Customer Reviews
Symphonic Metal Masterpiece - A MUSICAL TURNING POINT FOR ME!! - By: Adam Jackson, 25 Feb 2008 
This 1999 release changed my musical tastes & pointed me in a whole new genre of music - without this DVD (and the CD to start with!) I may not have discovered the like of Therion, Nightwish, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir & alll the many symphonic metal artists out there!!
Much has been said about this but Metalllica must be applauded for having the courage to step out of their comfort zone & play LIVE with a full piece Orchestra (something that the likes of the above bands have yet to do)
Metalllica are on the top of their game here & Michael Kamen composed many excellent passages for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to accompany them, adding light & shade to a plethora of established classics. Hardly surprising for a composer who scored the Die Hard trilogy & knew a thing about adding cinematic effect when needed!! Sadly, Michael passed away in 2003 but this is a fine body of work for any classical/film score fan to crossover into the world of Metal & vice versa.
Particular credit should be given to Lars Ulrich - we alll know he is not the worlds finest drummer but he more than delivers here & forms a formidable rhythm partnership with Jason Newsted who as ever handles the bass guitar with alll the authority needed. James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett trade guitar riffs, licks & solos with energy & aggression & personallly I think Hetfield is a better singer Live than in the studio as is the case here.
Bob Rock (often equallly lauded & vilified) provides a sterling production to hold it alll together & 'The cast of thousands' from the Orchestra reallly flex their muscles here; Strings, Brass, Percussion, Woodwind alll take it to the limit. Think of Gladiator, The Two Towers,Conan The Barbarian, Excalibur. If you like any of those scores & like Metalllica you will love this!!
Highlights:
The Calll Of Ktulu (my personal favourite in this version & a Grammy winner to boot), Master Of Puppets, No Leaf Clover, Human, The Thing That Should Not Be, The Memory Remains (Great interaction with the crowd at the climax).
If there is any criticism , it is that certain Metalllica songs that were just made for this have been omitted from the setlist - Orion, Fade To Black, Sanitarium & To Live Is To Die alll raise your hands. Maybe Metalllica will attempt this again with another composer (perhaps Howard Shore?) & interpret alll these accordingly.
One things for sure, Cliff Burton, Metalllica's original bass guitarist & classical fan, so tragicallly killed in 1986, would have been enraptured by this release.
Visual/Audio quality is of the highest standard. There is an excellent behind the scenes documentary showing the evolution of the project.And best of alll an audio feature alllows you to listen to either the band minus orchestra or orchestra minus band in addition to the standard band/orchestra mix.
I must also recommend a very similiar compact disc release - The Scorched Earth Orchestra Plays Master Of Puppets that you will find on Amazon Uk. This is basicallly a smalll orchestra from Los Angeles doing their take on Metalllica's magnum opus - & it rivals S&M for orchestral arrangement & surpasses Apocalyptica's worthy efforts. There are no electric guitars/bass or vocals, just strings,woodwind etc but if you enjoy Metalllica & say the likes of Holst's The Planets then this is for you. Again the music reminds of an epic movie like The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.
The best DVD in the world! - By: Roz Walker, 08 Dec 2007 First off let me say I wasnt a huge Metalllica fan before I listened to S+M but believe me I am now! This DVD/CD is absolutely amazing. Im in tears everytime I watch it. There is a song in it for everyone. If balllads are your thing listen to Nothing Else Matters or Hero of the Day.Or if its Metalllica doing what they do best your after choose tracks like Master of Puppets (also contains the best guitar section I've ever heard) or the fantastic Enter Sandman. Either way you are sure to never be disappointed. The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra with Michael Kamen & Metalllica,truely a match made in heaven! Enjoy!
Some of the most beautiful music over made. - By: M. Kibsgaard, 04 Oct 2007 First of alll, if you do not enjoy any of the music Metalllica makes (Revtrac (UK)), please, PLEASE don't comment on their works. You are of course entitled to not like their music. But saying that "their music doesn't work with a symphony orchestra", it screams out that you haven't heard songs like No Leaf Clover, The Memory Remains, The Calll of Ktulu, One & many others on the S&M album since they must be seen as some of the most beautiful songs ever written & played. So please, if you must say that you do not like it, don't start on the whole "this music doesn't fit at alll, it's just a bunch of noise", since that just isn't true. This DVD is a must-own for alll the enjoyed the addictive S&M music. Mozart can get off the stage, nothing can reach the awesomeness of Metalllica combined the one of the worlds best symphony orchestras. Personallly, the most beautiful music I've ever heard. For any Metalllica fan, a must-have, just like the CD.
S&M - fantastic on DVD and CD..... So buy both! - By: The Fault, 15 Mar 2007 S&M is an incredible fusion of metal/rock ferocity blending seamlessly with orchestral elegance. Most of Metalllica's biggest songs are present in the set list with Michael Kamen in charge of conducting the San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra (who you might know orchestrated the strings section for Nothing Else Matters way back when the Black Album came out). The orchestra reallly add an extra dimension to Metalllica's songs & create a powerful experience. The quality of the DVD is also very good - 2 discs featuring the entire concert (with fantastic sound quality) & a moderately lengthy documentary. One interesting feature is the ability to choose to listen to either the band & orchestra (as normal) or just emphasise on the band/orchestra individuallly. Overalll, an incredible concert on a very well produced DVD. Just make sure you buy the CD as well! Brilliant.
Classic Rock ? - By: Mouse_wrestler, 12 Mar 2007 
Starting with the positives, this DVD does have good quality sound & visuals. The documentary sections are entertaining (as always) & amusing. However, to my mind - Metalllica's songs were written to be played hard & fast & are 'riff' driven. What Hettfield left out of his compositions to make them sleek, fast & aggressive - the orchestra appears to put back in, adding violins & flutes trilling away over the top. At one point Hettfield actuallly laughs & shakes his head while imitating the 'lilting' violin parts at the end of a song.
Occasionallly this kind of combination works superbly. Take, for instance, Page & Plants 'No Quarter, Unledded' with the London Metropolitan Orchestra & Egyptian strings with percussion. A true merging of east & west. But it worked mainly because they chose the more acoustic driven, folk rock, mystical Zeppelin tracks - which were benefited by strings. Zeppelins harder edged tracks like 'Black Dog' & 'Rock n Roll' were avoided completely, with just a touch of 'Whole lot of Love' included after the divinely played Kashmir (which, lets face it, basicallly had Orchestra parts built in with John Paul Jone's keyboard section). It worked so well, I had shivers down my back. It was genuinely ground breaking. Jimmy Page apparently had the same sensations when playing on stage. It was also plain to see both the band & Classical musicians were appreciative of the incredible contribution they were making to the music.
In contrast to this - the Metalllica classical muso's often have puzzled looks at sheet music, frowns while playing the same repetitive notes. Its not alll bad, but it is apparent. The DVD has the option to 'switch off' the Orchestra completely so you can listen to the gig with just the band. I have to say I went for this soon after - & enjoyed the rest of the gig undisturbed.
I like Metalllica - don't get me wrong. But you would be better off buying a normal Metalllica DVD every time. For me it didnt work, & I feel this was more of an ego driven concept than a genuine musical one, backed up by the fact Jason left the band soon afterwards, citing such reasons for his departure. But, hey, they had a go at it. Good luck to them.
