METALLICA — S&M (review)

METALLICA — S&M album cover Live album · 1999 · Symphonic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
martindavey87
When it was first revealed that Metallica's next endeavor would involve playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, I can only imagine the disgust and doubt that crept into the minds of fans. After the divisive 'Load' and 'Reload' albums, and the covers album 'Garage Inc.' (none of which were likely to convert anyone), most people must have thought Metallica had lost their minds to consider playing with an orchestral ensemble.

Thankfully, Metallica proved them all wrong.

This album is great! Not only does it highlight the progressive elements in Metallica's music, but also how adaptable it can be to other genres. It's really hard to visualize what Metallica's music would sound like with a symphony backing it, but the orchestra, conducted by world-renowned Michael Kamen, take the band's songs and make their own arrangements and compositions from them, blending the two with ease to create an all-out attack on the senses.

Featuring pretty much all of their big hits, the band come across as stronger than ever. The musicianship is of a high standard, and some would argue that James Hetfield's vocals are at their absolute peak. And two new songs, '-Human' and 'No Leaf Clover', show that, at a time when the band leaned more towards hard rock than metal, they could still go toe-to-toe with some of the heaviest bands the genre has to offer.

I don't really have any major complaints with 'S&M', although, if I can indulge in a bit of nitpicking (everyone's a critic at heart), there are one or two songs I'd have maybe left out in place of an alternative. For example, 'The Thing That Should Not Be' does nothing for me, and where the hell is 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)'?! Still, all the classics are here, with songs like 'Master of Puppets', 'Battery', 'One' and 'Bleeding Me' never sounding heavier.

In all honestly however, I've never really been too big on live albums, preferring the crisp and polished production of a studio recording, so this being a studio album would have been a huge plus for me. But still, it's fantastic none-the-less, and definitely as essential to any music collection as the bands earlier output.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
@siLLy puPPy Yay! I'm not the only one who thinks that then!
siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
This album is lame. The ultimate brilliant 8dea quashed by two musical entities that fail to cohesively unite their visions. Metallica sounds sloppy and is unable to gel with the complexities of the symphonic elements. Listen to bands like Therion, Fleshgod Apocalypse or Septicflesh and listen to how symphonic metal is really done. Also Metallica basically stole this idea from the Scorpions as they were planning on a similar idea.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed