S&M contains performances of Metallica songs with additional symphonic accompaniment,composed by Michael Kamen,who also conducted the orchestra during the concert. According to James Hetfield,the idea to combine heavy metal with an epic classical approach was Cliff Burton's idea. [3] [4] His love of classical music,especially of Johann Sebastian Bach,can be found in many instrumental parts and melodic characteristics in Metallica's songwriting,including songs from Ride the Lightning (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986). [5] Kamen,who arranged and conducted the orchestral background tracks for "Nothing Else Matters",met the band at the 1992 Grammy award show for the first time,and after hearing the "Elevator version" of the song,suggested the band perform with a whole orchestra;the band,however,did not take him up on the offer until seven years later. [6] Lars Ulrich's favorite band Deep Purple,whom he colorfully inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016,is noted for having kicked off this kind of approach 30 years before,in Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969),although it had actually been done multiple times before,most notably with the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed in 1967.
In addition to songs from previous albums spanning Ride the Lightning through Reload ,there are two new compositions:"No Leaf Clover" and "−Human". "The Ecstasy of Gold" by Ennio Morricone,Metallica's entrance music,was played live by the orchestra. "No Leaf Clover" has since been performed by Metallica in concert,using a recording of the orchestral prelude.
Changes were made to the lyrics of some songs,most notably the removal of the second verse and chorus of "The Thing That Should Not Be" and playing the third verse in its place.
The "S" in the stylized "S&M" on the album cover is a backwards treble clef,while the "M" is taken from Metallica's logo.
20th anniversary
After Kamen's death in 2003, Metallica did not revisit the S&M concept in any further performances or recording work for years. However, the band announced on March 18, 2019, that they would hold a concert with the San Francisco Symphony at the Chase Center on September 6 of that year to commemorate the 20th anniversary with a single-night concert, headed by Michael Tilson Thomas as music director. They later added a second concert on September 8.
The shows included many songs from the original S&M performances, as well as renditions of songs that had been released since then. In August, it was announced that a film of the concerts would receive a limited worldwide theatrical release. [22] The concert was given a limited release and has grossed over 5.5 million dollars. [23] In August 2020, the band released the two 20th anniversary performances as an album, video, and box set entitled S&M2 . [24] [25]
Video release
Metallica also filmed and released the concert in DVD and VHS with direction by Wayne Isham. The VHS set has only the concert video, while the double DVD set has 5.1 sound (also: 2.0 band+orchestra, 2.0 band-only and 2.0 orchestra-only), 41 minute documentary about the concert, and two "No Leaf Clover" music videos: "Slice & Dice" version and the "Maestro Edit". The DVD also contains four songs with multi-angles where each band member can be viewed individually: "Of Wolf and Man", "Fuel", "Sad But True", and "Enter Sandman".
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