I first learned about this project last year when I checked out their website for the first time. I was very much disappointed with their recent musical endeavors so I wasn't expecting much from the site. And then I kept on seeing this S&M thing everywhere. Finally, I discovered what it was all about. By the time of my visit, the concert had already taken place. I couldn't believe what I read because I have been dreaming of this idea for as long as I can remember. And here it is, one of my all time favorite bands has done it. I had always envisioned a metal band hand in hand with a real orchestra. So to me, this was a total dream come true. Sure there were a lot of bands who already delved in the classical side of things who used choirs and other classical instruments like Celtic Frost, Therion, Arcturus, Emperor plus the neo-classical acts like Children of Bodom and Rhapsody. But none of them pushed it to the actual extreme of using a full orchestra, let along the San Francisco Symphony. I consider Metallica to have two chapters in its career, the old and the new. The old part is during the Kill em' All days up to the Black album (this is even debatable). The new part is from Load up to the present. There are 11 old songs and 9 of the newer ones plus their longtime intro "Ecstasy of Gold" (a total of 21 tracks).

So did Metallica cut it? Did they achieve the unbelievable feat of combining the crushing power of metal with the traditionalism, energy and serenity of classical music? Well, the results are varied my friends. Yes, I admit the concept alone is pure genius but the outcome itself has some misses as well. Let's tackle the production first. For a live album, this has got to be the clearest one I've ever heard. The sound quality is top-notch. Metallica's individual instruments are balanced perfectly with the gigantic sound of the 100-piece orchestra. One of the album's brightest moment is "Master of Puppets", this may be the best track on the whole album because the band's aggression was on its all time high and the orchestra gave more color and power to the already killer song. "The Call of Ktulu" preceding it was also made better this time with the added melodies. Sometimes, the symphony would just follow the basic chords of the song, in other times it would make a counter melody for added texture. Even the newer songs that I'm not much into sounded better with the added elements. One particular part which, I really hated, was on the fast part of "One". The ensemble totally ruined it. The counter melody was so out that it hindered the intensity of the best part of this classic song. It's easily the album's worst moment. Another big gripe of mine, I didn't know what they were thinking for not including any track from "Kill Em' All". That album is my all time favorite Metallica record and I think it's an insult to their debut (and fans alike who supported them from the start) for not including the likes of "The Four Horsemen", "Seek and Destroy" or even "Whiplash". I know there are a lot of fans who share my sentiments. Older songs aside, there are two new songs featured here. "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human" respectively. "No Leaf Clover" starts off with a very ambitious orchestral part and then a medieval-like guitar fiddle comes in. Distortion kicks in and James sings over it. A mid-paced song which is a bit good but far too simple for old Metallica standards. Truly on of their latter stuff. The highlight of this song is the strange sounding fiddle part, which is kinda nauseatingly beautiful. It has to be heard to be believed. "-Human", on the other hand touches the stoner rock field with its very groovy, but heavy stoner vibe. Another mid-paced original and I like better than "No Leaf Clover". This one's more aggressive. As for the other songs, they were treated with respect and no actual harm was done on the original components.

One particular thing I've noticed that changed dramatically was James Hetfield's voice. His throaty and almost juvenile delivery of yore has now become a sleek, clean and controlled art. You can experience it first hand on the verse of "Nothing Else Matters". On the last word of the verse, he cuts it abruptly when it should have been prolonged. There are a lot of moments where his new streamlined approach is evident. I really, really prefer his older style. Most of the newer songs are pretty boring; especially "Devil's Dance" (off "Re-Load"), "Bleeding me" (off "Load") and "Outlaw Torn" (again from "Load") that took the places of possibly better old songs. Forgive me for whining too much on the newer material, but I am from the old skool of Metallica and these new songs just do not appeal to me. How I wish all of the tracks featured were from older albums. I think they should've just done that. They should've released a seperate double album that featured just the old or new music on a particular disc. Then I wouldn't complain too much. Anyway, complaints and gripes aside, I would say that this is still a classic Metallica album in its own right because of the brilliant idea behind it. I believe this would be a staple in metal and rock history in the years to come. I just hope their newer material improves dramatically. Case Closed.

This review is credited to:
DEATHCRAYON