does have two previously unheard songs, -Human and No Leaf Clover.)

Metallica with orchestra, not a bad combination at all!

This is a very popular band that came to my ears since i was a little kid, because it is my uncle's favourite band so i used to go out with him a lot and of course most of the time we listened to Metallica, they have never been one of my favourite bands, not at all, but someday they made great music and some of their songs will be held in my mind forever. Well so i remember vividly i was very keen with their newest album which happened to be a live album, but not just that, but a live album with a symphonic orchestra, so i was curious to know what was it about and bought the album in the week it was released here in Mexico.

And i was happy with it, nowadays i can say i enjoy listening to this album, though i dont really do it that frequently, but i believe the inclusion of the orchestra was a great and correct decision, something kind of new to the old thrash metal band, a soft and classical sound included in their fast and aggressive music, was a nice combination, in my humble point of view, and you know, i am not the best metal follower around here, so that may be a reason why i liked the album, due to the symphonic orchestra sound.

So besides the previously said, what you will find in this double CD live album released in 1999 is a performance of most of the better known Metallica songs played of course by them, as they use to do it, accompannied with an orchestra led by Michael Kamen and offering more than 2 hours of their music.

The first album CD is opened with a intro of a song from The Good, The bad and The Ugly performed by the orchestra, and leading to the beginning of Metallica's music with of my favourite songs, The Call of Ktulu which is instrumental, and then to the surprise of the people they follow with Master of Puppets one of the best songs they have created, so the concert's beginning is actually a bomb, excellent, after those songs you can foresee a great concert.

Well some other great moments or favourite songs from that first cd are The Thing that SHould not Be, Memory Remains or the last one Bleeding Me, they also included two unreleased tracks, the first one in this CD, No Leaf Clover.

And the second CD, opens with Nothing Else Matters, you know, a catchy song and my favourite moments are For Whom the Bell Tolls, One and Battery, honestly i prefer much more the first CD, here there are moments where i get bored, but after all it is a nice second cd.

So it's a very good live album, for Metallica fans, a must having, for beginners, also a nice recommendation, and for prog fans, it may be nice to have one more album in your collection, prog moments here are minimum.

My rating would be 4 stars, but in this site, i think 3 are good enough.

Enjoy it!!

'S & M' - Metallica (4/10)

The idea of having Metallica's generally raw and energetic music combined with an entire symphonic orchestra is an amazing concept, to say the least. In theory, the added dimension would shed a whole new light on the music the band composed and created.

For the most part, it failed to meet much of my high expectation, which is a real shame, because something really amazing could have been done here.

For starters; while Michael Kamen is undeniably a musical prodigy as far as arranging and conducting goes, alot of the symphonic arrangements here really don't do much to make the songs better, they just overlap a bit thoughtlessly, except for the occasional moment of brilliance, such as the gorgeous opening to 'Battery.'

While I've never been a fan of James Hetfield in any capacity, he really seems to bug me here. His vocal inflections and constant addiction to throwing in a 'hell yeah!' into every break gets on my nerves. Some may constrew that as being 'showmanship,' but it doesn't pass me as being any more than irritating, and it really seems to make the performance lose some of the class it could have had.

While I can understand that the live performance was recorded during the bands 'Load/Reload' period, I wish there could have been less songs from those albums here. Symphonic touch- ups do not make for a good replacement in contrast to good songwriting.

There are some good parts on the album though. The epic 'One,' 'Battery,' and 'Master Of Puppets' are all done well. The highlight of the album would probably be the instrumental 'Call Of Ktulu,' which actually works suprisingly well with orchestration.

Despite the high-points, it's not great, and while I am very tempted to give it three stars, there's far too much dissapointment here to warrant it. If you're looking for something along these lines (rock/metal infused with symponic orchestra) then turn to Pain of Salvation's 'Be' record or Nightwish's 'Dark Passion Play.'

This could have been so much better... Like many great concepts, this one is executed poorly.

Probably one of the worst ideas ever.

Why the holy squirrel did Metallica do this horrible collaboration with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra ? Was it their desire for respectability and acknowledge as musicians ? In that case; they missed the boat. Both Master Of Puppets and Justice For All is better pieces of music than the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra has ever done in their lives. Metallica has nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of.......with the exception of this turkey.

The music on this turkey/album/torture instrument is a mix of fire & water. Between the orchestra and Metallica. It does not work at all. The mix of fire & water = fog. Very thick fog, in fact. Two and one quarter full of cringeworthy listening. Nothing here has any musical value. It is just cringeworthy and nausea like. The orchestra is supposed to fill in where the guitars and bass leaves spaces. Instead; they just occupies the spaces which makes Metallica at their best so great: The understatements and open spaces in their music.

The result is thick fog which does not make any sense whatsoever. It is snobbery without any substanse. It is a waste of everyone's time. It is a clash between two cultures who are perfectly fine without having to have illicit fornication with each other. It is one of the worst ever ideas the music scene has spawned during the last one hundred years. It is a turkey without the feathers. It deserve to be put out of it's misery. Hence my generous use of stars.

1 star

Even though Metallica took a lengthy break from studio albums it didn't mean they where completely inactive towards the end of the '90s. Their 1998 cover-compilation titled Garage Inc. was a pretty uninspired release that still managed to sell a hefty chunk of copies, proving to the investors that the Metallica brand still had a big selling potential.

The idea of combining a symphony orchestra with a Metal band has been around for quite some time and finally came to fulfillment in 1999 where Metallica performed with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The performance of this live event was carefully documented as both a video concert but also as live release simply titled Symphony and Metallica, more known for its semi-perverted abbreviation S & M.

I was really hyped about this live release because I hoped that playing with an orchestra would spark new creativity in Metallica which unfortunately has been missing for more than a decade. After listening to this album for the first time I could already spot what the basic problem with it was; Metallica should have gone for more of their earlier energetic songs instead of spreading out the repertoire between all the albums. This is especially noticeable when the band leans towards the ballads since the orchestral arrangements there only try to increase the momentum of those compositions instead of adding new exciting arrangements like they so masterfully did on compositions like Master Of Puppets or Battery.

The great song structures of the band's early material seemed to be a real treat for Michael Kamen and his staff to arrange since they clearly made those songs spark more than the material from Black Album, Load or Reload. Or maybe it's just because the later albums are not as orchestra-friendly? As the result of my critique I only truly enjoyed three songs on this release while the rest wobbled somewhere in the good and semi-decent territory.

I'm sure that people who usually aren't big fans of Metallica could get into this album more than the classic era fans since ballads like Nothing Else Matters sound cheesier than ever here. As for me, I definitely don't dislike Symphony and Metallica but don't consider it a great live album either.

***** star songs: The Call Of Ktulu (9:34) Master Of Puppets (8:55) Battery (7:25)

**** star songs: The Ecstasy Of Gold (2:31) The Thing That Should Not Be (7:27) Fuel (4:36) The Memory Remains (4:42) No Leaf Clover (5:43) Bleeding Me (9:02) Nothing Else Matters (6:47) Until It Sleeps (4:30) For Whom The Bell Tolls (4:52) Outlaw Torn (9:59) One (7:53) Enter Sandman (7:39)

*** star songs: Of Wolf And Man (4:19) Hero Of The Day (4:45) Devil's Dance (5:26) -Human (4:20) Wherever I May Roam (7:02) Sad But True (5:46)

Metallica - S&M (1999)

I'm quite surprised by the negative comments on this album on PA. This is the most progressive record Metallica made and also the most symphonic (perhaps the only symphonic). Metallica plays there best of accompanied by this big orchestra that sounds amazing! The recording of this live album is very good. Some might argue that the band is a bit blown away by the orchestra, but I think it's a reasonable mix.

For this album a score was written over the original Metallica tracks that influence the mood of the songs quite much. Most passages sound more bombastic, more melodic and the boring metal passages (some might disagree) are filled up with great melodic lines of the orchestra. The vocals of Hatfield are perfect and the other band-members play very good too.

Now, this album isn't totally perfect. I'm willing to say that there are perhaps three less interesing songs. The big problem is however the totally mistaked composition of the orchestra's score on the second cd. On tracks like For Whom the Bell Tolls, Sad but True and Enter Sandman among other the orchestra kind of distorts the songs and make them un- interesting. The main themes and rhythms aren't followed and the cohesiveness is low. But hey, still most of the material is very wel arranged. On cd 1 and Nothing Else Matters, One and Battery of cd 2 the arrangements of the orchestra are very very good. I'd even say Amazing.

This prestigious live album of Metallica is my favorite of the band and I do think this has been a good project. Cd one is very strong and cd two has some more great material (and some weaker material). The sound is great, the composition of the orchestra's score inventive and on most songs it's a great addition to the rough songs. Four and a halve stars well deserved! Recommended to fans of the symphonic metal genre, and perhaps the fans of the symphonic rock genre who can't usually appriciate metal will find this to be an oasis.

This is the ultimate exercise in excess, to marry Metallica with a Symphony orchestra.

It has been done before of course with Deep Purple and other metal acts. It is almost becoming a cliche of late with many bands taking up the idea including Kiss, Within Temptation, Dream Theater and Therion. Non metal acts have done it such as Camel, Yes and ELP. The weird thing about it is these orchestral and rock marriages always work for me. I love to hear that massive orchestral sound with the crunching distortion of guitars. To hear a violin sweep across when you expect a guitar solo is bliss to my ears.

It is refreshing to hear music you love played in a different way. And Metallica do it so well. Master of Puppets is more dramatic than ever. The Thing That Should Not Be is incredible. The Memory Remains sounds iconic with audience participation. Nothing Else Matters is absolutely stunning. For Whom the Bell Tolls sounds very Gothic with the sweeping violins, and the song One is a masterpiece with the orchestral accompaniment.

None of the songs are less heavy, they are rather augmented to majestic heights. Watching this concert live is an even better experience of course but this is still very listenable, and perhaps a pinnacle of the group's existence. Soon after it all turned sour as we know, but it is so great to see Metallica at the height of their powers as we do in S & M. The progressive sound is great too with the orchestra, I don't know why there are haters of this album, it really is a fantastic achievement by all involved. It should not have worked but it does!

"S&M" is a live album release by US rock/metal act Metallica. The album was released in November 1999 through Elektra/Vertigo. It´s quite a massive release containing two CDs, both of which feature over an hour of music. "S&M" is not your "regular" live album release with the band playing in front of a cheering audience. On this release Metallica have teamed up with composer/conducter Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to perform a hybrid metal/symphony orchestra version of some of the group´s most popular compositions. In addition to featuring select songs from all studio albums spanning "Ride the Lightning (1984)" through "ReLoad (1997)", "S&M" also features two new compositions in "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human" and "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone. The latter composition has been used as intro to Metallica´s shows for many years and appear here in an orchestral version that also works as an intro. The album was recorded on April 21?22, 1999 at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California.

The merging of rock/metal group and symphonic orchestra has been done before, but I guess Metallica couldn´t pass on the opportunity when they were presented with the idea. And it´s easy to understand why. Hearing your own compositions accompanied by a symphonic orchestra isn´t something that happens every day. Not even for a band like Metallica.

The result is a mixed bag though. Metallica deliver a decent performance, but as usual James Hetfield couldn´t hit a clean note if it came up and bit him in the ass. His performance here is sloppy and unfocused. The merging of rock/metal band and symphony orchestra doesn´t work very well either. Most of the time it sounds like the band playing their thing and the orchestra having a completely different agenda, playing some film score thing that doesn´t go very well with what the band plays. it´s especially bad in the older more thrashy tracks while the orchestra fit sligthly better on the more recent material. Overall the orchestra is a major distraction though and an even bigger power killer. The sound quality saves the album slightly but it´s not enough to make me smile.

Over two hours of music that I can barely stand to listen to is a bit much and the length of the album does end up having an impact on my rating along with the unfitting mix of metal and symphonic film score music and the awful vocal performance by James Hetfield. I almost always try to find something positive to write about a release, but other than the pretty good production values, I can´t for the life of me find anything positive to say about "S&M". This is just another example of the fact that Metallica at this point had run completely dry of original ideas and had to resort to projects like this to still get attention. I think I´m being generous when I hand out a 2 star rating.

8/10

The idea of combining two elements as opposites - one Metallica and the orchestra - is as shocking as its result: a work that works! S & M is where the album was recorded all this, the joining of forces of these mega-stars of heavy metal with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the late Michael Kamen. As a young man in the universe started this band I can say I am very pleased (and now I must leave for their studio albums and compare the original versions of songs with those presented here). The highlights on disc 1 are due to the first three songs - especially The Call of Ktulu, which can overcome the fantastic original version and deservedly won the Grammy for best instrumental song! - and Hero of the Day, while on disc 2 has the highlights Nothing Else Matters and One. 4 stars!

In my youth I was a huge Metallica fan and liked almost every album. Over the years, they ceased to rock me like they did but one album will forever stand out: Symphony & Metallica!

Although they might not be very interesting and successful in terms of progmusic, they definately created some almost proggy songs across their career.

As if they wanted to keep up with the complexity of a symphony orchestra, the setlist contains not only their best but also their most complex songs!

This mixture is just pure extacy! All songs sound much much better than on any studio or other live-album. The orchestra adds the missing epicness and gentle interplay and James voice sounds better than ever! For me, this is the ESSENCE and Zenith of Metallica!

After 10 years, this Masterpiece is still one of my most favourite albums of all time!

Highly recommended!!

Behind Between The Buried And Me's "Parallax II: Future Sequence", "S&M" is one of the greatest metal albums that's ever graced my ears.

Not necessarily because of the music itself, but the way that it's approached.

Let's back up then: Cliff Burton, Metallica's bassist who passed away in 1986, always loved the possibility of combining classical music with heavy metal. After all, it makes sense. Just today I saw another article on a study showing that both classical and heavy metal listeners have almost identical personalities, with emotional release being the key feature in both genres. Always looking to do something like that, the group looked at Deep Purple's Concerto For Group And Orchestra from 1969 and decided, "hey, let's do something like that!".

And honestly, I'm glad they did. I'm a fan of Metallica's music, but from an emotional perspective, it's never done much. Thrash metal really just doesn't in general (even though thrash metal fans will now chastise me for saying Metallica and "thrash metal" in the same sentence. Calm down, ladies, I'm trying to make a point). But the incorporation of, not just an orchestra backdrop, but music specifically COMPOSED to accompany these tracks is frankly, pure genius. The man behind the genius, Michael Kamen, wasn't known as a composer, rather a conductor for the San Fran symphony, but since he also did a similar thing with Roger Waters' performance of "The Wall" in Berlin roughly 8 months after the actual wall fell, this wasn't his first rodeo.

And frankly, it's just a stroke of emotional genius. Opening with Morricone's infamous "Ecstasy Of Gold" may be a bit cliche, but it all makes sense with "Call Of Ktulu". Immediately the orchestra presence is known, and adds a crucial extra dimension to what otherwise would've been a straightforward thrash instrumental. The big breakdown section before the main guitar theme reprises doesn't sound very epic in studio. With the orchestra, it sounds like god damn trailer music. The show has literally just started and I'm giddy like a little schoolgirl.

And then once "Master Of Puppets" starts, forget it, I've died and gone to heaven. It's a completely different song. The riffs might be the same, the lyrics are still the same, but the song is completely different. This isn't just an old school mugging in the back parking lot. This is now a battle for the fate of the universe waging high above the planet.

To briefly recap why adding orchestral backing to music is a good thing, let's just summarize to this. Basically, it adds depth to an otherwise stale product. I always use the analogy of adding condiments, lettuce , onions and pickles (orchestra) to a burger (metal). It doesn't mean one overpowers the other, but rather, done correctly, both are enhanced by feeding on each others' unique qualities. The orchestra sounds badass with with some grunt from the metal band, while the metal band feels like they're in an action movie and as a result, the music they make is going to be better.

Another interesting thing I love about this album is James Hetfield's both performance and just overall attitude. Luckily, on a special recording such as this, his voice is perfect, the sound quality is bang on, and the production couldn't be any better. Both the band and every single instrument in the orchestra can be heard, even the far away mallet percussion (go xylos!). Hetfield also just sounds like he's having fun. Considering the gigantic undertaking something like this, you'd expect a bit of pressure on the frontman. Well if there was, you certainly don't hear it. I personally love the "OH YEAH!'s and other little quips during the songs. It shows he's having fun, he's engaging with an audience that's clearly engaged. Both sides win, and no sides lose. It's a win-win, for everyone.

But really, the orchestra makes everything better. "Of Wolf And Man" on Metallica's self-titled sounds probably the grungiest thing on that album. On "S&M", it sounds like music you hear when that really hot chick gets brutally decapitated in that cliched horror movie. It's goddamn terrifying. That dissonance from the high-pitched strings instantly changes the tone and adds that extra element of emotion.

And the beauty is that the orchestra is flexible with each track. "Fuel" is action-movie soundtrack material, a meathead of a good time, as I call it, but it actually makes some of the post-90's Metallica actually sound good! "Until It Sleeps" has a nice interesting, Eastern-culture influence, while "Bleeding Me" and "Outlaw Torn" sound more like stories worthy of concept album status. Literally you could probably use every single song on this album as music for a movie trailer. It's that powerful.

The two original tracks premiered, "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human" were specifically composed for this occasion, and sound it. They're not the biggest production ever (I mean, apart from the use of a full-fledged orchestra), but these weren't written to prove that Metallica had sold out. No, these tracks were written because a) they could and b) they were special little treats that, frankly, wouldn't have sounded good in any other setting or environment.

In short, very few tracks are overlooked, and the ones that are just not very good songs in general (i.e. "Hero Of The Day"), but I do love the fact they ended with some big guns at the end. "Sad But True", "One", "Enter Sandman" and "Battery" makes for an epic close, especially "Battery". Of all the expectations that had been surpassed when listening to this album, I didn't think they could make "Battery" much more epic than the original version, but holy crap, Kamen and the SFO had one last surprise in store, and they did not disappoint.

VERDICT: I know, you're probably thinking "Well, just adding an orchestra doesn't necessarily make it prog". Prog, no. Progressive, yes. You see, adding orchestras makes everything better. It creates a spectacle. McCartney. Fleetwood Mac. Deep Purple. Pink Floyd. Every single one of their projects that involve full orchestras just sound amazing. It just adds that something special that some people just can't describe. To me, it adds texture, it intensifies emotion, heightens sensitivity. It almost seems like it adds on a second story to the one being heard through the lyrics of the original song. No, the timing wasn't always perfect between band and orchestra, but frankly, the music sounds so goddamn badass, it really didn't matter.

Yes, there are quite a few bands since that have incorporated orchestras significantly into their music (gothic bands like Nightwish, Epica and others, [Damnation Angels]), but for some reason, there still isn't as much drama, this much goofy spectacle, this much useless pomp and circumstance just for the sheer fun of it. This album is just awesome, fun and plain awesome.

I also understand that people don't like Metallica, but seriously, if not one song on this track turned up loud got you feeling good, then honestly, you need to see a doctor, because something's wrong with you. And if you disagree with me on this, well, you're wrong.

When it was first revealed that Metallica's next endeavor would involve playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, I can only imagine the disgust and doubt that crept into the minds of fans. After the divisive 'Load' and 'Reload' albums, and the covers album 'Garage Inc.' (none of which were likely to convert anyone), most people must have thought Metallica had lost their minds to consider playing with an orchestral ensemble.

Thankfully, Metallica proved them all wrong.

This album is great! Not only does it highlight the progressive elements in Metallica's music, but also how adaptable it can be to other genres. It's really hard to visualize what Metallica's music would sound like with a symphony backing it, but the orchestra, conducted by world-renowned Michael Kamen, take the band's songs and make their own arrangements and compositions from them, blending the two with ease to create an all-out attack on the senses.

Featuring pretty much all of their big hits, the band come across as stronger than ever. The musicianship is of a high standard, and some would argue that James Hetfield's vocals are at their absolute peak. And two new songs, '-Human' and 'No Leaf Clover', show that, at a time when the band leaned more towards hard rock than metal, they could still go toe-to-toe with some of the heaviest bands the genre has to offer.

I don't really have any major complaints with 'S&M', although, if I can indulge in a bit of nitpicking (everyone's a critic at heart), there are one or two songs I'd have maybe left out in place of an alternative. For example, 'The Thing That Should Not Be' does nothing for me, and where the hell is 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)'?! Still, all the classics are here, with songs like 'Master of Puppets', 'Battery', 'One' and 'Bleeding Me' never sounding heavier.

In all honestly however, I've never really been too big on live albums, preferring the crisp and polished production of a studio recording, so this being a studio album would have been a huge plus for me. But still, it's fantastic none-the- less, and definitely as essential to any music collection as the bands earlier output.