Reviews (page 3 of 11)
music is love
Neat trick. Combining their music with an orchestra. Sounds good but as with all hard rock bands, a little too noisy for me. Good album.
Really liked the two openers. Overall love the sound and energy. Most enjoyable at high volume; are they touring together soon?
Hate to say it but it just felt tedious. Wasn't a good Metallica album nor a good symphony recording. I'm sure it was a great live concert though.
A metal band playing with a symphony orchestra could come off as gimmicky, but it works. This is an epic length album that spans Metallica's entire career to that point, enhanced with an orchestra. The symphony blends well with Metallica to form an interesting take on their 80s thrash as well as their 90s songs.
Weirdly exciting. Unfortunately not that much more appealing to me than regular Metallica
I listened to this album on my first day back in downtown Glendale for work, looking out at grass and brick buildings rather than desert sand and a landfill. I was still listening as I got my car washed, grabbed tacos for lunch, and came back to work. I think I may just be the wrong person for this album. The only other Metallica album I've heard before now, the Black album, I found tonje just alright; the iteration of metal Metallica represents seems to nsimply not be for me. And while this live performance in collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra is certainly enjoyable, it is enjoyable in the same way that an orchestral performance of show or video game soundtrack is: you can get some enjoyment without context, but it is designed for those fans already familiar with the base work. Not only was I mostly unfamiliar, but of the few songs I knew, I only particularly liked a handful. The performances are all still incredibly good, and Metallica blends with this orchestra in a way that brings out the strengths of the music. I had almost started thinking it was just gonna be instrumental the whole way through before the sudden yell near the beginning of Master of Puppets scared me. There is a seamless flow between songs, and I love small moments like the crowd chant on The Memory Remains, but I generally prefer this album the more symphonic it gets. Such an intriguing concept and skilled performance can't get around the fact that I just don't find the songwriting of Metallica all that compelling. Highlights: The Ecstacy Of Gold, The Call Of Ktulu, No Leaf Clover, Devil's Dance, Bleeding Me, Until It Sleeps, Sad But True
O Metallica conseguiu colocar um nível altíssimo na mistura de música de uma banda com orquestra. É meu álbum favorito do Gênero. Escolhi meu melhor fone para esse álbum e curti com muito gosto! QoA Adonis New.
This might be the pinnacle of metal.
orchestra metallica is great
Gave it 3 stars bc the symphony sounded WONDERFUL. Truly some beautiful, powerful musical moments. But it was still over two hours of Metallica music, and that was just way too much.
AMAZING!
Cool concept, I didn’t listen to all 2 hours but I thought they did an admirable job merging the two worlds. Obviously though if you take the heaviness out of Metallica’s music it doesn’t have the same effect. More of an interesting novelty than something I’d go back to
2.2 Just when I thought Newsted couldn't get buried more in the mix....
I listened to the live version of this. Amazing.
As a drummer myself, I will never miss an opportunity to shit on Lars Ulrich and his uncanny ability to not grow as a musician. That ability is on full display here.. I'll give him credit for helping inspire kid me to pick up the sticks, but he truly is a one trick pony. Not a ghost note to be found. Drums aside, this is basically a Metallica greatest hits album with an added orchestral component. While the SFSO performers themselves give a phenomenal performance, it's arguable as to whether they're enhancing or hindering various songs. At times it's hard-hitting and ready to kick your teeth in; others, it just feels like noise. And at two hours it's a big ask for anyone who's not already a big Metallica fan.
novel. Unsure if its good. MAybe if ur a fan of Metallica
It's one of the rare examples of such experiments that worked. Masterfully combining an orchestra with a metal bend, it takes all its songs to another level that makes this a very unique and incredible experience. The only downside is the 2 hour length, but it passes in a breaze, because it's banger after banger. 4.5/5
Like ok
Nice twist on nostalgic songs. If you like Metallica from the 90's this is good
Putting a double live album on this list is cruel and unusual. It took me all bloody day to listen to this thing. I'm not a fan of Metallica but I thought this would be interesting. Unfortunately, the orchestral arrangements didn't work for me. Music this brutal and fast demands something spiky and modernist, or like a horror movie soundtrack. What we get is more like a generic action movie soundtrack, it just doesn't fit for me. Listening properly to Metallica for the first time, I felt the same way about James Hetfield's vocals. You have this heavy Satanic music, then this ordinary-sounding American guy starts yelling about puppets and werewolves, occasionally lapsing into something like Vic Reeves' club style. For me, this kind of music demands a vocalist like Lemmy, or the guttural shrieking that death metal singers do.
OOH Not sure about this one YEAHEHHHHH I bet it was sick to be there, but not sure how well the orchestra translates to some of these. WHOAAAAOOOWHOA Like you can't tell me Battery needed the orchestral treatment it had and that it improves on anything for example, I find it just kind of dilutes what is already there. Almost like videogame boss music mixed in with Metallica tracks at times COME ON And I'm maybe a bit salty about the 2h+ runtime but it's kind of par for the course for a lot of uncut live albums
Hell yea 4
Decent, but nothing groundbreaking. 3/5
How strange to listen to a Metallica album and walk away thinking that I should spend more time listening to classical music. I am not a Metallica fan, but I never thought after listening to this album that I would value most what wasn't actually Metallica. To be fair, there is a serious degree of talent the band demonstrates in working with a full orchestral group of musicians. However, there were my least favorite part. Note: Metallica 2, Orchestra 5 [computing] = 3
Como no soy seguidor de Metallica agradezco el acompañamiento orquestal. Alguna canción mejora con el mismo.
Live album, not my fav ones
I’m perplexed why this is included but ride the lightning is not.
Some of the tunes on here hit pretty hard with a symphony orchestra cooking behind them; others not so much. Seeing that live was probably pretty awesome, but I'm not exactly sure why I NEEDED to hear this one before I died.
Whyyy -- ?!?!? As one of my colleagues has already stated, Enough metal! No, thank you. Gave up after 5 songs.
Nope.
Yuck. No more metal please.
No. What? Is this a joke?
Why live? why orchestra?
Overall I like Metallica, not only the viral songs but also some deep cuts. I briefly listened to S&M2 but I hadn’t heard the original till today. Overall the 1st CD was very disappointing, the symphony wasn’t really adding anything to the music, no cooperation as if metal and symphony were trying to jam each other out. Obviously apart from No Leaf Clover. The 2nd CD is much better and there symphony actually (mostly) complements the original sounds. I’ve been to 2 Apocalyptica show and honestly their arrangements are absoluty mesmerizing. I know it’s just cellos and not a whole orchestra, but still I expected something more out of the huge potential their music has. Much of the album sounded as if it was put together hastily, without much forethought. Overall 3/5.
Video game boss music (complimentary). Weirdly enough, this is my first exposure to Metallica. Don't know much other than their name and status as a legendary metal band. I've been getting a lot of "heavy" albums recently, that I'm starting to wonder if I've developed a tolerance to it. 2 hours of symphonic metal is just too much for my brain. (3.5)
There are 1001 albums that this guy has told me that I have to listen to before I die. That means that, within the Anglosphere that this list was mostly chosen from, this is the cream of the crop with what culture had to offer. If I had died without listening to this album, I would have been perfectly content. I did not miss out on a great achievement of humanity. Some songs benefit from the string arrangement, but others did not sound good. Especially One. Some of the performances also did not sound very tight, as one might expect of a band of this caliber. Overall, ass album.
Album #400 for me, and what a doozy! A double, live, Metallica album! I absolutely loved the other Metallica album I've had so far (their self titled one), so looking forward to this one. It was pretty good, but does suffer from the same issue as most live albums. The songs are meant to be listened to live. Just doesn't work as well on a recording. Even the good songs, like Master Of Puppets, just dragged on for too long. Not to say there weren't a couple breakouts. I've always loved Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman, and both of them are wonderful here. Hard to pick between the two for best song. The self titled album got a 5, I think I'll have to go with a 4 for this one. Best song: Nothing Else Matters
Conflicted with this one, cause on one hand I like the idea and some songs, on the other hand this is toooo long and the orchestra doesn't always add much.
585/1001 2026.04.03 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 MASTER!
Don’t need orchestra Metallica.
Amazing album, great pull here. I love Master of Puppets
So what happens when you mix metal and orchestra into one concert? 2 hours of pure fucking awesome! I loved this. The mix is great too, I love how the orchestra seems to swell above the guitars
One of my desert island albums. Having seen Metallica more than any other band, their live shows are really what makes them great. And this one is one of their best.
Came into this thinking it wouldn't be my thing, but WOW this album is spectacular. The fusion of metal and symphony works so well, and even though it is very long (I'll allow it as it's a live album), I never got bored.
I have a love hate relationship with Metallica and this album represents the hate. The Symohony takes away from the original songs for me and the sonic experiment does not work and leaves me thinking they are a bunch of metal posers at this point
If Metallica had no haters, I'm dead
I love some Metallica but I think I'm gonna pass on listening to a 2+ hour live album, there's no need.
The classic live album And its so good The main strength is that the Orchestra adds dimensions to the songs. Incredible. The issue is that it lasts forever. Its still brilliant. A lot of load/reload but I actually really like that about it. Going 4 baby
I do not feel like any of these songs were enhanced by a string orchestra. Not sure a live album of songs done better in the studio belongs on the list. 2⭐️
Say what you want but I could listen to this on repeat. Something about pairing Metallica's sound with a full orchestra really lights up the pleasure center of my brain. Not ashamed.
7/10
S&M - Symphony and Metallicy live
this being the first ever metallica album i have listen to was certainly an experience
Your enjoyment of this heavily depends on how much you already like Metallica.
3.9 2x rocking. watched youtube live performance in background.
Novel, on paper this should work but a lot of the songs feel too busy, the orchestra does add to some of the classics but on the whole it gets muddied out. None of the original compositions were anything to write home about. YEAYEAH!
Way too polished for my tastes, have heard better from Metallica.
alta cultura pra direita
It's jarring listening to Metallica and a symphony orchestra AT THE SAME TIME. Normally when a symphony takes on popular music, the music is arranged for the symphony only. The fact that the SFSO would take this project on is a testament to how good the musicianship of Metallica is. Sure, the SFSO could have seen the commercial potential of this project also. The songs are great, but the mix sounds like when you're listening to music and looking at instagram, and instagram is playing music as well.
Who doesn't love Metallica -
Awesome live album!! One of the best!
Ugh, I get so legitimately annoyed whenever live album comes up on this list. I’ll try and keep my rant short this time cause I’ve gone on it everytime I see a fucking live album. Here’s the gist of my rant: -live albums have different parameters for what makes them good -live albums are almost always “best of” albums -live albums have completely different production elements that seem unfair to compare (live albums of a small band is way different than a live album inside a screaming arena). Seriously if I could make any suggestion towards this list in the future, just replace all the live albums with other albums that didn’t make the cut because of all these live albums. Then you can make a second lift of live albums!! Doesn’t that make way more sense? Anyways, yah this album is fucking awesome, it’s basically every great Metallica song compiled together and played with a fucking orchestra!! You have to be brain damaged to not like this. Like even my dad who hates 90s grunge music and 90s trash metal (he is a 80s hair metal guy) loves this album cause it has that mass appeal element. Genuinely if I was only allowed one Metallica album in my collection, it would be this album cause you get the fast thrash metal songs from their first three albums (the best ones) and you can mix it with the more crowd pleasing metal from the black album and reloaded era. Seriously if you have a friend that doesn’t really listen to metal this is like the best introduction album thats far from the deep end of metal. Seriously though its not fair to the other bands and albums on this list to include such an unfair masterpiece.
Tää löytyy omasta hyllystä ja on kiehtova konsepti. Muut bändit on vaan tehnyt tän paremmin. Pikkasen tää on tuhnu.
I've always avoided this album. I knew well of its existence, but it sounded so bad on paper that I made it a life goal to not listen to it. I guess I was also soured by Metallica post-Burton, as they churned out some pretty terrible albums (Load and Reload in particular) and went from a band I actively followed to a band I had zero interest in over the space of a few years. However, this is stellar, way better than I thought it was going to be. Even the post-Burton material stood up quite well when played live. The backing of an orchestra didn't intrude as much as I thought it might do, and it only took me a few minutes to settle in for the ride. I found some tracks a little disappointing ("For Whom The Bell Tolls" felt like it should be an album highlight, but it wasn't, same for "One"), while other tracks stood out as fantastic when I wasn't expecting them to. I feel I have to give this five stars, as I really enjoyed it from start to finish. I felt the two hour plus length was just about spot on and there was a good mix of old and newer songs. I would have liked to have seen some more earlier songs played, particularly at least something from "Kill 'Em All", but that's a tiny niggle.
I hadn’t heard of this album before, and I can see why: I don’t like it at all, sorry...
Prob more like 3.5ish, but pretty cool
Never been a Metallica fan, so this album was just kinda boring (especially since it goes on for two hours…). I don’t think it’s bad and I’m sure this is epic for their fans, just not my thing :)
Not really a fan of live albums but this is a good example of one. I’m glad I had a long drive yesterday - definitely a good driving album. Starts brilliantly, gets a bit meh and then ends wonderfully. Would absolutely listen again
#304/1001. By the third song this sounds more a joke than a blasphemy. Why sprinkle the beauty of raw metal with some classical jingle jangle? If ypu want a classical metallica, check out Apocalyptica. This is almost as bad as Metallica & Lou Reed. Whew, only 2 more hours to go.
A review said this thing was 2hr 13m which, admittedly, made me dread it. Even of a good thing, music can outstay it's welcome. Immediately in "Call of Ktulu" I had to appreciate the sheer uniquity of this endeavor; hearing the metal riffs and drums accompanied by the orchestral strings and horns was astounding. As this point I can only imagine the rest of the album is much the same in terms of how these two genres come together; it's not quite ice cream on pizza, but its definitely pineapple on pizza. Some people, I can imagine, love this deeply while others totally revile it. Hearing the crowd sing the chorus to "Master of Puppets" whilst the strings reached fever pitch gave me tingles; it's impossible not to catch the atmosphere in that moment where you know it would have been epic to be there. On the flipside of this experience with Hetfield singing the entire time instead, "The thing that should not be" I also found really enjoyable, with the orchestra supporting here more harmoniously than some of the previous tracks. "Hero of the day" was another song that was fantastically supported by the Orchestra; it does seem a little hit and miss as to whether or not it is necessary to have them there or not. "Thing thing that should not be" and "The Outlaw Torn" are tracks similar in that the Orchestra did enhance the song. In conclusion, I applaud the effort to bring two genres that, musically, have a lot more in common than many probably give them credit for come together, but it doesn't always work in the best possible way. I would like to give it another shot in future and do prefer to listen to Metallica in their purest form without the SFSO.
This was actually nice.
Really sad this is my first Metallica pull. A 2+ hour symphonic live album is absolutely not the correct way to be introduced to a band. Unfortunately, the symphony really only served to make the songs sound a bit samey and like I was listening to a metal-themed movie soundtrack. I have a feeling this album would be a lot cooler for me if I was already a big Metallica fan (I salivate at the thought of some of my faves getting this kind of album). That being said, not really a pleasant experience overall for me. Favorite Songs: “The Call of Ktulu”, “The Thing That Should Not Be”, “The Outlaw Torn” Least Favorite Song: “Fuel” High 2.
I'm giving this five stars not bc I love Metallica that much, but bc this shows an astounding amount of skill, musicianship, and respect on so many levels. For two hours! Gawd, mic drop times a thousand!
Incredible performance when mixed with the SFSO which made it a more unique listening experience as someone who's not very into heavy metal. Sure, it's a little long but it's a live album so what are you gonna do?
Long but I've spent less time listening to worse things that felt longer. The mix of orchestra with heavy rock works really well and scales the music up to feeling "epic" in the way that Hetfield and company definitely want it to. Genuinely fun at points and I thought all the string accompianments reinforced the strong bones on the songs. Not something I'd have listened to without this project and something that I'm unlikely to listen to in full again for...at least five years but I'm glad to have listened to it.
Obviously won't be listening to 2 hours of this so I checked out a few tracks. Cool mix, definitely makes them sound better than their usual boring music. But... still not good.
Fuck I was unprepared for how much I loved this album. Somehow this makes even the Load and ReLoad songs sound like "Metallica" songs and not like Metallica making songs for 1997 FM radio. The only problem with this album is that the singing losing something on the versions of their thrashier stuff. Really great album and I'm rating it a 5 because its almost 2 hours long but still excellent. I look forward to the Metallica albums I am more used to appearing on my list.
There’s a point on ‘this is spinal tap’ where after the disastrous ‘smell the glove’ tour, guitarist David St Hubbins turns to bassist Derek Smalls and says he has always wanted to do an arrangement of his acoustic songs backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The point here being that at the death of inspiration comes orchestration. The sense of ‘let’s add strings to add layers to the songs’ (much like Stereophonics adding a keyboard player after album 2) the intent is to add gravity and importance to the songs… but it’s just shit. It’s no surprise to see Metallica walk into this, I can imagine e this being Lars’ idea. But what we get here are unimaginative string sections doubling guitar riffs backed by Lars’ uniquely awful drumming that really becomes exposed here. Why is this one of the 1001 albums I must hear before I die? This is pure ego driven dogshit 1/5
I get what they were going for here, but it seemed a to fall a bit flat.
I liked that this was a live album but it offered something different than a mere concert recording, something new with the music. And I think that I would have loved to have seen this show live with orchestra. As an album though, it does run kind of long.
Starts with a live orchestral rendition of The Ecstasy of Gold, goes right into The Call of Ktulu, which rarely gets played live, and gets better from there. The audience shouting the lyrics to Master while an orchestra plays is surreal. Another great album.
Don't mind Metallica, but never liked this.
Never heard it before. Fairly gutsy move for a metal band to do a full concert with a symphony orchestra. The Call of Ktulu: 7/10 Sounds epic, great opener. Master of Puppets: 4/10 Sounds too busy. Of wolf and man: 5.5/10 Has its moments The thing that should not be: 3/10 Way too busy, takes away from the heaviness. Fuel: 4.5/10 The memory remains: 5/10 No leaf clover: 4.5/10 Hero of the day: 2/10 Started off sounding so good. Lars drumming in the beginning is a joke, I don’t know how James was struggling with the vocals when that album came out only 4 years before? Devils dance: 4/10 The heavy songs really suffer from the strings. It makes it sound thin and not as heavy. Bleeding me: 6.5/10 Pretty good. Nothing else matters: 5/10 The song that best fits an orchestra sounds so basic. Disappointing. Until it sleeps: 4.5/10 For whom the bell tolls: 5/10 -human: 3/10 Boring. Wherever I may roam: 1/10 James’s voice sounds auto tuned sometimes. Outlaw torn: 6/10 For a song that has a great quiet-loud verse, the strings take away the basic beauty of that. This song is a masterpiece. Sad but true: 2.5/10 A mess. One: 4/10 Gets a lot better at the end. Enter sandman: 3/10 Battery: 4/10 All in all, a good idea. The execution of said idea could have been a lot better.
This is a landmark album because of the mainstream acceptance of Metallica that it represents. There are a lot of parallels between heavy metal and orchestral music -- drama, technical wizardry, moody keys -- and this would have been the first time that an awful lot of music listeners were introduced to that. It's cool. It also has some warts, as a live album (and a middle-stages Metallica album). The timing is off for the first few tracks (I blame Lars). The mix is a little bit muddy, which is understandable given the live environment and the volume of both instruments and also just the literal sound pressures involved. James sounds alright, Kirk Hammet and Jason Newsted sound excellent. There are not enough bells in 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. It's, honestly, way too long. The riff-heavy classics sound great ('Enter Sandman' is awesome) but a ton of their more modern stuff just sounds like Godsmack and that's not a compliment. I skipped a bunch of songs in the back half ('– Human' starts the slog) because they drone a bit and blend together. It should be a great closing stretch, but it doesn't work for me. It's exacerbated by having just listened to Slayer's Reign In Blood, which is unrelenting and less than thirty minutes long. Anyway, it's a 3.5/4 but a good intro to Metallica. You should really start with their early thrash but this would give you an idea of where they sometimes fall down.
Really nice album a good way for first listeners to Metallica
I m
2026.03.10
You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself spend the rest of your creative capital on a 2hr13min live album.
Mehtallica
The orchestra is crazy
speaking as a former teenage metalhead, i think this album only exists for teenage metalheads to win a classic teenage metalhead fantasy argument about how metal isn't brainless loud noises but can actually be intelligent orchestra only adds something new to some of the songs and kinda detracts and distracts from the rest of them. metallica has a bunch of songs that probably could be accompanied in an interesting way by an orchestra (fade to black comes to mind) but they loaded it with a bunch of shit ass load and reload songs, which i'm guessing is cause they wanted to promote those albums. pity for the conductor who had to figure out how to put strings behind metallica's butt rock era st anger is a more interesting listen because at least all the stupid and bad decisions on that album were fussed over and actually had some sort of thought behind it, even if it was wildly misguided. this album is just orchestra + metallica: you guys like this slop, right?
First off: it's really long. That's to be expected though as it's a Metallica concert. Those are going to be epic. Now, this thing is awesome in concept. Putting Metallica's music together with a symphony? Genius. Thanks to Cliff a lot of their classic material was written with classical concepts in mind. Songs like "Master of Puppets" and even "Fuel" sound fantastic with the epic strings and tympanies in the background, even "Enter Sandman"; which I am sick to death of, sounded beefier with the added orchestral arrangements. "No Leaf Clover" is one of the best songs here as well, making strong usage of the orchestra. Songs I was always kind of lukewarm on sound great too, like "Sad But True". Here's the major kicker though: this album is ruined by James "OH YEAYUH" Hetfield. "Nothing Else Matters" is absolutely ruined to pieces, his vocals DO NOT sound good on this track AT ALL. He just brings so much cheese and corn to this otherwise epic concert that I found myself snickering and rolling my eyes all throughout this thing. I mean, at least he's having fun.... lmfao. Anway, even despite that, Symphonic Metallica is pretty overall good. If I'm going for a long drive this one might be in rotation to help soundtrack the trek.
Would buy
7/10
Chefs kiss. Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony. A match made in heaven. Best Song: All of them Rating: 9.5/10 Stars: 5
Very good.
Meh
This is clearly an excellent live performance but I don’t have much to say other than I don’t love listening to live albums. I won’t come back to it, but it would be harsh to give it anything less than a 7/10 because of how good I’m sure the performance felt if you were there in person. The orchestral elements are a welcome addition too.
A bunch of hits live. good album
I'm giving this a 3 for a couple reasons. 1. Hearing these classic songs reimagined with an orchestra is admittedly badass, but I'd probably enjoy it more if I was a more ardent Metallica fan. 2. 2+ hours is a bit of a chore. 3. Hetfield does that thing where he has the crowd sing some of the "good parts", and that's something that always annoys me on live recordings. Otherwise, this would've been a 5 from me.
This thing is for people who love sending orchestral covers of basic pop songs to friends and family. I’m not that guy, but hey, I’m glad yall are having fun
No. 125 Yes, it is too long. But it's an absolute pleasure to listen to.
zwaar episch, zou niks hiervan toevoegen aan een afspeellijst tho.
Wow! As a band nerd and a French Horn player at that, to hear Horns backing up sick guitar riffs and heavy drums ... This was amazing honestly ... and I don't even like live albums!
I absolutely love Metallica. I also like classical music (albeit not so much the epic symphonic works). But merging two very different genres is tricky and rarely works once the very initial wow factor has worn off. This isn't great. It's just Metallica with a (slightly shifting) sauce of orchestral arrangements poured over it, rather than truly integrated. It's all a bit artificial and "cheap" for me and the sum of the two is less than the component parts. Not a must-hear album. Still a 3 because the songs are, of course, fundamentally great.
It was considered daring at the time what they tried. It turned out to be an awesome album and a turning point in Metallica's career IMHO.
On paper, this should have worked. Metallica is known for epic songs and you would think they throwing an orchestra into the mix would only increase the epicness. But whether it's the band or Kamen, or something else, it just doesn't. The orchestra basically adds nothing, and if anything takes away from the goodness of the originals. Having grown up with Metallica, I was as excited as anyone to hear they were doing this. But I was underwhelmed when I first heard it, and every time since. The new songs are fine. But yeah, along with much of their post Black Album work, this is a disappointment.
Metal and symphonic/orchestral ("classical") have more in common than you would think. Metallica takes on an ambitious project with the help of the mighty Michael Kamen and the SF Orchestra and created something quite special. I do think it's a little odd that S&M was on the (revised 2010) list, you can argue each of the band's first five albums did something significant to the metal world, something this list really doesn't dig too deep into. I see why S&M is included as it's more unique than those albums, but Ride The Lighting is literally their best album and it's not in. "wah wah it's two hours long" it's a fucking CONCERT. every concert should have two sets and an encore. The Dead and Phish may have spoiled me with that regard, but people should get their money's worth as ticketbastard adds new fees for their infinite growth capitalism machine. bugger off with that criticism
Metallica and a symphony is a perfect combo.
I’ve got to admit I was a bit intimidated by the time, but I had a fun time
i’m sure this is extremely cool for hardcore metallica fans, i’m not that so this was cool but not something that i’d ever go back to
Two Metallica albums in the same week? Sweet, let’s get ‘em all over with! My ungenerous initial take is that it’s just non-Christmas Trans-Siberian Orchestra. My ungenerous second take is that Silverchair’s Neon Ballroom (an album of new songs recorded with a orchestra) was recorded in the summer of 1998 (Australian winter) and released in March 1999 , the month before this album was recorded. Must have been something in the pre-millenium water. I remember when this came out, but I don’t remember knowing that it was a live album; that adds a slightly more interesting element I hadn’t expected. I always thought this would probably be my favorite Metallica album, but that's not saying much. Certainly, the nearly 2.25hr runtime will not help its case. That's a lot of Metallica. Final thoughts: If you’re going to do a live ‘best of’ album, this is a fun way to do it. I wish other bands - ones that I like more - would engage in similar projects. Who's a good example? Let's say Deftones. A Deftones + Symphony album could crush. 5 stars for that imaginary record, 3.5 stars for this real one. Sorry, gotta charge the Metallica tax.
Well! I didn't know this existed, but it has easily become my favourite Metallica album! The symphonic arrangements are tastefully done, and lift the complexity and emotional engagement of every track; the mixes are well done, with varied balance/prominence of components. The original Call of Ktulu, for example, was IMHO overblown, an okay riff or two (hardly outweighing the irritation of mis-spelt title), but not going anywhere interesting or not quickly enough (just head-banging for longer than I liked). The orchestrated version by contrast makes a lot more out of the chord sequences and overall development of the song. So I am much happier with these versions of the songs I already knew, and happy to listen to new songs. It's Pretty Wonderful, 9/10!!
I can't face this. It was Metallica yesterday and again today. Please fix the app so that we don't have to encounter the same artist twice in the same week and certainly not two days running!
Metallica with an orchestral twist. I hoped this would demonstrate to non-metal fans the band’s songwriting ability, unhampered by distortion. Unfortunately, they get it totally wrong. Metallica make no accommodation for the orchestra whatsoever, sticking rigidly to their heavy sound and leaving the symphonic elements buried, reduced to unnecessary flourishes that add nothing and feel like a total afterthought. Instead of this mess, imagine a project more like Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged - The band taking a primarily acoustic role, with the orchestra leading with a sound like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Maybe that could've been good.
Pretty sweet combo, it’s a seamless blend.
I liked hearing the hits (as I know them) with a symphony but I found the album, at over two hours, to be very long. I would have liked it a lot more at a more reasonable and standard length. I’m sure this is great for the Metallica completist but is unnecessary for most.
I bought this when it was first released because I thought it was a cool idea. Today is the first time I’ve ever listened to the full 2+ hours of it, though, so I guess that says something. It’s okay. Possibly the only live album I know of where I prefer the studio version of every song. (That’s not an indictment on all live albums, though. I had Sam Cooke Live yesterday and I could listen to that set once a week if there wasn’t so much other great stuff out there to be heard.)
5 for a live album
I like Metallica a lot, I like the original versions of most of the songs but this is horrendous
metallica is one of very few bands i know that are able to botch a record with a symphonic orchestra. yeah, go on and just perform your songs unaltered with an orchestra in the background moving along. the hybris!
Nope. There's no fucking way I need to hear this before I die so I'm not going to. Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, sure, bit not this. This is my first Did Not Listen.
Better than I expected.
The juxtaposition of classical and metallica wasn’t lost on me just not music to my ears
This is a cool concept and, at its best, a genuinely powerful one. Metallica pairing with a full symphony should feel excessive on paper, but there are moments where it absolutely works. The orchestra adds real weight and drama, especially on the more melodic material. When it hits, it hits. That said, this does not need to be over two hours long. The live energy doesn’t always translate through the speakers, and after about ten tracks, the impact starts to blur together. What feels monumental in a concert hall can feel a bit bloated at home. There’s real ambition here and some strong highlights, but it’s more impressive than essential. Glad I listened. Don’t need the full endurance test again.
No va
Elevator Metal. This album captures the live experience Metallica jumping the shark into the warm, still waters of cultural irrelevance.
There are a number of Metallica albums that should be on this list but this isn’t one of them
To paraphrase Hank Hill, you're not making Metallica better, you're just making orchestra music worse.
That’s gonna be a no for me dawg. It wasn’t terrible but I did not enjoy.
Interesting. Better than expected. But not that memorable.
Bombastic. Once the band stars playing, there is not the tiniest sliver of space. And it sounds like the drummer presided over the mixing one star - a tiresome listen
When songs from S&M first hit the shelves and video airwaves in late 1999, I was convinced it was exactly what I’d been waiting for. The idea of Metallica teaming up with a full orchestra sounded like a perfect match. But when I finally listened to it front to back, I remember feeling strangely underwhelmed. I couldn’t quite explain why at the time. On paper, the fusion of symphonic orchestration and heavy metal should have been flawless. Revisiting it now, I think I understand my initial hesitation. Michael Kamen’s arrangements with the San Francisco Symphony are undeniably impressive, but at times the orchestra feels so dominant that it nearly overwhelms the band itself, and sometimes the pieces don’t completely seem to match the song they are accompanying. The moments where everything truly clicks are the songs written specifically for the project (like “No Leaf Clover” and "- Human") as well as the sweeping opening instrumental performance of “The Call of Ktulu.” Interestingly, a lot of the material that shines comes from Load and ReLoad, albums that marked a noticeable shift away from thrash metal toward a more hard rock sound. That stylistic change famously divided longtime fans—whether it was the new direction or simply the haircuts—but if I’m honest, Load and ReLoad were the first Metallica albums I deliberately bought with my own money. They carry a lot of personal nostalgia for me. Realizing now that roughly a third of S&M draws from those records gives me a new appreciation for the project—one I didn’t have 25 years ago. All things considered, I enjoyed this revisit far more than I expected when it unexpectedly popped into my Monday playlist. Not every track fully lands for me, but it’s far stronger than my memory had suggested. That said, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t see myself returning to it anytime soon—especially when stacked up against their studio albums, which I’m much more likely to reach for.
I've always been a Metallica fan, but I've never been wholly impressed with this album. I applaud the decision, but I don't think it turned out very well. You only occasionally hear the orchestra cut through the songs and what you do get rarely connects to the song it's backing. You just don't get the grandeur and spectacle you'd expect from a pairing like this.
Get a bit bored during the long load/reload tracks but the classic metallica songs sound fantastic with the orchestra
No, Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets only.
I was soooo looking forward to this and it just didn’t deliver as I had hoped. Generously rounding up to 3, but only because Battery wasn’t slaughtered.
Not a live album person but this isn’t bad. Probably a lit concert though 3 stars
Man, maybe this was cool live? Listening to it back now, it feels like such a try-hard idea. And why is the orchestration giving Janes Bond? It’s almost like two musical concepts are being played over one another at the same time and neither of them are benefiting from it. And for two hours!?
I loved the orchestra more.
So, 2 hours and 13 minutes is a lot to ask of listeners who are not already fans of the artist. Given this is the running time of the record, I can only surmise that this album isn't necessarily meant to convert new listeners but is instead a novel fan service. Why then is it on the 1001 list? Is it the novelty of one of the most popular metal bands of all time playing with a symphonic orchestra, or is it that the music and performance transcend the gimmick, moving us? There are some compelling moments on the album, but ultimately they are too few and far between for me. While not a total triumph, you can put it on loud and do some house-cleaning to it if you like — which is a way of saying many of these versions are not as emotionally resonant as their originals.
This was really good! Very long, but very good. I don't think it's something I'd return to, but it was an amazing theatrical experience. Just a taaaad bit too long. 7/10
Dnf
The longer it goes on the worse it gets.
A theatrical live album that I had never listened to before in full, as I am usually not exceptionally excited about this style of music. It was an intense experience, and I certainly wouldn't be able to listen to S&M in its entirety in one sitting, but it is clearly a masterpiece in its own right. The orchestral accompaniment was an interesting and rather stunning choice.
I love the combination of heavy metal and symphonic elements. I don't particularly love this recording, though. I wish this was a studio version of the album with better mixing and sound design, I don't really think the live audience adds much to this album. Yeah, it's fun to hear people sing along to the tracks, but it gets a little tiring over this album's 2+ hour runtime. That said, it's still quite epic, and I love hearing the opening with "The Ecstasy of Gold" and the symphonic arrangements of all the classic Metallica tracks. Who knows, maybe this one will grow on me over time. Favorite track: "The Call of Ktulu" really shows off the potential of this genre fusion.
Wow 2+ hours of solid heavy jams. I was impressed with it being a live album.
I’ve never liked Metallica and this doesn’t change my mind. It’s just not my thing. But I’ll give this three stars out of some respect for someone else’s yum.
Teenage me was so blown away by this crossover of metal and an orchestra. Adult me might apprechiate this master piece even more. This record feels so rich and powerful.
I'm not joking when i say this, S&M is not only my favorite Metallica album but also my favorite live album period. I always knew going into this album that it was going to be something really special since i love the combination of metal and orchestral music but this album managed to surpass even those lofty standards. This is a show that starts explosive and remains explosive throughout all of it's 2 hour runtime. I genuinely can't think of anything that this album does wrong as it executes everything so perfectly. This is definitely a huge favorite of mine and is 100% going into the top ten of the albums i have done here. Best Song: No Leaf Clover Worst Song: Hero Of The Day Side note: Last Metallica album, here are the rankings: 1. S&M 2. Metallica (Black album) 3. ...And Justice For All 4. Master Of Puppets
I really enjoyed this album. I think the addition of the San Francisco Symphony added so much to the songs. Hard to pick favourites. The tracklist was extremely long at a gargantuan 173 minutes.
A unique and cool album
When this came out, the metal world went nuts, they went soft, they have an orchestra around them. I thought this was super cool. especially since it was a local orechstra. the sf symphony.
the orchestra makes this something really special but overall i think 2+ hours of metallica is too much for me in one sitting
Not interested but I suppose it’s listenable.
Not my sort of music but felt this really worked with the orchestral backing. Enjoyed!
At least it reminded me to see The good the bad the ugly soon again.
Really good live album.
Aptly named, since listening to all of this did indeed feel sadomasochistic
i dont get it
How strange. I still don't like Metallica, but the orchestration on this album is intense and powerful, and it works pretty well with their songs to make some thrilling moments. But...I still don't like Metallica. So best I can do is a 3.
Autotuned to death. Zero soul in the vocals completely ruins what could have been a decent album.
I deeply dislike this kind of music
It took full 14 minutes before Lars started to annoy me, good for him. The absolute horrendous autotune/choppy editing on Hetfields vocals makes matters even worse and takes me fully out of the "live" experience. There are moments when I'm not sure if the band and the orchestra are playing the same song. Odd chordal choices. I am pleased that the orchestra is not buried in the mix like it too often is in "symphonic metal" and in some songs it works really well. The whole setlist could benefit from being cut in half. Most of the songs at their core are still solid (but occasionally bloated) and almost everyone in the band plays well, but I found the overall experience grating. Why ever listen to this and not an better Metallica album? Jasons backing vocals are great. 2.5/5
Adding the orchestral layer only detracts from what were perfectly fine songs. I guess they had reasons to make this a live album, but the production is ruined by then trying to polish the rawness out of it, and failing miserably at that. And then they had to make it a double album, and make the polished turd a massive bloated log. Flushing one of those down turns into a rather unpleasant two hour job.
It's a bit of a mess. The old thrashier songs needed serious reworking to fit the orchestra, but there's glimpses of a cool thing in the post-Black Album material. I had fun watching the DVD, but don't think I'll be returning to this. 5/10
Hetfield has never sang this clean :P
I grew up listening to Metallica but I have not listened this live show before... and this was a let down for me. The orchestra was too loud and more than once it sounded like I was listening to two different songs at the same time. Some orchestral bitsworked well in some songs, especially in the Load and Reload songs. But yeah this is not something I'd choose to listen to. 2,5 stars but I'm going to round this to 2.
what a fun listen, great album I overlooked
7/10
Easy to listen to, some superb lyrics.
Metal mit Streichern ist nicht meins
Better than Coldplay
Album 1034 of 1089 S&M - Metallica (1999) Rating : 4 / 5 This was recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Kamen. At over two hours long, I went into this fully expecting to listen for a while, get the idea, and move on. Two hours with a metal band I’m not deeply invested in - backed by an orchestra - didn’t exactly sound like something I’d sit through in one go. Turns out, I was wrong. This works far better than I ever expected it to. The orchestra doesn’t feel tacked on or gimmicky - it blends naturally into the songs and actually reshapes them. At times the guitars feel like part of the orchestra, and at other times the orchestra feels like another member of the band. Familiar tracks come across as something entirely new, heavier in places, more dramatic in others, and surprisingly cohesive throughout. I’m still not a big fan of live albums in general, but this one avoids a lot of what usually turns me off. There’s no endless front-man chatter or crowd interaction breaking the flow. The audience is mostly just there, reacting appropriately, letting the performance speak for itself. It keeps the focus where it belongs - on the music. It isn’t perfect, and it’s still a long listen, but it’s a genuinely impressive collaboration that holds together from start to finish. If I had to point someone to a Metallica album, this might actually be the one. Credit where it’s due - this was a very pleasant surprise.
Excellent performance and recording. The arrangements bring a new element to these songs.
Mid
Epic sound, epic songs, epic album. They really put their best effort into this and you can hear that they had great fun playing.
Such a classic that gave me tons of Nostalgia. I'm usually not a huge Metallica fan but the bombastic music contrasted with the beauty of the strings just makes for a very special album. Will listen more often.
Et to timer langt livealbum fra tidenes mest kjente heavy metall-band. Her spiller de sammen med et symfoniorkester. Etter de to første innslagene, var jeg livredd for at dette kun var et instrumental-prosjekt, men det er det altså ikke. Ser for meg at dette er litt mer engasjerende for langtidsfans av bandet, noe jeg ikke kan skryte på meg å være(har bare hørt på LP-en Ride The Lightning, hittil). For min del blir det uinteressant. På de sangene jeg allerede er kjent med, introduserer ikke orkesteret noe minneverdig. Vil mye heller bruke tiden min på å utforske studioalbum. Top 3: Sad But True, One, Battery
That was a blast, cheers! I'd never have listened to that off my own back!
Liked this one in the morning before work
I listened to this while working so had no complaints about the length. I liked the fresh take on a lot of great songs
TOO. MUCH. HETFIELD!!!!
Loved the symphony overlay and the thematic feel they adapted to the set. Very different experience.
I think the orchestra did a lot of heavy lifting on this. The live album also seemed objectively bad
Too long Too repetitive I don't like the mix. Can't hear that orchestra
8/10
The beginning of the album that was instrumental and before the big hits came up was really impressive... The Master of Puppets came on - the symphony awkwardly trying to fit itself in while Metallica only sings half the lyrics, not what I was hoping. ... So now that I finished the album, my feelings are mixed. You can tell the orchestra spent more time defining their sound on bigger songs (MOP, One, ES, Battery) but others they didn't contribute much. Of those hit songs audience participation was always annoying. While that is fun at a live show, if they knew this was being recorded I wish they would have just done a complete job. I'm also ok with Metallica in small bits, but over two hours was a bit much. TLDR this album was a cool concept that would have been much improved through full performances by the band, and editing the setlist down to 60-75 mins. 3/5
Holy shit this is a long album, I like about 1/3 of these songs. Novel sound that’s a fun change from regular Metallica, I feel like I’m watching a bond movie to some of these songs. It was a long listen though. Idk about 2 hrs of Metallica. Some of the songs are worse with the orchestra, some of them are not better but different. Some skips in here for sure. 2.9 unfortunately.
You already know what a two hour 15 minute live album is getting from me. It gets style points for the orchestration but orchestration of songs I don’t really like in the first place doesn’t give it a lot. Just know I listened to this whole thing under protest but respect for the list and then immediately popped the dream is over on to pallet cleanse. It’s undeniably epic and belongs on the list, I just don’t like it.
Overwrought and super, super corny.
As a lifelong diehard Metallica fan, with almost thirty years to think about this album — this is crap. The symphony backing was a gimmick, and it would have been far more interesting just to have them do the music. It’s just a live album with some deep cuts. I’ll listen to Metallica whenever and whichever, but this isn’t any more interesting than a metal version of a Grateful Dead bootleg.
non pensavo mi sarebbe piaciuto, invece è carino, più chill del previsto nel complesso. un paio di canzoni belle. eppure non mi convertirò al metal (perché sto sito non mi consiglia quanche classicone tipo i rolling stones che ho voglia di quel genere)
Who doesn’t love an orchestra
I've heard the sound was not mixed well in the room, but it sounds immaculate on this live recording...Orchestral Metal is a powerful freakin' thing.
This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I like Metallica and figured this would be, well, horrible. I liked it quite a bit! The instrumentation added something and yet they made a point of not allowing it to water down the power of the music.
Late 90s rock. Metallica and San Fran symphony. Pretty epic, hard rock really lends itself to the drama of orchestration.
Awesome concept but unfortunately not the best Metallica setlist. 3.5 Stars
Okay. Hear me out. The SFSO helped to create this incredibly full sound that was less heavy and more tolerable for me. Truly enjoyed all of the music.
This is another album I’ve always been hesitant to listen to. Once the Black Album came out, it marked a new era of Metallica that I never really cared much for. On top of that, it’s a live album, which I usually avoid, and not just that, but a live album from a sold out metal band with a symphony. If that doesn’t sound like shaking the money tree for a cash grab, I don’t know what does. That said, once I put all of that aside, it actually turned out to be a pretty solid album. It is over two hours long, so by the end I was definitely burned out. Still, I have to give them credit for making a serious attempt to reinterpret their catalog through a full symphonic framework without it coming off as a gimmick.
Bought this in high school and it’s the only Metallica album I’ve ever bought. Metallica is very much not my kind of music, but the orchestra helps a lot. It tempers them or makes them a little less grim and plodding or maybe a little more pop or I’m not sure what, but it works for me. I really like this version of Fuel.
The orchestra brought it up from one star. Hope they had excellent hearing protection
i’m not listening to this
loved this album
A fresh take on some classic metal. I love the energy they bring to this recording, and how it’s brighter than the original songs. Their songwriting is insane, but I didn’t listen to them that much due to the sub-par recording quality—their live performance is the second chance I needed.
chills
Is this the first live album I've listened to on here? I think it is. The crowd's energy is palpable. the arrangements are beautiful. the musicians seem to be having a great time. I loved this.
I did it... I survived! I really feel for the person who had to create the orchestral arrangements for this. They did the best they could with the material they were given. That's not to say that Metallica is 'bad' music. I just don't think it's complex enough where a full orchestra makes it that much better. There are just only so many ways you can create an orchestral fill in the mode that these songs are in. There is just WAY too much going on for the most part. The recording is good.
Imagine if Spinal Tap did a Bond movie soundtrack. Okay it’s not that horrible, but some things, like say a peanut butter and salmon sandwich, should maybe just not exist. I’m sure someone likes it, but they are also probably a serial killer.
I really don't think you need to listen to this before you die. I appreciate the idea, 2 stars.
I've been listening to Metallica for over a decade, and I've always been reluctant to listen to this album live, but I confess that hearing some of these songs, played with the support of an orchestra, was a very interesting experience. 4 stars.
I'm sure it sounded great when there but it sounded flat on spotify
Can't think of a good reason for this live album to be on this list. "Oh look, it's metal... but also, with an orchestra" Worth mentioning that Metallica already has 3 other albums on the list, so not sure why we had to go back to the well again.
Nicht meine Musik, aber gut gemacht
Usually not a fan of live albums, but this works quite well. However, I’m not a major fan of them so this was a little on the long side
Metallica knew what time it was. Tesh:30. I'm not a Metallica fan, but this has to be the worst way to listen to this music.
It reminded me of Portishead’s live album which I love. It was fun the entire way, I’m very surprised that the 2+ hours didn’t end up being an issue. I haven’t even listened to most of their albums so I don’t even have the added appreciation of hearing the differences from the originals. However this does feel more like an essential listen for Metallica fans (or even metal fans more broadly) but not the entire musical world. Still though I had fun Rating: 4.2
The Ecstacy Of Gold (Instrumental) - 2/10: Just boring, not a huge fan of instrumental songs. The Call of Ktulu (Instrumental) - 5/10: I likes the pick-ups (i don't know what to call them) around the 1:30 and 5 minute marks. I also liked the guitar and drums, but it is instrumental and, again, I'm not a huge fan of instrumental songs. Master of Puppets - 5/10: I like that they include the crowd in their concerts, but I'd rather listen to the actual singer the whole way through than both him and the crowd. Hetfield's voice also sounds a little weird to me. It's still a pretty good song, though. Of Wolf and Man - 5/10: I like the instruments/beat (whatever you call it) on this song. I also like the guitar solo at the end. I'm not a huge fan of the chants though. The Thing That Should Not Be - 7/10: I like the instruments/beat. Fuel - 7/10: I like the instruments/beat and the vocals. The Memory Remains - 5/10: It just didn’t really stand out to me. No Leaf Clover - 6/10: I like the drums in this song. Hero Of The Day - 5/10: It just didn’t really stand out to me. I think the vocals are okay, though. Devil’s Dance - 5/10: I like the guitar in this track, but other than that, it’s just kind of boring. Bleeding Me - 6/10: I like the guitar in this track and the intro. Nothing Else Matters - 8/10: I really like the instruments/beat and the vocals on this track. I like the regular version of this song as well, so that’s no surprise. Until It Sleeps - 7/10: I really like the instruments/beat and the vocals on this track. I also liked the guitar solo. For Whom The Bell Tolls - 6/10: I like the regular version of this song, but I’m not feeling this version a whole lot. I like the drums, and I think the orchestra is an interesting touch, but I’m not obsessed with Hetfield’s vocals. Human - 7/10: I like the instruments/beat in this track, and I also really like Hetfield’s vocals. I specifically really enjoy the drums and guitar. Wherever I May Roam - 6/10: This is my favorite Metallica song, but I like the regular one more. Again, I’m not super obsessed with Hetfield’s vocals, but I do love the guitar in this track. I also think that the orchestra is an interesting addition. The Outlaw Torn - 5/10: It's not bad, just didn't really wow me. Sad But True - 5/10: I like the intro and the instruments/beat. One - 6/10: I like the part a little before 5 minutes and the instruments/beat. Enter Sandman - 6/10: Again, I like the regular song better. This one isn't terrible, but I feel like the orchestra overpowered the guitar/drums/bass a bit. Battery - 5/10: I like the drums a lot in this track. Overall Score: 119/210 Overall Rating: 6/10 - I'm going to be honest, I thought I was going to like it more than I did. I'm not a big fan of Metallica, but I know and like some of their songs. Hetfield's voice just didn't sound the same here as it does on the original tracks. I also thought that the orchestra sometimes outshined the drums/bass/guitar. It wasn't terrible, but not my favorite.
the ecstacy of gold is actual perfection. sounds like incredibles i didn't know metallica was LIKE THIS!!!! i wish i could have witnessed this live. this is such a cool intro song. call of kulu epicness. master of puppets WOW the fricken orchestra goes crazy in this. also first song with vocals. IM EXCITEDDDD. beautiful. of wolf and man was fun. i liked it. the thing that should not be kinda fun kinda weird fuel epic the memory remains is awesome i really like it. no leaf clover kinda sounds like everything else.... hero of the day is cool bleeding me is nice me likey until it sleeps intro was magical.
I don't think this is an essential listen for someone who doesn't know Metallica, it is a nice project, but not the one that pops up when I think of the best album by the band. Also 2 hours is too much for a project like this. The slower moments is where the orchestra shines. Hero of The Day, Nothing Else Matters. I suppose if Metallica had to do a greatest hits in the 90's instead of this concert it would have been with a similar tracklist but with a different feel for the newly written material(-Human and No Leaf Clover).
there ain’t NO WAY i had to listen to this before i die……….. 2 hours and fkn 13 minutes i’ll never get back
I can recognize it's good but its not really my genre
Its metallica again. And its long as hell again. And it still stinks again. Again and again and again. I was hyped for it to be the best one yet with like 15 minutes of just instrumentals. But then James has to come in a ruin it. He literally might be the least appealing singer ive ever heard. At least one who does it for a living. But when I got to master of puppets I had a realization that ive heard this before. I think an aunt had this on cd and I put it on an iPod or my trusty rca peice of shit. Its OK now though. Just OK. Thats one of the better tracks along with battery just cause its feels so different than the source. But God damn is this record long as hell. I had to listen to it in 2 parts cause who has 2 full hours free at once? I got through the 1st half pretty painlessly but the 2nd was tough due to my own dumbassery. I had that shit on shuffle for some number of songs then turned it off and couldn't tell you what I had heard previously. I mean its hard to keep track of crap you dont like. So I might have missed one or 2 but no way in hell im going back for any reason. I essence this is a cool idea. Put an orchestra behind a metal band. Cool thought. But it extenuates the things I already dont like about this band. They think they are more important than they are. Big huge sweeping bullshit. They dont deserve all this pomp and circumstance in my opinion at least. I get that they matter alot and ill acknowledge that but it doesn't mean I have to like it. The success they have had is a good for them type thing but I just dont get it at all.
Was going to rate 3 stars but then it just kept going and I had enough. Did the live album specifically need to be on this list?
I love the idea of this album, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. First, this is generally not a Symphony and Metallica release as the title would suggest. This is a Metallica album with strings and horns in the background. The actual symphony is mostly difficult to hear in the mix, which was a big disappointment for me. This feature of the album was made worse in my experience by the quiet passages; when we can hear the orchestra up front, it sounds well-arranged. But when the band really kicks in, the orchestra almost disappears. And frankly, many of the live versions of these songs have considerably less power than the studio versions. Sometimes, James Hetfield almost sounds like he's phoning in the vocals or padding his singing with low-impact live tricks. Perhaps he was just unable to do in 1999 what he could do in 1989. I haven't heard much live Metallica. I'm not really a metal fan, but I've always felt that Metallica were absolute masters of the genre, especially with their releases up to and including the self-titled black album. This performance didn't hit me in the way that I expected. I'll add it to the collection, but I was still pretty disappointed. Three stars.
Cool but wouldn't listen again
It is brilliant, both in concept and execution. Kamen had done a lot of work with rock bands prior to this and did a phenomenal job in scoring the complexities of Metallica's music. The symphony, for the most part, compliments the music perfectly or integrates with it seamlessly, adding a depth and clarity to the compositions that can't be found with simple guitar/bass/drums. This is a virtually flawless integration of metal and orchestra and it is widely praised for good reason.
Yes, it’s long (TWSS). Yes, it’s a live album. Get over it. This is awesome.
I know this album gets mixed thoughts from fans- but the epic wall of sound that is this album will never be able to be touched by another one of their albums or metal band. A truly unique album that sounds fantastic and presents the full 2+ hour concert rather than just 35 mins cuts.
I listened to this to death back in the day. Especially No Leaf Clover. Overall this was a fun spin on Metallica that I didn’t know I would enjoy as much as I did. It’s a fun take on a live concert, and I always felt that it’s a bit pretentious to diss on this album
An absolutely phenomenal orchestral rendition of some of my favorite Metallica tracks and amazing first time covers of some I've never heard. Every Metallica fan needs to listen to this the whole way through!
Uppskattar verkligen att det här finns och har hänt men det är inte för mig. Aldrig gillat Metallica, och är inte heller förtjust i symfonisk rock. Men kul för alla Metallicaheads som var där!
Hetfields röst är lite mjäkig emellanåt. Nästan helren i strupen på både master of puppets och battery? Han känns lite för självmedveten med symfonikerna runt sig. Det är ingen gosskör - dista på, gubbjävel. Och 2 timmar och 13 minuter är lite väl va? Men när det är ballt är det ballt. Och ofta otroligt snyggt arrat, tycker inte det känns som en gimmick. Flera av de gamla rökarna förhöjs av orkestern. Sen stör jag mig lite på flera av load och reload-låtarna, 90-tals Metallica är svårälskat emellanåt. Svårbetygsatt. Ibland undrar jag varför det här gjorts överhuvudtaget och ibland känner jag att det är asmäktigt och en blandning som tillför nåt. Kommer nog väldigt sällan återkomma till den här skivan. Ser fram emot att få upp något av metallicas studioalbum istället.
Min frukost blev mycket episk med detta album. Ännu en konsert jag skulle velat uppleva om man kunde resa tillbaka i tiden.
2 timmar och 13 minuter METALLICA 👹 Man e ju svag för en schysst orkester!
inget kan tyvärr vara konstant mäktigt i 2 timmar och 13 minuter… allt flyter ihop. hitsen är dock gås
Försökte ge det en ordentlig chans förut. Kommer inte ihåg om det var jättebra eller jättedåligt. Säkert en trea
This blend of epic riffs and orchestral composition makes for an experience that a white collar dad and his black t-shirt son can agree is kind of good. My experience it gave off a superhero score vibe. It wants to be grand, it wants to be epic, the talent is all there, but there's very little emotion coming through.
I have vague memories of this being hyped on the radio and then a couple years later the same station saying: Metallica is back, screw the classical music experiment.
I remember when this came out and the guitarist in my high school band was super in to it. In theory it’s a great idea, get real classically trained musicians to interact with legendarily good popular musicians. When done right it could've sounded amazing. To me this always sounded a bit overwrought and was worse for being live. The only songs that really work are instrumental or mostly instrumental, which is the earlier stuff for the most part. Things from the current albums (Load, etc) all sound ridiculous. I think this could’ve been wildly improved by performing this in a studio and with more work between the composer and the band. Also Lars sucks live and has always sucked live. This is a lot of interesting potential wasted.
Cool alternate take on the Metallica catalog. I generally prefer the studio versions but there's some interesting stuff going on here.
Wow, I generally hate Metallica, but this was fantastic. The symphony kinda faded into the background for a few tracks in the middle, which took the wind out of my sails. This was on track for four stars for a bit, and really fell just a tiny bit short. If you've never seen Florence and The Machine perform with the symphony, go watch it on YouTube right now.
I'm opposed to live albums being on the list because most of them aren't very good and they feel like a compilation album, which I think is cheating to have here. But S&M is very different and unique. How often do you see thrash metal and an orchestra perform together? I can let this one slide. I can let this one slide especially because it's very good. Songs like The Memory Remains and Wherever I May Roam are better than their originals with the orchestra, and whilst this isn't the case for every song, they're still very, very good and ones I'll definitely be coming back to. James is on form as ever, as are Jason's backup vocals. Even the drumming ain't bad, lmfao. However, it is still a live album and still has those elements of a live album I dislike, such as the production, even though Metallica are a very good live band. It's also over 2 hours long. Anything gets a bit old by then. There is also a distinct lack of AJFA songs on here which makes me a bit sad. In the end, a high 4.
Overall Rating - 4.02/5 (8.05/10). Absolutely incredible album.
What a fun concert! Been a long time since I've been to one 😀
I think this makes metallica music actually a lot more interesting! Production is good, performance is great, takes forever.
Surprisingly, I was ok with this. I didn't like it, but I got it.
Who is this for?
Get real this rules
Nothing Else Matters // 1.5/5
Live one of the best metal bands with an Orchestra. Pretty sweet.
No i taką Metallicę lubię. Ostry rock powinien być parowany z symfonicznymi aranżacjami - są równie patetyczne. I chociaż nie lubię płyt typu live to tę doceniam, bo jest w niej jakaś wartość dodana. Coś nowego. 7.5/10
When I was in high school, I really loved 3rd-wave ska music. Your Bosstones, your Mustard Plug, your Reel Big Fishes. I also loved Metallica. And it occurred to me that if you covered "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with a bunch of brass doing the lead guitar in the intro it would kick ass. Crazy that just a year or two after I had that thought they actually did it. I'm an absolute mark for this kind of thing. I wore this CD the fuck out when I got it. I still spin it a few times a year. Give me a symphony with an act I dig and I'm all over it. This? Love it. Nas with the National Symphony Orchestra? Love it. That one time Jay-Z did "PSA" at Carnegie Hall or whatever? Love it. I even saw Billy Corgan at the goddamn Lyric Opera WITH OPERA SINGERS, and thought that was cool, if profoundly weird. I remember reading the Pitchfork review of this (or maybe S&M2, not sure) where they said, essentially, that the album wasn't necessary because classic-era Metallica sounded orchestral already. That's true! But it doesn't mean it doesn't sound awesome! I won't pretend I was following them in the 80s (I was a small child) but when I listen to recordings of them live, their sound benefits greatly from two things. First, modern recording and production so you can hear some bass and drums along with the wailing. Second, the fact that James can't just growl his way through everything and had to learn to really sing, which he's actually quite good at. My only critique is the setlist. Take out "-Human" "Outlaw Torn" "Bleeding Me" "Of Wolf and Man" and "Devil's Dance." Add "Creeping Death" "Fade to Black" "Blackened" "Seek and Destroy" and/or "Orion." If you did that, it would be hard to improve upon.
Such an tired idea to make "symphonic" versions of old songs and the album sounds just like that. The symphonic arrangements sound like unused Bond soundtrack ideas and prove that sometimes good idea on paper is not so good in real life.
I usually have a soft spot for big arrangements, but this album makes a notable exception. I couldn't listen to it to the end because it sounded meaningless.
I stopped following Metallica's career after self titled a.k.a. "Black Album", basically Justice for All was the last one I really listened and I had major issues with that one as well (mainly the fucked up sound/mix). I don't mind listening to their thrash-era albums, but the bloated stadion rock stuff is really not my bag of bones. Some of these tracks sound decent with an orchestra supporting them, but too many of them are kind of generic rock music. There's also quite a few bits where it doesn't really work, where band and orchestra seem to be playing separately instead of together. I do understand this is a live album, but still. These observations makes it feel rushed.
Has like an hour of relatively filler tracks, but the other hour is so peak it's insane
I like Metallica fine, but I was ready to give this album a 2 after the first few songs... just all felt too drawn out and indulgent. But "Nothing Else Matters" - happens to be my favorite Metallica song and the orchestral arrangement for it was pretty epic. That gave the album a second wind for me.
Good party music, but i am alone, so it is too loud
Holy autotune. Cool concept here, but the execution ruins it for me. 4/10
When it's good, it's very good. But mostly it's boring - Metallica giving a relatively lifeless run through of a baffling setlist as the orchestra smashes and wallops through the least imaginative set of arrangements they must have had their hands on in a long time. Great idea, really disappointing execution. But the good songs stop it from being a total waste of space - these versions of The Outlaw Torn and Call Of Ktulu alone save it from 2 stars! Favourite tracks: Ecstacy Of Gold, Call Of Ktulu, Outlaw Torn
A ono ok je, pompozno ali ok
Just not my thing
Still not a live album guy
I've never been a huge Metallica fan. Everything I've heard from the Black Album era through now has not moved me at all. The few earlier, rawer songs I've heard I've not disliked to the same degree. So here I am listening to a double live album recorded with a full symphony. A gimmick (and that is what it is) that they were not the first to try, nor were they the last. The first few tracks sounded promising, but after that it quickly became a chore to get through the rest. The band was amped up so loud that only occasionally could you even hear the symphony. They could have achieved the same effect with one guy on a descent synth. The verdict: Meh-tallica.
Hey ... its the biggest sellouts in Rock history! Let me put this out there straight away, if this were any of the first four studio Metallica albums, they would easily be 5-stars for me. But unfortunately once the 90s hit, this band sold out big time, and starting make records that sounded like garbage. Note: this is the first album after almost 250 albums, that I am skipping through. I am not listening to 90% of this album that is a hot mess. I listened to the classic 80s tracks, that sounds completely awful here. So much wrong with this album, that I can rant about, but I care so little about it, I just want to move on to the next one. But before going on ... I want to say thank you to the 1,001 list for ruining my Saturday. I am going to go put on ...And Justice for All on vinyl so I can cleanse the palate.
Classic. Good music for SURE!
Combining Heavy Metal and Orchestras, that certainly can be called an inspired idea that in theory shouldn't work....or maybe it should since some have called some classical music as being the heavy metal of their time, just without electric instruments amplified through loud amps. For the most part, I thought the combination works. At times it may feel like its orchestration being sorta tacked onto classic heavy metal songs, but other times it does add an interesting flavor or dimension to Metallica's songs. Overall an interesting and unique experience.
It's Metallica and it's live. Good not great
It is Metallica with an orchestra and sounds like the soundtrack of an action movie. Good for Metallica fans, not so good I'd imagine for others. I actually like it more than I thought I would, although it is a little too long.
never been big on this lot. nothing original and yet they threatened everyone with copyright lol .never got my Napster trip to Florida either ...rip offs
Electric, compelling and contagious! The composition, vocals and instrumentation is thrilling and empowering.
I have always like Metallica from as far back as the Master Of Puppets Album and I don’t know why I don’t listen to this more. It is great, not brilliant but great. Some of the tracks work so well with the orchestra like Memory Remains but others don’t so much like the aforementioned MoP. On the whole though it is good and I should listen to it more.
Pretty cool blend of sounds. I've listened to some Metallica in my life but not enough to be super familiar with a lot of these songs so it was pretty fresh to me honestly. It was overdone to the point of being corny at points but other renditions were really really cool. If anything it made me want to really dig into some more Metallica.
I loved Metallica in the 90s. I played in an orchestra in the 90s, even toured into Europe. have been meaning to listen to this album for over 25 years. Loved it, enormous in its ambition and execution.
Live albums are pointless. Live albums with a symphony orchestra are cringe.
Долго и бесполезно. Зачем здесь вообще оркестр?
377;$;
Good, but a little long.
I do think Metallica kind of sucks but this is a good concept for a live album. Opening with The Ecstasy of Gold always works. This is just what if Emmerson, Lake, and Palmer's Pictures at an Exhibition was worse.
It's like going to an all you can eat buffet restaurant and one thinks,... I like the types of food at the buffet. I could have a mountain plate full of the thing I like. You eat a bunch of okay food to the point of feeling sick. Or you could, for the same price eat a higher quality smaller amount. This is not something anyone needs to hear. Also for the most part live albums are for the fans of a band.
I'm not going to sit through the full 2+ hours of this because I've heard it enough times before. The Call of Ktulu is easily the best rendition here because the orchestra lends some dynamism, not so much elevating as recontextualising it. The nature of the track - inspired by Lovecraft and lacking lyrics - gives the orchestra freedom to breathe. That can't be said for many of the other renditions. The other classic Metallica tracks sound claustrophobic with the addition of orchestral elements, and the Load/Reload era tracks simply aren't good enough as they are. Other than Ktulu, the standouts here are the Black Album tracks, which have a floaty quality that lends itself well to the fullness that the orchestra provides. Lastly, I think - Human (Metallica: please stop trying to be clever with track titles) is a pretty poor song but I have a soft spot for No Leaf Clover - it's got those Unforgiven vibes that I'm weak for.
Very dramatic, one might say cinematic.
Sick concept. Really enjoyed a few of the songs. It sounded very Trans-Siberian Orchestra at points.
symphony putting in WORK. I'm really interested in how the arranging process was for this album. I think my enjoyment was enhanced by knowing the original versions of so many of the songs, and most of the time the extra instrumentation was adding some cool depth. There were a couple times that I think it lightened the song a little too much for my liking (angry section in one for example). High 4 rounded to 5 for the novelty
This is a very long album. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5
The Ecstasy of Gold cover had me hooked, the rest just did it’s job. A very good album
That was a lot of Metallica, I don't mind them but that much in one go is not going to score favourably for anyone. Overlooking that, Metallica are pretty on point assuming this wasn't touched up afterwards. It's a unique concert so worth being a live album, thought the strings added to some songs but made others sound like stage musical numbers. I think the grander the original song the better it worked, and the more raw ones sounded silly. This was worth a listen but I need 6 months off Metallica now. 3.5.
Well worth listening through. Long though, felt long. The intense songs work quite well with the orchestra. However at other at times it was barely noticeable. James Hetfield's vocals are incredibly clean. Enjoyed the instrumentals, enjoyed Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, One, and Enter Sandman, the main tracks really. Great album. I don't think I'll edge myself to a 5. It was long.
Another live album..... I will concede that it is slightly more interesting as it has the addition of the orchestra. I'm not convinced that they actually improve Metallica's music though, think I'd rather hear normal Metallica. It is good though and Metallica have some big songs, but I'm going with 3 as it's a live album. 3.5
Utterly crap
Ok
Who thought this was a good idea?
Love Metallica, not interested in live albums
Didn’t really add that much to the Metallica experience. Maybe better on DVD? Seems like a you had to be there thing, or one for the hardcore fans
This a long one, it’s just after 8am and I’ve been listening to this since 6, but it’s a good one. Live Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony. I don’t usually go for live albums, it’s a bit like seeing your friends’ vacation photos. You really just had to be there. But this works quite nicely. Michael Kamen’s orchestrations are fantastic and really complement Metallica well. They’re not the first to combine an orchestra with metal, but they may be the best.
Writing this review after only 7 songs but whatever, it's a banger, happy to give this a 5. Love that they took their classic songs, added full orchestration, then performed it live. At 2 hours a bit long in the tooth for a one day listen but that's my only complaint
The hit songs on a live don't hit the sane
# Playlist Track - For Whom The Bell Tolls # Notes - This was actually the first CD I got, back when I was a pre-teen. Listened to it hundreds of times, probably! Glad it held up pretty well, after all those years. - Still, it's a very long album, and it gets muddy in some points. - A great starting point to get to know Metallica for the first time, or expand your Metal horizons into something more melodic.