Metallica - S & M with the San
Francisco Symphony starring James
Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett,
Jason Newsted, Michael Kamen
A Great Experiment
Theres little doubt that this two-volume concert and documentary package
will appeal to die-hard Metallica lovers--given its more than three-hour
length (two and a half for the concert segment alone), the bands
predominantly white male fan base (repeatedly addressed as man by
singer-guitarist James Hetfield) will be--in fact already are--ecstatic. But
one wonders, especially given the erratic history of rock-cum-orchestra
experiments, whether S&M will win Metallica any new aficionados. The
fact is that the presence of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by composer Michael Kamen, adds texture but not much else of
significance to the Metallica sound. The band is so loud that it tends to
overwhelm even a 100-plus member orchestra; whats more, Metallicas
crunching, fist-pumping, riff-laden metal music lends itself less to genuine
orchestral adornment than to superfluous bombast. And while the sound
quality is excellent, its still basically just a filmed concert, with little in the
way of additional visual interest. Still, there are some cool moments, and
all involved are clearly having a great time. There are also two new
Metallica songs, No Leaf Clover and Minus Human. (Note: also available
is an edited version, sold at a slightly lower price, which corre sponds to the
popular PBS broadcast. The longer version carries an explicit content
advisory label, due to much casual profanity, especially in the making of
documentary.) --Sam Graham
Personal Review: Metallica - S & M with the San Francisco
Symphony starring James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett,
Jason Newsted, Michael Kamen
Say what you will about what late bassist Cliff Burton's attitude would have
been with regards to Metallica's artistic direction in the '90s, but he would
have certainly approved of this experiment with the San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra. As illustrated at one point in the entertaining 40-
minute documentary included with this release, Burton was an enthusiastic
fan of classical music, and the concert on these two DVDs is a great
example of how the two genres -- at first seemingly opposed -- can meld
instead of clash.
I'd like to take some time to review Sam Graham's review for Amazon.com,
showcased above. In it, Graham cites Metallica's fan base as being
predominately white and male. That's factually on-target; even the concert
footage confirms this. However, there are many female fans in the
audience as well, some in the front row no less -- not to mention millions of
female fans, then and now, all over the world. It demeans them to imply
they're nearly nonexistent. And here are certainly many fans who are not
white; why race even enters into Graham's review is a mystery, as is the
seeming offense at James Hetfield's calling the audience "man." It's called
a colloquialism.
As for Graham's assertion that the orchestra "adds texture but not much
else" to Metallica's sound, I beg to differ there as well, but only in regards
to certain songs. True, on some songs (mostly from the Load-ReLoad era),
there's not much the orchestra can do -- they offer some moments where
they just follow the guitars. 'Fuel' is an prime example of this. That song's
inclusion is strange, since it is essentially a song about going really fast in
a car, which is not something that lends itself to violins and a harp playing
in the background.
Where the orchestra really shines shows when the "old stuff" is performed.
One needs to only listen to the S&M version of 'Call of Ktulu' to see this
executed. Far more than "superfluous bombast",'Call of Ktulu' is the perfect
song for this concert. In the documentary, Hetfield mentions how members
of the orchestra were surprised to see such complex song arrangements
from a rock band (though he wasn't specific on the songs they meant, I
doubt they said it regarding 'Devil's Dance'), and it's during these
arrangements that the concert excels. The version of 'The Thing That
Should Not Be' here is even better than the version found on Master of
Puppets, almost to the point where you might feel like the band originally
intended an orchestra for the song. It's a real shame that other classic
Metallica songs like 'Fade to Black' and 'Sanitarium -- both of which would
certainly be enhanced by an orchestra -- didn't make it on the setlist.
Weirdly, Graham says the show is "...basically just a filmed concert, with
little in the way of additional visual interest." What sort of additional visual
interest did Graham envision? Explosions, maybe? That wouldn't be
practical, given where the concert took place. Everything else was done
that night to make the visual experience entertaining as well: the lighting
changes follow the mood of the songs (at one point during 'For Whom the
Bell Tolls', they shut off completely), there are multiple dynamic camera
angles (a few humorously close to the mic), so what else could have been
added? Furthermore, the DVDs allow for multi-angle views for select songs
-- follow the band member of your choice.
Graham has at least one part right: the sound quality is excellent. In
addition to the superb mix, the option exists for the viewer to virtually mute
either Metallica or the orchestra. This addition alone makes the purchase
worthwhile. If you'd like proof of the fallacy that the orchestra doesn't add
much, turn off Metallica for awhile (just a little while, of course). Hear for
yourself their contributions to the concert. And yes, Graham also correc tly
points out that most everyone filmed seems to be having a great time. It's
especially entertaining to see members of an orchestra, normally an
austere group, getting excited.
Basically: take Graham's review with heaps of salt. This DVD set is a
necessary addition to any Metallica fan's video library, and something that
can perhaps bring lovers of both metal and classical music to the same
room to actually enjoy a concert at the same time. (But not for long after.
Soon enough, the metal fan will want to talk about Ride the Lightning and
the classical fan will want to chat about Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and
the two will probably part ways.)
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