I'm back from watching S&M 2. Short version: well worth it.
There has been some grumbling about the setlist, but I actually thought it was mostly good. I like how all of their studio albums were present and there was a nice amount of variety. Two songs I would've changed: The Memory Remains sounded off, almost like no one was sure about the tempo plus it doesn't mesh with the orchestra that well. It was fun though how the audience kept singing long after the song was over. I would've replaced it with Carpe Diem Baby or FiXXXer. And Wherever I May Roam, it was played the first time and isn't really a mandatory live song, also it sounded kind of vanilla after the great take on Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth). Something more intense would've been a better fit there, Harvester of Sorrow perhaps? And of course, there's a couple of glaring omissions such as Fade to Black and Orion but overall I was happy with the set.
Highlight for me was The Outlaw Torn. I understand now better why they might not want to play it all that often (its intimacy and length might not translate well in a normal set) but this was a perfect occasion for it and they did it real justice. I also loved how they followed it with No Leaf Clover. The Call of Ktulu sounds amazing with the orchestra and I'm glad they kept it from the first S&M. The newer songs worked fine too, Confusion was apparently the most baffling choice, but I personally like the song and it rocked, it actually had probably the least involvement from the orchestra.
The second half started very interestingly, I think orchestral pieces were an interesting addition, even though the second one was a bit too discordant to my liking. The Unforgiven III was probably the second biggest highlight, I have never really cared about that song but the orchestral treatment was very emotive and James sounded very good (like he did all evening, I was actually surprised how much grit he still has). I'll be definitely revisiting this version. All Within My Hands was the acoustic version and I'm a bit torn about it, slower parts were stunning but the heavier bits sounded a bit silly. Maybe they should've played at least the bridge with distortion? Anyway, I'm happy it was included, even without KILL KILL KILL
. I mentioned Anesthesia before, but it's well worth checking out. I had never heard distorted contrabass before. Rest of the set was classics and aside from Roam I think they have earned their place, even though I have had lifetime supply of Enter Sandman.
And yes, because it is Metallica show, Lars loses his timing a few times and Kirk's solos sound pretty much the same. We've all used to it already. But the band looked like they were definitely having fun, orchestral arrangements worked well and the selection of songs was cool. If you read this far, I do encourage you check at least some of it out.
Topic: Metallica Thread (Read 179670 times)
