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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
As if to accentuate their fundamental hugeness, Metallica (arguably the most consistently innovative metal band of the 80s and 90s) stretched yet further into the arena of the titanic with this immense cohesion of the orchestral and the truly seismic. Recorded live at California's Berkeley Community Theatre with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra under the direction of composer and arranger Michael Kamen, iS M/i showcases over two hours of the band's best known material including the muscular thrash of "Master Of Puppets" and the devastating power of "Enter Sandman". Also featuring a pair of brand new compositions--the pounding menace of "Human" and chest-beating nihilism of "No Leaf Clover"--iS M/i steers clear of pompous self-indulgence in favour of sheer blistering intensity. Kamen's orchestral arrangements perfectly complement the underlying subtlety of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted's singularly bombastic muse and the end result is nothing short of awesome. i--Ian Fortnam/i

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-05-04 rating:
One of the most epic albums i've heard
To start this is a live album preformed with the San Fransisco Orchestra, only truly great bands could pull this off and Metallica prove they are one of the best here. br /The setlist is great and all the boys are at the top of their game; with James giving maybe his best vocals to date (or definately on par with the legendary growls.) Kirk is also brilliant playing all the original solos, even though he has added his trademark "wah" to a couple of solos which didn't originally and with Lars including all his original beats and fills from the studio versions. br / br /The concert opens with The Ecstacy of Gold which they open every concert with, and by the crowds reaction you can tell your in for a great show. br /There are another 20 songs on the setlist which all shine. br / br /Now to the orchestra: AWESOME, I originally was put off on reading all songs were performed with the SA but everything just blew me away. Songs like For Whom the Bell Tolls (with the epic intro), Enter Sandman, One and Master of Puppets are made even more epic than the original studio versions, Battery being a favourite to close; the original acoustic guitars in the intro are replaced by the orchestra's interpretation with a sensational response from the crowd when the opening crunching guitar comes in, it all just seems to flow with the orchestra adding extra weight to all the songs. br / br /I would say this is for ALL Metallica fans who love the band and want to hear something sensationally different, I'd also say this is for any fans of Metal/Rock in general, even if your not a fan of Metallica you will be pleasantly surprised by this.

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review by: Rish date: 2008-09-18 rating:
Metallica and, what? An Orchestra?!
It's one of those things that, when you first think about it, it really doesn't and shouldn't work. br /Ever. br / br /But after coming across this album's version of "Nothing Else Matters" on Kerrang! TV, I was shocked and also intrigued by what else the album may have in store. br /Now, most people know Metallica as one of the most influencial and outstanding metal bands of all-time, so when fans heard that they would be combining themselves with the San Francisco Symphony, as you can imagine, assumptions were made before they music was even heard. br /This is one of the most beautifully constructed albums that I have ever heard, and the fact that it is a live recording just adds to the charm of it all. It holds all the amazing work and most popular songs of the band, but with the added bonus of sounds that you have never heard from this genre of music before. br /As I said, it sould never work, but to be honest, it really does, and is truely a fantastic and astounding album.

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review by: The Brilliant Dog date: 2008-06-11 rating:
Should have been the best ever CD but doesn't work
Like S.Hammond in an earlier review I too am a huge Metallica fan and consider myself very open minded musically, and I too have tried again and again to get out of this CD what it should be - but it just isn't. Every now and then a bit works really well, but the vast majority does not - it just sounds like two completely different pieces of music are playing at the same time. The orchestra should add weight and emotion to the songs we know and love (check out Dream Theater's 'Score' DVD for an example of how it should be done) but it just makes them sound messy. Very disappointed.

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review by: Symphonic Metal Fan date: 2008-02-24 rating:
Masterpiece of Symphonic Metal...CHANGED MY MUSICAL LIFE!!
This 1999 release changed my musical tastes and pointed me in a whole new genre of music - without this cd I may not have discovered the like of Therion, Nightwish, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and all the many symphonic metal artists out there!! br /Much has been said about this album but Metallica should be applauded for having the courage to step out of their comfort zone and play LIVE with a full piece Orchestra (something that the likes of the above bands have yet to do) br /Metallica are on the top of their game here and Michael Kamen composed many excellent passages for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to accompany them, adding light and shade to a plethora of established classics. Hardly surprising for a composer who scored the Die Hard trilogy and knew a thing about adding cinematic effect when needed!! Sadly, Michael passed away in 2003 but this is a fine body of work for any classical/film score fan to crossover into the world of Metal and vice versa. br /Particular credit should be given to Lars Ulrich - we all know he is not the worlds finest drummer but he more than delivers here and forms a formidable rhythm partnership with Jason Newsted who as ever handles the bass guitar with all the authority needed. James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett trade guitar riffs, licks solos with energy and aggression and personally I think Hetfield is a better singer Live than in the studio as is the case here. br /Bob Rock (often equally lauded and vilified) provides a sterling production to hold it all together and 'The cast of thousands' from the Orchestra really flex their muscles here; Strings, Brass, Percussion, Woodwind all take it to the limit. Think of Gladiator, The Two Towers,Conan The Barbarian, Excalibur. If you like any of those scores and like Metallica you will love this!! br /Highlights: br /The Call Of Ktulu (my personal favourite in this version and a Grammy winner to boot), Master Of Puppets, No Leaf Clover, Human, The Thing That Should Not Be, The Memory Remains (Great interaction with the crowd at the climax). br /If there is any criticism , it is that certain Metallica songs that were just made for this have been omitted from the setlist - Orion, Fade To Black, Sanitarium and To Live Is To Die all raise your hands. Maybe Metallica will attempt this again with another composer (perhaps Howard Shore?) and interpret all these accordingly. br /One things for sure, Cliff Burton, Metallica's original bass guitarist and classical fan, so tragically killed in 1986, would have been enraptured by this release. br / br /I must also recommend a very similiar release - The Scorched Earth Orchestra Plays Master Of Puppets that you will find on Amazon. This is basically a small orchestra from Los Angeles doing their take on Metallica's magnum opus - and it rivals SM for orchestral arrangement and surpasses Apocalyptica's worthy efforts. There are no electric guitars/bass or vocals, just strings,woodwind etc but if you enjoy Metallica and say the likes of Holst's The Planets then this is for you. Again the music reminds of an epic like Lord Of The Rings.


review by: firewireguy date: 2007-07-23 rating:
Pure bliss
This is a fantastic album with a perfect mix of orchestral power and speed mixed with grunging distorted guitars and haunting singing. It just works and it does it brilliantly. It is a real treat for the ears. The sound recording is top notch and not compressed to oblivion as so many CD's are these days. The reviewer below that said they couldn't hear it because there was too much going on- listen to it on a decent hi-fi it will blow your socks off. It gives your speakers a work out that's for sure due to the large dynamic range between the orchestra, the guitars, drums and the vocals. I've come to think it's a sin to try play this in the car or on small headphones because it just doesn't do it justice. br / br /Just buy it, you will not regret it!

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