S&M

Adding Orchestra to The Call Of Ktulu takes the song from "humanity has uncovered its ruin" to "The Rock is wearing khakis racing through the jungle to save the day". That's not an addition to the song. It's not even a reinvention or a reinterpretation. It's just turning it into the soundtrack to an adventure movie, the kind you watch and forget about the next day. Master of Puppets sounds like 2 people playing speaker wars at a party. If there is coherency here, I'm not hearing it. At one point Hammet is shredding the solo, doing a great job. Then he stops and the orchestra shreds. For about two bars. What a wasted opportunity. They could have done a Devil Goes Down To Georgia thing where they shred different parts of the solo but nope, it was just decoration. Halfway through Fuel I was really, really getting annoyed by this. I skipped ahead to For Whom The Bell Tolls. Maybe they could do something with that. I got a third of the way through, and gave up. The vocals sound like he'd had that stepped auto-tune on. The orchestra added nothing and indeed took away. Terrible. I've long said Metallica were good when they were raw. And Justice For All is some of the worst production since the 60's, but it still fucking rocks. This though? The production was super polished but all I could think of was a pair of bedazzled jeans - all that sparkles is not gold, and this was pure crap.

So boring

It was a bold move and it paid off. Metallica didn’t need an orchestra to make their music epic but it pushed their songs to new heights. This album also captures the band at a time before their catalog got too bloated. In anddituon to the heavy metal staples is includes the best stuff from the Load era plus 2 new songs (both great). This album plays like a Metallica greatest hits but with a symphony. Pretty epic.

more enjoyable than standard issue Metallica is to me, honestly, although I found myself wishing this had come out after St. Anger to see how bad that shit sounded, even with orchestral backing. a bit too long, felt like I was listening to this album all day. the orchestral sound seemed to waver between Bond Theme and like an Egyptian leitmotif? like Prince of Egypt soundtrack. the track name "No Leaf Clover" and the ending of Battery where he shouts out the conductor with a huge Hetfield YEAHP had me cracking a smile. these guys are unintentionally goofy as hell. didn't completely love it but didn't hate it. glad I heard this strange thing.

I’m sure the Metallica purists disapprove of this album but I enjoyed the hell out of it. 3.1

It’s an interesting concept and I’m a big Metallica fan. Bought the CD back when it came out and only listened to it once, so this is my first time revisiting it. I’m not a fan of live albums, so that’s a mark against it. It was much too long to listen to in one sitting, but I get why it’s so long. Overall, outside of a few tracks, I didn’t really enjoy it much.

Inte för mig

I really wanted to give this the good old college try but I already know I hate Metallica and then I find it’s a fucking live album and STILL I gave it a go but I made it through the first two pretentious instrumental tracks and thought yano what? Life’s too short. DNF.

Great listen, amazing how the two seemingly different genre's of music have similar elements and mesh together well.

Very good.

Dilutes the thrash, adds nothing, and a really long boring set

It was okay, I have not heard many Metallica songs beforehand. This was just a bit too long for my taste. I am curious about the rest of the Metallica albums on this list on their own more.

i had no idea that this album existed, and yet here it is and I am in complete awe. i love a genre mash up, i love when artists feel free to experiment and try new things. this album, on the surface, sounds like an impossible task. a full symphony orchestra with one of the most famous thrash metal bands in the world... how could that possible be enjoyable or good? well, this album absolutely knocks it out the park. every track is brought to a new height, as each melody is layered in a new casing of strings, woodwinds, and brass. the drums are bombastic, the solos are still incredible, and James Hetfield sounds amazing. i think if you turn this on for the casual listener, they would have no idea that it was a live album until you hear the audience start to clap in between tracks. in my opinion, this is where music is at its best. talented artist taking things that they are passionate about, and transforming it into something new. i'm not even the biggest Metallica fan... and I believe that this album is truly something special. easy, easy, easy 5 stars.

Absolutely impressive and this would have been an incredible show to attend in-person. The live album is a little long, but that just means the attendees got their money's worth listening to Metallica's greatest hits performed along with a professional orchestra. I'd probably give this four and a half stars for length alone, but its worth rounding up to five.

This is like ordering a salad with buffalo sauce as the dressing. I like both of those things, and when you see it on the menu it sparks your interest, but just like the buffalo sauce, Metallica overpowers the symphony throughout this album.

what a shitty album cover. but great music. but for an album for 1001 this one is too long. ofc you get a great album if you put togehter ALL hits of a band

The name is Hetfield...James Hetfield. Kind of sounds like it should be part of a Bond movie soundtrack. More cacophonic than symphonic.

What I haven’t seen commented on in the reviews for S&M (what a terrible and stupid name), is that, by playing with the San Francisco Symphony, the musical quality of Metallica’s compositions was ‘validated.’ Anyone who’s ever tried to play Metallica songs knows that the speed and complexity tends to be on par with the more challenging of the canonical composers. Despite the super-heavy nature of Metallica’s palm muted riffs, their guitar solos often dip into into a sublimity where even a doped out metalhead can taste very old, traditional, melodic roots. Who else is stopping a song like Master of Puppets midway through its calamity to tell a quiet, harmonic story of the brief bliss sandwiched within the brutal grip of addiction? Who else would begin two albums with a psych-out gentle, classical feel before melting our faces off? It isn’t a big jump to align Metallica with a symphony orchestra. Now, the issue is, does it work? Sometimes, I feel like the symphony plays incongruously with the main song, and while not cacophonic, they don’t add much as much as they detract. With the exception of Ecstasy of Gold, the symphony never has a stand out moment. The best parts continue to be the base song being performed by the original band. Therefore, the symphony (the symphony!) becomes just a mere gimmick. Metallica’s best song, One, is completely muddied up by the symphony, and I think, deprived of all its power. Then comes the song choice itself. S&M had the disservice of coming out post Load, which I think is the beginning of Metallica’s downfall. With the exception perhaps of Hero of the Day or Fuel, any song that isn’t one of their classics would have been better served with another track from the Ride the Lightning-Black Album era. I imagine Metallica naturally wanted to perform their newer stuff, it’s just that nobody likes those songs. I would’ve loved to hear Fade to Black on here. Fight Fire With Fire, Orion… So, final consensus is- this is interesting, but I’d rather listen to the albums. I’ll bump it up a star purely for nostalgia, as a good friend of mine was really into this concert, had the DVD, and we listened to it a lot circa 2000-something.

overdose 6/10

I grew up in Metallica. This is an interesting listen but I don't think it's worthy of the 1001 Albums honor.

stfu

ok to be fair i was ready to dismiss this as something that shouldn't even be on the list given it looked like it was gonna be basically just a regular live album, just a band playing their hits, and for over 2 hours at that. but then i started listening and realised i'd somehow overlooked the part where it's got the whole "orchestral" thing going on? so like, fair enough i guess. the thing is though..... i still don't really get why it's on here other than symphonic metal being kinda popular around when the book was compiled?? but i'm sure it's not that cos if it was then like, why is nightwish totally absent from the list??? idgi. and to be blunt: 2 hours of metallica is a big fucking ask. they're already pretty mid in their home genre(s?) of heavy/thrash metal, and although im sure the spectacle of seeing them perform with an orchestra was probably a big deal at the time, we're reviewing the audio-only version of that here. and i don't really think the rearrangements on this album are much more than a sidegrade to the originals. sorry! idk maybe im missing something. maybe i'm just too used to "orchestra with electric guitars and a drum kit" given that's been half the soundtrack of like every modern sonic game since 06, and a shitload of other big budget games besides. but i'd much rather listen to "his world (theme of sonic)" on loop for 2 hours than put this on again. what a waste of my time....

This was better than I expected, but mostly because the songs were good to begin with and not because the orchestra added anything special.

I appreciate Metallica but I just don’t like the genre

I loved this when I was like 14, it holds up pretty well too.

We like Metallica and although brave, adding an orchestra makes every song less good in our opinion.

I bought this CD for my best friend for his 16th birthday, but then he got two copies as gifts so I kept one. This is one of the few live albums I like because it was doing something different. It was a one-of-a-kind moment for the band and it was captured beautifully. No Leaf Clover even got a fair amount of radio play at the time. This is a huge double album and it’s not something I listen to end-to-end very often, but when I do I always enjoy it.

I would have preferred this album as a studio endeavor and not a live recording. I wanted to be able to soak in the orchestration and their contribution to the music so much more than I felt I was able to, and live albums are never my cup of tea. This is Metallica, their most popular numbers and a few oddballs with a symphony. I don't think it realistically contributes anything novel to Metallica's catalog nor to the metal genre as a whole. It's also 2 hours long so you have to really enjoy it from the jump to want to listen through the whole record.

It's Metallica plus an orchestra, which is definitely a gimmick, but ends up being a little better than JUST a gimmick. Probably a lot more enjoyable if you like Metallica in the first place. The orchestral arrangements and performances are great, which is to be expected from the San Francisco Symphony. My favorite is probably "The Ecstasy of Gold", which isn't even a Metallica song. There are a few places where even the presence of a conductor can't keep Lars Ulrich on a steady tempo. Overall, this is another well-executed-but-not-my-jam 3 star album.

Interesting concept. I’m not entirely sure the strings add all that much. I’ve never been huge on Metallica but there are some nice slowed down versions here. I like that it’s just a little bit toned down. Nice bass lines too - shame the bassist didn’t continue after this. Enjoyed it tbf and would actually come back to it in future. 4 stars.

A bunch of Metallica songs in an alternate, still-fun coating, you don't need to prefer them over the originals to have a good time

It's over two hours long. We're already in hot water here. It's a live album. Ugh, fine, but it better immerse me in the concert as much as possible, as if I was there. Yikes! It was recorded the day after the most deadly school shooting in United States Of America history. Who the hell has a concert on a Wednesday? The main act is Metallica; not exactly the most friendly band to working class people. The band has always given me the ick. It's not looking good so far, but hey, at least it includes an orchestra. I've listened to enough Serj Tankian to appreciate a symphony-metal hybrid. I really enjoy the contrast, but I'm still not convinced it will be done well because it's Metallica. After listening to this marathon, I will conclude with the following points here. First of all, there is absolutely no denying this has one hell of a track list. It includes arguably the top ten greatest Metallica songs of all time, and a beautiful cover track for its opening. Second of all, it absolutely deserves to be in the books. It's unique, and unforgettable, if nothing else. Metallica fans, let's call it a truce, and agree to the rating. Favorite Track: "The Memory Remains".

I really liked this. I've often thought that metal and orchestral music have many parallels (intricacy/virtuosity, drama, rhythmic activity), so this pairing makes sense to me. I love orchestral music and all of the different textures and timbres that are possible, and I think that addition enhances Metallica's sound and makes it more interesting for me. If I'm listening to pretty much anything and I hear a french horn, that's gonna make me like it more. The sound isn't really classical, but leans more towards movie music and honestly really reminds me of wind band music too. It's definitely gimmicky and a bit cheesy, but I kinda always think metal music is cheesy. I think that aspect is part of the charm and I bet this would've been a really fun show to see in person.

I bet this will be Karen’s favourite Metallica album. I was pretty psyched to see it made the list. Teenage me had the entire Metallica discography. So I have listened to this one a fair bit as a result. These days I don’t listen to them as frequently but I still enjoy their music. I’m glad this one made the list because it stands out from the rest of their work for obvious reasons.

There are some great songs on this album. But, over 2 hours for a live album/concert is crazy. I had to take multiple breaks while listening to this album

This is like a vegan corndog (I've never had one but hear me out), its not bad. Got some nice flavour to it, but it will never be as good as a straight up corndog. Its something thats already working trying to be something else, just give me Metallica, and then I will go listen to some orchestral music to follow.

Could have been great

No one needs to hear this before they die.

Lowk hate Metallica

That’s a whole lotta Metalica. Better with the SFSO behind them as the metal is toned down somewhat. S&M has got their hits, a bunch of similar sounding fillers, and some screachy violins. Liked it better at the start of the experience, but it went on too long. I get that it’s a live concert so they have to capture the entire evening, but unless you’re at the concert... Really wanted to shut this one down by the end of it. (2.49*s) Free pass for live album, hopefully S&M2 doesn’t make the 1001 List.

Well, Metallica sure can put on a kick-ass show, especially with a back-up symphony. Band sounds great live...close to studio level. Hetfield got a perfect voice for metal. The songs do sound very similar though with the last few standing out. I'm sure this concert was an amazing event and at over 2 hours...epic. Still not an album though. 1001 concerts you should have been at...make a separate list. 2.32 stars.

I'm usually pretty harsh on live albums for this list as I feel they mostly miss the point as must-listen albums before you die. The majority of live albums are just a re-packaging of previously released content, often worse versions of them, unless they are tied to a pertinent world event or something more significant within a band's history. S&M at least brings something entirely unique and novel to what I expect from Metallica and the heavy metal genre as a whole. Pairing Metallica's heavy hitting tracks with a full orchestra is something I haven't heard before and genuinely did offer me a new angle on their catalog. I give them credit for their creativity and assembling a pretty effective album by enhancing their tracks with the help of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Together they simultaneously "soften" their music and add a new layer while still maintaining the character that made it stand out in its original form. While I'm not the biggest fan of Metallica I absolutely understand their importance in music history and appreciate some of their mainstream stuff. S&M was actually a really nice way to take in 2 hours of thrash metal and enjoy the accompaniment. I enjoyed quite a few of the S&M versions more than the originals. The splicing of the various pieces of the orchestra made me appreciate more the way Metallica layers its main pieces while still leaving room to add strings, horns, percussion, etc. I'm sure there are some purists who find this album to be a weak-ass side project that lost the essence of their whole allure but I for one mostly enjoyed it. I'd be interested in a similar project from another act to see how it holds up. For what it's worth, S&M was a pretty fun listen. It may be a tad long, but even at a 2-hour playtime I didn't struggle through it. This is a good example of an album I probably never would have heard even though I was familiar with the artist and plenty of the original songs without this list. 2.68 stars

Metallica has 1 good album and this ain't it

3.5

blew me away.

The type of Symphonic Metal that I do like! This is decent, the faster, thrashier songs with the orchestral back up are brilliant, but the slower numbers DRAAAAAG. Makes me feel like I’m listening to Pearl Jam or something, and I’m not a Pearl Jam fan. If this was half the length and cut the fat, I’d consider a higher rating. Probs a 3.5 for me but has to on here be 3 as I can’t quite give it a 4. Sorry fellas :/

It's an incredible album, probably my favorite album by the band. It was a great example of how a live album should feel different from studio recordings, but it sacrificed nothing in audio quality. This was one of a small book of CDs that I kept in my first car.

What in the needlessly baroque, the grotesquely rococo, the please don’t make me do 133 minutes of it is S&M? After an intro section that recasts the plainly onanistic as searchingly profound, we get both a live version of “Master of the Puppets” and an orchestra playing at the same time. Not “together”, just near enough one another to justify an inflated ticket price. Despite what’s suggested by the punning title, there is no catalysis in S&M. This is a negative-sum game, a symphony only of inhibitors. The stinging groove that opens “Human”, deep into the record, serves as a perfect example. Devoid of any extraneous musical ornamentation, it just slaps. Here for all to enjoy – or not, whatever – are the buzzsawng riffs, heavy palm muted chugs, throaty “oohs” and shoulder-popping dynamics that is Metallica. Take them, leave them, it doesn’t really matter. The fact is, you know them. S&M is a failure. Not because it isn’t Metallica. Not because it isn’t a good use of a symphony orchestra. Not because the songs suck, or because either party isn’t bringing their version of 100% to it. It fails because it just isn’t very good. Everyone loses. Ooooh.

Music for Chris Angel to flip around to

Mulig dette fortjener å være her på grunnlag av at det var en begivenhet som mixet høy- og lavkultur på en spennende og til dels vellykket måte. På låter som Master of Puppets tilfører strykerne en dramatikk som virkelig komplimenterer låta, og jeg ville ikke sett bort ifra at det er her Dimmu Borgir plukket opp ideen da de begynte å spille inn med ymse philiharmonisike på starten av 2000-tallet. Problemet til S&M, er at Metallica er aktuelle med Load og ReLoad -- to skiver som er uniformt anerkjent som blant deres aller dårligste, og utvilsomt de dårligste som forelå da denne konserten tok plass. Spor fra disse tvilsomme tvillingalbumene utgjør sånn 50% av låtutvalget. Fuel står seg som en meme-låt (gimme fue, gimme fie, gimme dabbadabbadaaaa), men alt det andre er kjedelig på det beste og kjempekleint på sitt verste (balladen Hero of the Day er like ræv som tittelen hinter til at den kommer til å være). Om man stripper ut låtene fra (Re)Load i tillegg til låtene fra Black Album (som er punktet hvor Metallica begynte å dabbe av som metal-band, til tross for at den skiva er elsket av mange), sitter vi igjen med to spor fra Ride the Lightning, to fra Master of Puppets, og to fra Justice. Ingen fra Kill 'em All. Dette er albumene som gjorde Metallica, med sporene som harmoniserer desidert best med orkesteret, og at de utgjør en så liten del av låtutvalget synes jeg er for dårlig. Det er derfor ikke lengden på albumet som er problemet. Dette er et konsertopptak fra et band som spiller lange konserter; det er feil å klage på at de spiller i to timer i denne kontexten. Problemet er låtutvalget. Og mixingen. Jeg pleier ikke å ha noe problem med hvordan Hetfield synger, men på disse låtene synes jeg han legger seg altfor høyt i pitch og vokaliserer for mye. Sounden til alle instrumentene utenom strykerne har også altfor lite diskant, som om de har fått high enden kutta med et low pass filter. Noe som får et band som burde være hardt til å høres softere ut enn de egentlig er. Dette, sammen med et ganske ræva låtutvalg, gjør dette til en langtekkelig og skuffende lytteopplevelse. Om det fantes rettferdighet for Metallica, tenker jeg dette er en toer. Men jeg hyller faktisk ikke Metallica for selvsikkerheten sin da de valgte å spille for det meste låter ingen egentlig liker. Og for at det skal finnes rettferdighet for de som har fått minste uttelling for mildere forbrytelser, så blir det dessverre én altså. For dette var langt og sjeldent bra.

Live albums are a mixed bag for me. I appreciate the classics like Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and Nirvana Unplugged, mainly because they add something extra to the classic hits we loved. Well, its hard to give something a new layer quite like classic orchestra to thrash metal. I will say, I really liked Wolf and man rendition and it was cool seeing the extra layer of sound to the song. I think its hard to really be too harsh on this album because its not a super serious album, its moreso just a cool crossover of sounds. And all things considered. I enjoyed it. But I wont unleash all the stars for this in my rating. However, its important to remember, music is supposed to be fun and entertaining, and this was a very intriguing listen. 3/5

Listens: 1.5 Standout Tracks: Master of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Enter Sandman, Battery 2 hours is a lot, but I can't really get too mad at a 2 hour live album. Imagine going to see any band live and they play a 37-45 minute set. And then this has the additional added benefit of being paired with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. That's pretty damn cool and really elevates the music in my opinion.

good songs, don’t like it live

v cool

This rips. Flat out. Not much more than that. The symphony is an unbelievable addition. I’m sure there are other bands a symphony would pair well with. But adding the cinematic flourish to an already massive sound is just incredible. Listen to this.

this was lowkey fun w/ the orchestra

I love this album. I've never really listened to Metallica - always seemed too head banging for me and it's likely that thier albums would be but the combination of their music with the softening of the orchestra is crazy good. 4.5

Cool idea, I’m sure it was awesome live

really enjoyed this version of Metallica

I already find Metallica Live quite annoying, especially Hetfield's vocalisations. In my opinion, the orchestration adds very little, just seems like embellishments and the metal band and symphonies never really quite come together as a whole. The setlist is still mostly great Metallica material.

Good!

Never saw the point of this and still don’t.

This is a tough one to rate. There are BRILLIANT moments here ("Of Wolf and Man"), but also a bunch of songs from the album "Load" that are better off forgotten. It's not a bad listen, but at 2h15, it's too long and too filled with skippable songs. Your mileage may vary, but you'll probably end up going back to the original records anyway. "Ride the Lightning" deserves a spot better than this.

It's fine. 2 hours of adequate music. Never good nor bad.

On paper, this record sounds like a terrible idea. Mash together the trash of Metallica with stinging strings? Yet surprisingly there’s more harmony than juxtaposition between the guitars and the strings. After all, without this album there probably wouldn’t be a lot of great Final Fantasy music. Yes, it’s long, but it’s such a thrill. The highlight here definitely has to be Kirk Hammett alongside the symphony, who are completely synchronized in intensity. I treat this album like I treat Interstellar, the execution isn’t perfect but the theory and ideas alone behind it are more than enough for me.

It's pretty decent. I don't think the symphony ends up making it sound ALL that better but it's still an improvement. The Ecstacy of Gold and No Leaf Clover are the highlights on here, the rest ranges from decent to pretty good.

Listening session: september 21st/22nd, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: heard a few songs before Thoughts: I understand the concept and I really liked the orchestra on some songs, but this album was a bit too long for my liking Favourite tracks: The Call Of Ktulu, Fuel, Enter Sandman

Day989 - can we remove one of the other metallica albums off the list if they get to have a live greatest hits album here. it is pretty cool though

Way too long

This is what all those "epic cinematic/ orchestral" covers on youtube want to be

Did not think symfony + Metallica would work that well but I'll be damned if this wasn't an amazing album from start to finish!

Bold move and cool. I prefer the orignals though. Strong 7

I love this album and have for a very long time. A live metal album with an orchestra is everything I love with music. I'm gonna listen through another time right now. Maybe twice.

Orchestra was great. Live Metallica is painful.

A whole bunch of bangers sang live, what's not to like?

I think it’s a 3.5, largely for the idea instead of the execution. I don’t particularly like Metallica and found this a bit long and boring in places - BUT, when Bring Me The Horizon did their live at the Albert Hall thing I thought it was so pioneering and smart. I didn’t realise Metallica did it first (maybe other people did it before them? I have not researched).

Some of the songs are really good. Most of them are average. This album does not need to be two whole hours. [DID NOT FINISH — if I do, I will edit this review accordingly.]

3.5

3.5

When it’s good it’s really good. It can at times Make you feel Like you are at concert However I’m just not a big enough fan to sit through this 2 hour album For multiple listens It gets a 2.5 for me on re-listens, but the whole thing for fans and sound is 3.5 cause it’s good for what it is. I’ll Meet it at the middle and give it a solid 3 Stand out tracks The Memory Remains Hero of the day The thing that should not be Fuel

I was already familiar with a couple tracks from this album, but never heard the entire album all the way through. I'm a sucker for live albums to begin with, but this album truly feels like a concert experience. The symphony adds so much to Metallica's sound and really makes it something entirely new. This combination really works well for pretty much the entire album. I enjoyed this quite a bit and I would listen to this again for sure.

I love Metallica, and I enjoy S&M as a result, but I'm not really sure what it's doing on this list when there are so many other Metallica records that could've taken this spot instead. I enjoy this on principle but I only ever return to No Leaf Clover. But what an amazing song No Leaf Clover is, it's up there with their best.

I’m not going to object to Metallica, but this is a weird inclusion; it’s essentially a greatest hits compilation with the San Francisco symphony orchestra playing along. And though it’s kind of a neat record, it doesn’t always work. Sometimes it sounds like Metallica and the symphony are playing different songs. That’s ok, they took a stab at a cool idea, and it sometimes does work. But it is a live record/compilation sort of thing, so I’m not sure I understand its inclusion on this project. I did enjoy it though. 8/10

I generally dont feel live albums should be on a list like this, but there are a few exceptions (see Nirvana unplugged). Metallica also get a pass on long song moan, as their light and shade approach to these mean the song actually progresses. Somehow adding a symphony orchestra to Metallica just makes sense. A lot of their material like One and for Whom the Bells Toll, lend themselves to such augmentation. However this generally works across the board, even allowing a live version of their traditional wall on music (theme from the good, the bad and the ugly)

Metallica are a band that I’ve only really had a passing interest in a handful of songs, so a double album at over 2 hours long was never going to be for me (in the main). As a concept this absolutely works and, if you are a Metallica fan, you’ll no doubt love it. The songs I knew and liked sounded great with an orchestra; “Fuel”, in particular, stands out - the strings add something incredibly special. But it was just too much Metallica for me, as much as the concept is a great one and is executed well. The second half of the album brings it to a 3.5* for me, but it was never going to be tipped into 4 stars.

So I'm going to get the negatives out of the way first: it's verrrrrrrrry long, it takes ages before you actually hear James Hetfield sing (which, to me is one of the main draws of Metallica), and I have to have my standard "it's a bit guitar noodly in places" complaint as I'm not a big 'extended solo' kinda person. However, it absolutely works. It's seems so unlikely that you could mix an orchestra with metal, but its great (I shouldn't be too surprised given I love a prog band who once took an orchestra with them on tour). It's like Metallica made a Bond soundtrack and also improved it 200%. 4/5

Dude, this album is how long?!! Despite it's ridonkulous length, I enjoyed this a lot with the mix of the symphony added in

Metallica has a nice blend of hard rock and classical instruments. I had this CD as a kid and still enjoyed it today. Their music always holds up just a little long for my taste. 7/10 Top song... Nothing else matters

Bun

Fav song: Nothing Else Matters

I watched the video version of this album. Rock music and orchestras go very well together, in my opinion. In this case, neither overpowered the other.The orchestra could be heard clearly over the songs and added enhancement to the base songs. Additionally, I liked watching the crowd singing along and seeing the band enjoying themselves. There were a lot of musicians and this looked and sounded like a lot of work went into it. I thought it was very impressive and it was easy to immerse myself in (but I generally like live albums and interesting mixes).

I really like this and did not expect this from Metallica. The orchestra complemented the original instrumentation really well

This was so good and done so well. I did not think Metallica and a Symphony would go together as well as they did. This is practically a biggest hits show. My big gripe is at times the guitars/solos were in the background and I didn't love that Liked Songs: The full album

Nope

Love the talent, but my blood pressure skyrocketed and it gave me anxiety… so it did exactly what it was trying to do?

The sfso adds a really cool layer of musicality that I think metal often lacks

This is not for me. Not sure who it’s for….

WTH WITH THIS ONE LITERALLY FOUR STARS AND I'M LIKE 3 SONGS IN okay I didn't finish it (I was like halfway through) but I LOVED IT WTHHHH Definitely going to my library

I don’t really care for Metallica in general. But this is a pretty sick record. It’s a bit too long, but it was a live show, so I think I can give it a pass. Immense musicianship, and these songs just get you going. 5/5

Decent enough live album. Hetfield doesn't sound at his best on this album (Too clean of a voice, making him sound like a 2000's butt rock band singer). Weirdly Lars is pretty solid though. The orchestra trades back and forth between being a good addition and sometimes being too much. That said, it's tough to point out a less essential record on the list (Although there are a few. I'm looking at you Electric by Cult). This should not have even sniffed this list when Ride the Lightning exists (Or the myriad other records that are left off the list despite them deserving to be on).