In a concert with the San Francisco Symphony, Metallica played 2 new songS ’’ - Human’’ and ’’No Leaf Clover.’’ These are included in the 2 hours and 20 minutes worth of music included on their live album of the concert. The album is called S & M and was released on November 23, 1999 (yes, Metallica has released a new album every year in November since 1997). This live album is great.
Both of the new songs are great and the most of the old songs sound really good. ’’Hero of the Day’’ is the only one that doesn’t sound too good: the drums and overall sound aren’t as impressive . Some songs sound even better than the studio versions. ’’Memory Remains’’ and ’’Devil’s Dance’’ both sound great and are better than the studio versions. The classics, such as ’’Master of Puppets’’ and ’’One’’, are spectacular. In a way, this can be viewed as a ’’best of’’ album.
I gIve this album a lower rating than all of their studio albums for a couple of reasons. First, its is a live album and, thus, has only old songs (except for the 2 new songs) and as such, is somewhat repetitive. Second, because it is live, sound quality does suffer a little making many songs not quite as good. However it is still a great album. It is unique among Metallica items and contains many good versions of songs as well as two great, new songs. Despite how good it is, I think only big Metallica fans will like it or people who have a really good appreciation of music.
On denser, thrashier songs as ’’Battery’’ the orchestra basically bolsters the sturm and drang by underscoring the powerful themes that drive it. With other numbers, notably ’’Master of Puppets’’ and newer tunes like ’’Devil’s Dance, ’’ there’s more room for interplay between rock and classical elements -- horns flash brassily in the mix and percussion peppers the grinding grooves.
They also released a video in VHS and DVD format of the concert. I have the DVD version and it is quite good. The audio track on the video is the same as what appears on the CD; however, you do have the option to isolate the band from the orchestra or the orchestra from the band.
In recent years there’s been some debate as to whether or not Metallica has lost its edge, but this collaboration demonstrates the band is simply cultivating a more refined bite.