Welcome.
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.
To the second part, of the first review.
In memory of Cliff Burton, we are releasing Part 2 of the Metallica S&M2 Review
The second act of this concert starts with Lars giving an intro to Michael Tilson Thomas and thanking Edwin Outwater. At this point, things really switch gears. This Metallica show almost becomes a history lesson, which, knowing Metallica, we know they really like to throw us curve balls, keep things fresh. Which is commendable in itself, and the San Francisco Symphony really deserves the moment in the spotlight.
Tilson Thomas gives us the backstory to a song that goes back 1,200 years, in a moment which he describes as a moment where “classical music and heavy metal sort of.. fused, and combined.” We learn a little about the Masters of Horses, the Scythians. Tattooed Metal-clad warriors. Perfect. This is also a wonderful homage in that Cliff himself was very into classical music and we hear alot of classical composition coming up. The next several songs are heavy, loud, bombastic pieces that inspire the rage of a thousand warriors, full of emotion, which is Metallica at it’s very heart.
Scythian Suite, Opus 20 II: The Enemy God And The Dance Of The Dark Spirits, which Iam going to put on record, sounds like the most heavy metal title in history, begins with the rumble of tribal drums, the horns start as a dull roar, and soon erupt into a call to arms, front-and-center. Just after the one minute mark, the pace quickens and you can feel the music descending into madness. The intensity never lets up all the way from start to finish. Fantastic sound on this track.
We get treated to a “New lease on life, to futurism”, as Metallica joins the S.F. Symphony in a meaty Wah-laden rendition of The Iron Foundry, by Alexander Masolov, composed between 1926 and 1927. This song is also known as Factory: Machine_Music, which is a perfect descriptor of how this song sounds. It sounds like an early Iron tank trudging through a russian forest in winter. Kirk Hammett’s sound is rich and pronounced, the bass plugs along in perfect time, and the thunderous sound of drums fills the ears. It is four minutes and sixteen seconds of sheer crushing Sabbath/Diamond Head headbanging mastery. The sweeping strings come in behind the guitars and it sounds like pure beauty in chaos. Man vs. Machine.
The next song features the most raw and up-front we have seen James Hetfield, as he steps up to the microphone without his guitar, backed by an entire orchestra sans-Metallica.
The crowd quiets down and we hear a symphonic rendition of The Unforgiven III begin to play out of the darkness. A haunting lullaby of accepting one’s own truth. James voice sounds raw and real, full of emotion. This songs chorus sails high. As high as it sails on the album, this live edition feels different, polished, but peering deep into a James we rarely see. The composition is layered, it adds so much texture to the original that it feels almost like a brand new song. Great song, powerful, with exciting new elements to be uncovered. Every listen will give you something new and fresh.
This next song sees the S.F. Symphony bringing to life a track from controversial 2003 album, St. Anger, which saw the band being torn apart from the inside from interpersonal problems and relationships, which contributed to a strained work environment for the heavy metal juggernauts.
The lyrical content really seems to paint the portrait of a man who is hardened on the outside, but afraid to relinquish the control he has, out of fear that all he has worked for will slip away. This track, though assisted by an orchestra, still feels like a down and dirty rock song. It has a feeling of a 70’s ballad, with the hardness of an 80s twang-filled adventure song. Half of this song feels like the bands answer to Johnny Cash and the highwaymen. I dig this tune. Its a banger from start to finish, with all of it’s string flourishes, and the thick bass sound, perfectly backing James’ voice as he truly sings his heart out on this track.
As James states, they really do take a huge risk on this next track. A true homage to Cliff Burton, this song is full of pangs to the heart, to the mind, to the soul, everything. The opening notes come out of the darkness from Scott Pingel’s stand-up bass. Beautiful layers playing through a slight crowdnoise. Suddenly we hear the main bass riff from (Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth cut through, and the sound is huge. It is not until Scott kicks on the distortion that we realise just what kind of fusion this is. Clearly a superfan, and dedicated artist, Scott Pingel’s rendition of Cliff’s solo will stand the test of time. We miss you, Cliff. The heart and soul of Metallica still live on in your memory.
The strings lead us gently into the next track, as we hear the twinge of a Coral Sitar, played delicately by Kirk Hammett, in a moment he described as ‘terrifying’ as it was “only the second time I played it right”. Kirk nails the sitar passage in the intro and we are suddenly neck-deep in 1991’s classic Wherever I May Roam, a fan favorite, one of the heaviest tracks on The Black Album. The symphonic elements written into this edition turn this song into a larger-than-life orchestral score for what could be in the final act of King Kong. This tune stomps through the night, devouring the crowd and spitting them back out. I would like to highlight the aggression of the backing vocals. On the original release, the backing vocals of Jason Newsted added a certain color to the James Hetfield’s lead melody, but in this version, Robert Trujillo’s bark makes you feel the aggression and heaviness of the song pounding your skull. I love this version of the song, and find it perfectly conveys the story the lyrics and the songs tone are trying to convey.
In a really cool moment, observable on the S&M2 live footage, we can see Lars Ulrich run up to the percussionist, and proceed to play a sort of ‘drum duet’ with eachother in the intro ‘machine gun’ section of one of Metallica’s best known songs, 1988’s One, from ...And Justice For All. The band locks in as the strings push and pull through the intro, softly playing with the main melody. We hear the bass pull us straight into the first verse. A strange and horrific tale of a war survivor left limbless and faceless, but remains conscious. This song continues to age well, and every time it gets a treatment like this, we uncover new facets of this song and its uplifting but tragic message.
At this point, we are treated to the three biggest songs of Metallica’s career. Still, to this day, hailed by fans as monumentous moments in metal and rock history. They essentially tell the tale of Metallica’s evolution. It starts with a count-in right before the apocalypse. The bombastic assault of Master of Puppet’s staccato chromatic intro is a high-tempo thrash metal freight train, complete with time changes, tempo changes, and an anti-drug message screamed into your soul, this song doesn’t relent. Its as if the band has maintained that youthful aggression, that spit-in-your-face attitude that fostered their early recording’s intimidating sound. The crowd joins in for the melodic guitar section before all hell breaks loose. As the songs devolves into heavy metal insanity, we hear James Hetfield’s horrifying puppet master laugh, the crowd roars, until we hear the opening twangs of an acoustic guitar, falling into 1991’s Nothing Else Matters, a soft 6/8 time ballad that reveals the man beneath the skin. It exposes the raw nerves and veins in an ever-connecting way, the crowd doesnt make a peep this entire performance. There isn’t much to say beyond “You have to listen to it for yourself”
How could Metallica play a Metallica show without playing their biggest hit of all-time, The Black Album’s Enter Sandman. “Exit light, Enter Night,” indeed. Instead of hearing the minor 5th-laden guitar intro, we hear the strings come in with a pizzicato version of the well-known riff. The band joins in, just as heavy as ever, locked in with the S.F. Symphony, for what will be the final song of the evening. The symphony plays behind James’ voice, making you feel like your in a dream state, followed by a nightmare. We careen full force into the solo, and the final choruses. The bass, the guitars, the drums, the symphony, everything coalesces into the perfect encore. Orchestrated with fine details, this is a perfect fusion of classical music and rock, as is the rest of the album.
A cheers and big thanks to Metallica for joining with the San Francisco Symphony to create this piece of auditory art, It slays from start to finish, and perfectly outlines a full career of heavy metal adventure and pioneer-work.
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Written by Steve Knudsen
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