Metallica "S&M" (1999) - got it
Arranger and film composer Michael Kamen met Metallica at the Grammy
awards in the early 90s. Having put together an orchestral arrangement for an acoustic version of
the band's hit "Nothing Else Matters" he had approached them about doing
more with an orchestra. Nothing came of it, until a few years later when the band themselves revisited the idea with Kamen.
These "band mixed with orchestra" things are always a bit hit and miss and that's the case here too.
Some of the arrangements are a bit busy and distract from the already
dense arrangements, or they go completely the opposite way and are too
slow with lots of legato that doesn't match or effectively counterpoint
the faster source material.
Some of the more successful tracks are from the Black Album and
Load/ReLoad because they have a more stripped down sound which gives the
orchestra a lot more room to inhabit. There's the big brassy power
put behind the opening bass riff of "Devil's Dance", or the
appropriately Middle-Eastern flavoured strings giving "Wherever I may Roam" an extra epic dimension... almost like "Kashmir" via Metallica.
The two new songs "No Leaf Clover"
and "-Human" see the band continuing in the more melodic stripped-down
vibe they'd explored on their previous few albums. That sound wouldn't
last though.
This was the last album to feature bassist Jason Newsted and the band
started to move to recapture their old 1980s sound and their old fans
with a return to their thrashy roots.
At the time this album was released I was going through a bit of a
Metallica obsession and willingly, aurally-inhaled this new offering.
With other music having since taken me away from them, I couldn't say
that I listen to this album with any regularity. I revisit their albums
on a regular basis, but I don't feel like this one necessarily adds
anything to their oeuvre other than offering an interesting sidestep.
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