Published on Jan 8, 2000
Somewhere, in the back of someone’s mind, this idea made sense.
Take Metallica, a band notorious for epic-styled songs and add a
complete symphonic orchestra. Then, allow them to crank out through
some of the San Francisco metal demigods’ material in front of
their hometown crowd. And, if that someone had spoken such things
out loud, most of us would have found this person insane. But
that’s genius for you…insane.
Of course, looking at it now, it does make a great deal of
sense. After all, of all the modern bands, Metallica has always had
a sense of grandness – of being massive and complex – in their
music. They did, after all, start their careers with lenghty opuses
(opi?) like “The Four Horsemen,” “Creeping Death” and “Master Of
Puppets”. Unlike some of their contemporaries, Metallica did have
the musical chops and the material to stand alongside a large
symphonic orchestra and mold their material into a new thing. That
is the premise and the result of this two-CD set.
(Quick sidebar: is it just me or has Metallica been releasing
nothing but two-CD sets this decade? Sure, there was the “Black
Album,” but then there was
Live Shit: Binge And Purge, the
Load/
Re-Load two-fer and the
Garage, Inc. pack. How about one album per two years, guys?
My wallet is thinning out!)
If the liner notes are correct, this was all composer/conductor
Michael Kamen’s idea. He had worked with the band on their
self-titled release, arranging “Nothing Else Matters.” From there,
he – who had arranged Aerosmith’s “Dream On” so that it could be
performed with an orchestra – formed the idea that Metallica with a
symphony made sense.
After he convinced the band to do it, he got the San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra and they all performed two shows out on the West
Coast. Taped for eternity, these shows were then arranged to form
S&M – which stands for sado-maso…oh wait, it’s for
Symphony & Metallica. (Whoops!)
Enough rambling, what about the music? Like I stated before,
Metallica always possessed this epicness in their music. It was
larger and bigger than anything else and the orchestra completely
and securely helps bring that out. Starting with the orchestra
playing “The Ecstasy Of Gold” (from Ennio Morriconne’s score to
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), the orchestra seems ready
and willing to give this a try.
From there, the band launches into “The Call Of Ktulu.” While
I’ve never been a big fan of their instrumentals – except for
“Anasthesia” – here you get to see what I mean. The orchestra
adds to the sound and makes “Ktulu” seem large and
other-wordly. “Nothing Else Matters” becomes soft and tender – a
change from what I was expecting. And “Wherever I May Roam” is just
cool as an open and somewhat Middle Eastern quality is mixed with
it.
In fact, the orchestra often lifts songs that I thought were
only decent from the mud. “The Memory Remains” becomes really cool
as both orchestra and audience follow Hetfield’s rhythm and vocal
leads. “Bleeding Me” becomes the large opus that the studio version
hinted at – but here it is far better. “The Outlaw Torn” also
follows “Bleeding Me” in becoming a large opus – but, and this is
just me, I would have preferred “Fixxxer” to this song.
At the same time, Hetfield’s vocals become somewhat weak in a
number of songs. “Of Wolf And Man” has some weak vocals, but band
and orchestra lift it and make the song interesting. It is also a
welcome change that they played this and not another hit song from
Metallica. “Sad But True” can also be counted on that
number, as does “Devil’s Dance” – which begins cool, but ends up
plodding through the end. However, don’t think that Hetfield does a
bad job. Other tracks like “One” and “Nothing Else Matters” feature
stronger performances by Hetfield – who isn’t just screaming the
lyrics. He’s actually singing them!
Along with the old songs, there are two new tracks – “No Leaf
Clover” and “- Human.” I am still not sure whether these were
leftovers from the
Metallica or
Load sessions or whether they were written specifically for
this experiment. While “- Human” does sound right out of
Load, I also know that Metallica isn’t really a band that
writes more material than it knows what to do with. In any case,
these songs seem to have been taken by Kamen and reworked, because
they sound the closest to the orchestral side. Whereas the other
songs rightfully feel like Kamen took parts of the song to
highlight, here the songs seem more in tune with the orchestra.
They’re both good, but I expect “No Leaf Clover” to be the longer
lasting.
Now, my main problem is not with the performances – each member
does as told and hits their marks rather well. Drummer Lars Ulrich
is amazingly subdued. Guitarist Kirk Hammett is able to deliver his
solos, while bassist Jason Newsted continues to serve as Hetfield’s
alter ego on backing vocals. Meanwhile, the orchestra and Kamen
follow their leaders quite diligently. Instead, my problem lies
with the song selection.
As you can see from the back cover, the majority of the songs
are from the “Black Album” and from the
Load/
Re-Load sessions. This, of course, brings my biggest
bone-to-pick: (*AHEM*) WHERE THE HELL IS “CREEPING
DEATH”?????????
You would think that the one song that seems tailor-made for
this sort-of event – “Master Of Puppets” notwithstanding – would be
found here. In fact, besides “Creeping Death,” I would have
preferred to have heard “…And Justice For All,” “Phantom Lord,”
“Fade To Black” or “Harvester Of Sorrow” instead of “Until It
Sleeps.” Note to the guys in Metallica: Didn’t like the studio
version, didn’t like the video, didn’t like the live version or the
demo version. How long before they realize this? Don’t tell me
that, out of all the songs in
Load, “Until It Sleeps” will be the one that lives on at
every concert. God help us!
Besides “Until It Sleeps,” I really have no problems with the
other selections – other than I would have preferred to have heard
some other songs than the ones we always hear at their concerts.
There’s nothing out of
Kill ‘Em All – probably because the orchestra would have
died playing through “Hit The Lights” or “Seek And Destroy.”
(Although they do one heck of a job on “Battery.”) The band sticks
to playing their biggest songs and newest hits, which prevents this
album from becoming the ultimate compilation we would have liked. I
mean, pick some other songs. Alongside the ones I mentioned above,
they could have had some of the new songs like “Where The Wild
Things Are” or “Mama Said” or “Through The Never.” Something other
than the same tracks we hear all the time.
Oh well, it’s only a minor complaint.
Now, don’t let that small rant make you think I hated this
album, because I do not. Overall,
S&M succeeds in doing right what it sets out to do. It’s
a new twist on the songs and it’s fun. Listen to “Fuel” or “For
Whom The Bell Tolls.” The band AND the orchestra are enjoying this.
More importantly, the audience is enjoying the concert. They sing
and chant the lyrics with passion – perhaps the loudest I’ve ever
heard an audience be on a live CD.
Overall, if you’ve ever wondered what these four Bay Area boys
were all about, this is as good a CD to pick as any. While it was
made more with the diehard fans in mind, it is easily accessible
and enjoyable. Even my brother – Celine Dion’s number 17 fan –
likes it, so it’s that good. All that stands to be answered is
whether or not these guys wille ever do it again. Ulrich promises
it so at the very end of “Battery” and it would be interesting to
see this again – maybe a few years down the road.