Twenty years ago, Metallica joined forces with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and delivered arguably one of the best collaborations between a hard rock or metal band and an orchestra. Many others have done such a collaboration before and since, but none really came close to capturing the sheer insanity and power that Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony did.
Therefore, it is fitting that the Chase Centre in San Francisco, Metallica’s adopted hometown was opened by the band and the town’s orchestra in 2019. And boy did the combination far exceed the hype that there was around it. Especially as the whole thing was filmed and was put out in select cinemas on October 9th, where this reviewer got the chance to see the whole thing.
From a purely musical perspective, dividing the set up in two halves, one which explored relatively new material and some old fashioned goodies, and the other which combined the classics with a new interpretation on some classical classics-is that the right word?- was sheer genius.
As with their performance twenty years ago, the orchestra started things off with that classic spine tingling song ‘Ecstasy of Gold,’ watching on the screen, you could see the recognition from the crowd that this was going to be one hell of a night. And it proved to be, as the moment the band entered there was a roar, and then ‘Call of Ktulu,’ kicked off and from there we were away with the races. “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” and “The Day That Never Comes,” really got things going and you could visibly see the band start to relax a little and get into the swing of things. The way the orchestra started off “Day,” was completely spine tingling.
Other standouts from this first set were “Memory Remains,” in which the whole crowd both at the show and in the cinema began singing along to the right bits-if you know, you know- and of course “Outlaw Torn,” which has always had a particular bit of poignancy, and given past events clearly means a lot to James Hetfield.
Act Two has some serious highlights. From the Orchestra playing out “Sycthian Suite,” solo and then moving into “The Iron Foundry,” with Metallica, showing that the band still have that streak of doing whatever the hell they want after 38 years together. From there we have “The Unforgiven III,” where Hetfield performs without a guitar and accompanied by the orchestra. It is quite a chilling performance, and one that is sure to go down in the legend of the band. There wasn’t a dry eye in the cinema, if that’s any indication of just how good the performance was.
“Anesthsia Pulling Teeth,” sees Scott Pingel the main bassist for the orchestra perform a tribute to Cliff Burton, one that is jaw droppingly awesome and perfect in so many ways. That Lars Ulrich emerges to play drums on the song- I believe for one of the first times he’s done this in years- adds something to the show and poignancy of it all.
Then we move into the finale. “Wherever I May Roam,” “Master of Puppets,” “Nothing Else Matters,” and “Enter Sandman,” deliver everything one could hope for. Glitz, glamour and balls to the wall metal, with people getting out their phones in the cinema for “Nothing Else Matters,” you can tell that this is something that will live long in people’s memories.
With James Hetfield having entered rehab once more to battle his demons, we might not be seeing Metallica for a long while, and if that is the case, it is comforting to know that with S and M 2, they have shown they can still deliver with the greatness that they have come to be associated with.