Metallica: S&M (2000 TV Special) User Reviews

Very good live performance, makes most of their songs sound better

[MovieAddict2016 · 8/10 · 18 August 2005]

I'm not a huge fan of Metallica and I don't really like all of their music (the songs from the Black album, as well as ...And Justice for All and the single "I Disappear" are quite good but the rest kind of sound the same to me) -- but this live version even made me love the songs.

It's conducted with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, who ironically enough contacted THEM with an interest in performing their songs with an orchestra.

The result is a loud, powerful, emotional (!) experience. The deep, rich sound of the symphony really makes the songs all sound different. It's quite an experience.

The performance is two and a half hours long and the DVD/CD has tons of bonus features including a documentary covering the conception and execution of the entire ordeal.

All in all, a real treat, especially for Metallica fans, and perhaps even more so for non-fans who may find they like the music more like this.

One of the most spectacular events of all time!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 20 December 2004]

Being a big Metallica fan I was amazed that Metallica was going to have a concert with an Orchestra and that one of My favorite movie composers Michael Kamen was going to be the Orchestrator and Conductor I couldn't believe it! This was an awesome experience seeing such an extraordinary event! The camera work is remarkable. It catches so many great moments perfectly in My opinion! The songs that were chosen are great and I thought it was really cool to have two new songs just for this concert! The band really performs greatly and James Hetfield's singing is incredible and I just love his voice! Michael Kamen is just so great here! The sound is also great! Overall in My opinion this is one of the most spectacular events of all time! If you love Metallica and want to see them in one of the greatest concerts ever and want to see Michael Kamen do his stuff then I strongly recommend that stop by at Amazon.com and buy the video and/or the DVD and the audio CD today!

Movie Nuttball's NOTE:

The DVD version has an Easter Egg on it. You can have the Orchestra performing by themselves Its a unique feature and it makes it a totally different experience!

A DVD for the ages...

[whitewolf03 · 10/10 · 17 March 2003]

Metallica have done some wild things before this.. they've put a 'Grammy Award LOSERS' sticker on their AJFO album, they've released one of the heavyest albums of all time (The Black album) and they've played a concert near the Artic Circle, but this just beats all. This hellauacious concert with the San Francisco Symphony has to be one of the greatest listening experiences of a lifetime. Alone Metallica's songs are great, but with the backing of a 100 piece orchestra, it blows most of 'Tallica's songs away.

Video: 9 The video quality of this DVD is spectacular, with crystal clear quality.

Audio: 10 Blown away in 5.1 digital sound, the DVD sounds better than the CD. Not only is the audio quality outstanding, the audio extras make this DVD worth the buy. Not only can you chose 2.0 stero quality sound, you can listen to the band only, or even the symphony only.

Extras: 10 A bit to play with, with the audio extras above, you get a 41 min documentry on the making of S&M, a 'Mastro Cut' version of 'No Leaf Clover' and the 'No Leaf Clover' Video. Plus, you get 4 songs with different camera angles of the band members. (You can watch James, Lars, Jason, or Kirk seperately)

Overall: 10 A true buy, a must own for any Metallica Fan, or any real fan of music.

Them 'tallica boys rock on

[aussiegringo · 9/10 · 14 May 2001]

Well What to say, Combine the biggest Heavy Metal band the world has ever seen with the power of an orchestra and you get one hell of a ride. Now I must say that I am a very Big fan of Metallica so This may be biased.>

The orchestra fits in well with the power of Metallica, coming to the fore in crucial moments and fading into the background when Hammet's pounding riffs come into the fray.

The two new songs are both great and it is a shame the most will never hear how they sound with out the symphony backing them up. All of the classics are here and as always are a pleasure to listen to.

The DVD contains many extras including a documentary on the making of S & M as well as the ability to change cameras at will. This is a MUST have for any Metallica fan and a great rental for any music fan at all.

10/10 (7/10 for non metallica fans)

Metallica's S&M is the best music dvd ever!

[occupation_foole · 10/10 · 10 September 2003]

This dvd is loaded with lots of features. It has four songs where you can choose the camera angles. You can choose to view it with the camera angles on only one member of Metallica at a time, or the way they edited it for vhs and dvd. You can also listen to just Metallica or just listen to the symphony. It also has a documentary talking about how they chose the songs they used for the concert. Overall I give it a 10.

Sheer brilliance

[theonlyidleft · 9/10 · 15 October 2004]

The S&M DVD is possibly the best live work Metallica have done. Through sheer quantity Binge & Purge may be more highly regarded, but quality-wise I think S&M is better. Every track (barring Outlaw Torn) is just amazing, all benefiting from the extra dimensions a symphony gives - and the expert vision of Michael Kamen.

We start off with The Ecstacy Of Gold, performed beautifully by the San Francisco Orchestra.

The Call Of Ktulu, a much overlooked classic is the first Metallica song played and it sets the mood splendidly, it has power but also grace, 9/10.

Master Of Puppets is next up, which as always, is amazing, 10/10 on this one.

Of Wolf And Man is the first of many tracks on this DVD that are much improved with the aid of a symphony. I'm not a massive fan of the album version but I love the S&M version, 10/10.

The Thing That Should Not Be is well done but i'm not the biggest fan of the song, 8/10.

Fuel, always a crowd favourite, again benefits from the orchestra and earns it's 10/10.

The Memory Remains is also well performed with good crowd interactions, 9/10.

No Leaf Clover, a new song, is quite good, not heavy but likable all the same, 8/10.

Hero Of The Day is next and possibly my favourite performance on this DVD. Not their best song but is the most improved with the symphony 10/10.

Devil's Dance again, as above, not a great song but they manage to pull it off well, 8/10.

Bleeding Me tends to close the first DVD as Ktulu opened it, an epic song well done, 8/10.

The 2nd DVD starts off with Nothing Else Matters, a classic and was originally done with an orchestra, so is more than adaptable, 10/10 for sure on this one.

Until It Sleeps is a good post-black album song and holds it's own here, not the best performance of the day but still good, 7.5/10.

For Whom The Bell Tolls... Well, what can I say? They made a near perfect song another step closer to that title, 10/10.

-Human is the 2nd new song. Heavier and the symphony help out this song, 8/10.

Wherever I may Roam was next up and is my favourite track off the Black album, it's well done but not the outstanding performance on this DVD, 8/10.

Outlaw Torn was next up and I just can't bring myself to like it. A fan of the song might think differently but I can't give this more than a 6/10.

Sad But True is another great song which is performed well but i'm not overly convinced the symphony add too much to it, still a great performance though, 9/10.

One - Possibly the best Metallica song ever and is expertly performed by both Metallica and the symphony, can't fault it: 10/10.

Enter Sandman, a favourite of most was, like Wherever I May Roam, not an outstanding performance, in my opinion the symphony drowned out Kirk and James, and for a song like Enter Sandman that is not a good thing, 8.5/10.

Battery closes this DVD and has a brilliant intro by the symphony, 9.5/10.

Overall this is a brilliant performance to own, but musically and visually stunning. Any fan of Metallica would love this possibly even a few fans of classical music. A very solid 9/10 overall, with special mention to Hero Of The Day, Of Wolf And Man, Master Of Puppets and Nothing Else Matters.

Superb

[Colonelfeline · 9/10 · 11 May 2003]

This is a fantastic concert performed by one of the greatest bands of all time - Metallica. Guitar work by Hammett, Hetfield and Newsted is superb, as is vocals by Hetfield, and percussion by Lars. The songs are amazing, the symphony adds a new dimension to some already excellent tunes. The dvd extras are also great, the controllable camera angles in Enter Sandman and Of Wolf And Man are great additions.

All round great concert and dvd. 10/10

Fantastic - a word synonymous with Metallica

[Aragorn___ · 10/10 · 28 June 2002]

Okay, so Metallica are my all-time favorite band and therefore I'm obviously going to offer a biased opinion, right? Wrong. Granted, this audio video extravaganza couples the greatest heavy metal band of all time with an accomplished, internationally recognized orchestra and manages to surprisingly produce a sound which is breathtaking at times. However, I can't help but think that the Orchestra's sound sometimes encroaches on the traditional 'Tallica sound of pounding riffs and fantastic vocals which often leaves you cursing at Kaymen for getting in the way. However, Kaymen is evidently masterful in his own element and this is indeed a credit to him and his team.

However, this is but a mere blotch on the paper as the orchestra and 'Tallica blend almost perfectly at times; most notably in "Master of Puppets" which gives the song a new edge, the orchestra filling in the sound gaps while at the same time giving the right background sound to the quite frankly sublime solo's by James and Kirk. The whole performance is faultless by all members plus the orchestra. One thing I find disappointing though, is the apparent lax attitude of "fans" the further back the camera's went, how could they not clap and shout and throw the horns over such a brilliant performance.

Needless to say for a die-hard Metallica fan like myself this is an absolute must for the collection. But, for a non Metallica fan but nevertheless an appreciator of the genre, this is still a thoroughly entertaining watch and i cannot recommend it more.

Rock on Metallica, Rock on

9/10

The Metal/Orchestra Gimmick Drags On

[full_meddle_jacket · 12 February 2002]

The shameless exploitation of the old "Metal Meets Mozart" gimmick drags on, this time with metal band Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The publicity that surrounded this stunt surprised me, seeing as how countless rock acts have already included symphony orchestras in their music, such as Pink Floyd (with whom San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conductor Michael Kamen had previously worked with), Van Morrison, and David Byrne...except those legends actually did it right. Usually, when a concert film is plagued with feverish, inaudible music (like this one), it depends heavily on cinematography and camera tricks, just as "S&M" tries to. But its attempts don't work. A poor effort from the usually worthwhile Metallica.

Metallica shoots, Metallica hits, Metallica rocks.

[LennyOO · 10/10 · 28 January 2011]

There has been a handful of rock bands that decided to make a whole live album with a symphony orchestra, and Metallica is without much doubt the most heavy of them all to do so. I think that they made this album to support the release of their Load/Re-Load albums, which has obviously been a very great decision. The orchestra plays a very beautiful show and the cooperation between Michael Kamen and the 'Tallicaboys is terrific and one would be a fool to deny that Metal and Classical music have a lot in common. Hetfield, probably especially for this show, adapted a very warm and clean voice that neatly fit in between the riffs, drums, bass lines, but also the orchestra. The set list was obviously made with a lot of measuring in what would be good songs to combine with an orchestra, and which would not be. They have done an amazing job.

The sound is simply perfect. The melancholic sound of the orchestra that plays beautiful music in the background hits the spot in combination with the raw and yet so musically rich sound of Metallica.

This concert is the product of the coming together of two very different and yet similar musical worlds. And this concert, same as the Metallica's predecessors in this experimental thing, proves that it works. It is great for both fans of classical music as die hard heavy metal fans. There are several options on the DVD: You can either mute the orchestra, or the band, in 2.1 audio quality. But you can, and should, leave them both on and enjoy this eargasmical (excuse me) music fest in all its glory, for both Heavy Metal and Classical Music are eternal, so what would this concert be?

10/10. Highly recommended to anyone that's into rock/metal/hard rock and/or classical music.

yo too much awesome

[madjaxnuts · 10/10 · 4 November 2008]

this has got to be the best 2 and a half hours of a lifetime... i wonder why they put it on 2 dvds? would that be because there is just to much awesome for a single DVD to handle...? imagine if you were that single DVD, imagine the responsibility lol Metallica is the freakin' best band in the universe... from now to eternity.... nothing compares, to the beautiful crystal sound. Metallica on their own=awesome, but backed by a 100+ piece orchestra-one of the most respected orchestras in the world-is even better, it combines the greats of 2 different worlds...

Metallica should totally do this again...

Strange, foolish and ultimately pointless...

[Phalanx666 · 2/10 · 8 September 2006]

I don't know who or what ever gave Metallica the idea to "rework" their songs with an orchestra. Needless to say the (arguably) greatest thrash band of all time lost whatever credibility they had left with this album. Mediocre songs like "Of wolf and man" get a new sound with the classical addition hardly doing the song any justice. I might be totally illiterate musically, but hardly anything added to the songs by the orchestra is even remotely interesting. In fact it seems the band and the orchestra are playing different songs altogether all the time. As an old fan of Metallica this hurts. I can't help to think the wrong songs got picked for this venture too. For instance "Fade to Black" or "Creeping Death" would sound a million times better than "Sad but true" with a classical arrangement. I can accept that Metallica isn't a thrash band anymore. I'm not stupid though. An album like this won't renew my interest in Metallica. While the whole setup and idea is laudable, it is altogether too poorly executed to be considered "great". I would go as far as to state it takes a lot of goodwill to like this effort. I've only read glowing reviews on this site. Maybe I'm the musical fool, but this stuff doesn't sound right. None of the additions do Metallica justice (no pun intended). I'm sorry, but as a thrash fan I can only frown on this effort as it reminds me of what Metallica was and could have been.

Great DVD!

[h_wilson92 · 10/10 · 27 February 2009]

This DVD is in my brothers collection and when he went away I watched it.I am a Metallica fan but not a big fan.I really loved this concert.My favorite songs were Master Of The Puppets,Enter Sandman,One and Nothing Else Matters.I loved all the songs.

Metallica are one of the best live bands of all time.The DVD had great features like commentaries and you could pick if you wanted to listen to Metallica or the orchestra.Some things that could have improved was to add more songs and some of my favorite Metallica tunes were missing.Other than that this is a very good DVD and all Metallica fans should have a copy of this DVD and CD.

10/10

Something that you must have in your collection

[ivanm_pg · 13 March 2004]

Many people will most probably ask a question like "why would anyone want to comment something that has been issued five years ago and has not been a topic of discussion for a long time?" The previous comment that I have found gave me a motive. To be honest, I find this show to be one of the best ones that I've seen in years. Metallica is a great rock band and no comparisons to the older bands like Pink Floyd (which is also one of my favorites) will be needed. They have been developing their own style through the years and made the heavy-metal music popular. I don't want to be understood like a die-hard fan, because I'm not, but making a concert with a symphony orchestra gave their music a new dimension, and made it even more honest in it's dark ways. This is a masterpiece and it is not a purely commercial project, as the undirected people will rate it. Listen or watch the concert without any prejudices and you will find nothing wrong about it, you will most probably enjoy it. Since I'm already here and snce I posted a comment about "S&M", I also must point out that their new album "St. Anger" is a pure disappointment. So, in my opinion, this is also to be considered (at least by me) as something like the very last good thing they've done until this point.