S&M -
1999Setlist:
1. The Ecstasy of Gold.
2. The Call of Ktulu.
3. Mater of Puppets.
4. Of Wolf and Man.
5.
The Thing That Should Not Be.
6. Fuel.
7. The Memory Remains.
8. No Leaf Clover.
9. Hero of the Day.
10. Devil’s Dance.
11. Bleeding Me.
12. Nothing Else Matters.
13. Until It Sleeps.
14. For Whom the Bell Tolls.
15. -Human.
16. Wherever I May Roam.
17. The Outlaw Torn.
18. Sad But True.
19. One.
20. Enter Sandman 21. Battery https://open.spotify.com/album/1OZaosC2RtsE2TEqLziwAD?si=nJWKP58FRUmw6O_vzPiOugI Disappear -
2000 https://open.spotify.com/album/7cJ4oRwyJ5BU1oj29AquOM?si=JpjtRWpGS6C9vX4Btu6KTgSo back in the
Black Album deep dive, I mentioned an absolute legend named Michael Kamen who composed the string arrangements for
Nothing Else Matters. Even back then, he had planted an idea in the minds of Metallica. “Why don’t you try doing a concert with a symphony orchestra?” He remained friends with the bands throughout the course of the decade, but it seemed the idea had come and gone.
And then, one day in 1998, Michael got a call. “Metallica is interested in your idea!”. An idea, almost eight years down the trail, finally looking to come into fruition. And so the collaboration began. Setlists began to fly, arrangements were being composed and rehearsed, things were getting into full swing. A few songs were discussed that didn’t make the cut, including both
Unforgiven songs,
Through the Never,
Fade to Black,
Harvester of Sorrow,
Low Man’s Lyric and, surprisingly,
…And Justice For All.
Wasting My Hate remained on the setlist for the show until a week or two beforehand. Metallica also offered up two brand new songs, completed just for these shows.
We know that a young Metallica would’ve turned their nose at this kind of show (except for Cliff Burton who’d have likely been all for it) and many old school metal heads would have opposed of the orchestra, but this album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard charts and went Platinum within 2 months of being released. I think it’s fair to say that many of us would look at this album now as a bit of a live masterpiece for the band. I certainly do. So, shall we take a look at those two mights from April of 1999?
The concert opens with
The Ecstasy of Gold, as it always has. Except this version was performed live by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and it sounds so energetic in comparison to the original recording. As much as I love the sound of Ennio Morricone and I miss the operatic vocals from the original, I just hold a special place for this performance of the song.
The first member of Metallica to hit the stage is James, who starts up
The Call of Ktulu. For a song that hadn’t been played in 14 years, this is a hell of an opener that makes a powerful statement. Opening with an instrumental like this puts the focus on the music without James’ vocal overwhelming it. Jason’s bass line is definitely different to what Cliff did here, making it very much his own but also allowing extra room for the orchestra to handle those moments where Cliff’s distorted bass mimicked Cthulu’s screams. This is a song that I really love with the symphonic arrangement. I’d almost dare to say it’s even better than the original. Turns out the Grammy board would agree, as this won best rock instrumental performance in 2001 (don’t ask me how, given that the track was released in November of 1999 and it was my belief that all nominations had to be from within the year of release). The harmony section towards the end of the song sounds so thick and awesome with those added orchestrations!
As the coda of
Ktulu comes to a crescendo, Lars begins the four count straight into
Master of Puppets. And what’s even better, it’s the full version of the song again! Hooray! James’ voice comes in strong, very much still in that second vocal peak we talked about from
Garage Inc. the year before. The orchestra provides some great support lines during the main song including some of those great Kamen stabs, but I think their presence is best utilised in the melodic section. Opening with Marimbas doubling James’ clean riff and then providing a beautiful backing melody under the harmonies and James’ solo, this section was purpose built for a show like this. They also help to build tension in the bridge before Kirk’s solo perfectly. I also really like the moment where the violins join in on one specific lick.
From the 80s straight into the 90s.
Of Wolf and Man is up next, or as James calls it on the DVD “Of Wolfgang and Man”. This is another song where the orchestra excels at building extra tension. This one probably doesn’t have the best parts for the orchestra, but it still sounds awesome. Jason and James howling never fails to bring a smile to my face here.
Another song that I feel the orchestra adds a lot to is
The Thing That Should Not Be. The ominous intro feels like a horror movie score, the cellos add a lot of extra weight to the heavy chug of the distorted guitars. They even add more melody which helps to break up a lot of the dull monotony of the original. This is a slightly shorter version of the song where the second verse is removed from the song, with the final verse being placed into the second verse section and having the solo lead straight into the final chorus. This is the version I reach for more often than not if I really feel like hearing
Thing. Kirk doing those scratches from the end of the song live is a great moment.
Kirk gives off a short doodle of that stereotypical funeral song that I cannot for the life of me think of the name of. I thought it was
Funeral March of the Marionettes, but it turns out that was the part of the
Black era solo that I wanted to know the name of. Anyway, that turns into Kirk playing with his whammy bar mimicking the sound of an accelerating engine that gives way to James giving those fateful words that we all love. “Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire!”. I really like the symphony adding to the second main riff the way that they do, but this is a song that I don’t think benefited as much from the symphony accompaniment as others. The second and third choruses are solid, but I think they kinda ruin the jamming nature this song generally has. Not a fan of James’ “ooh yeah-heh” here, but I do like his “burn motherf###er burn” right before the solo.
Being the newest original albums at the time,
Load and
ReLoad do get a bit of a spotlight here.
The Memory Remains is up next and this one definitely works better for me with the symphony. It adds a great vibe to the song, embellishing the riff nicely instead of getting too far away from what makes
Memory what it is. I absolutely love the sound of the symphony in the “na na na na” sections though. I think this really is the ultimate version of the song. I really like the ending where the band cuts out and the symphony keeps doing their thing with the audience singing along.
And then we get to the big song that makes this more than just another live album.
No Leaf Clover. This is one of only four songs where Metallica does the heavy verse, soft chorus structure and it’s one of my favourite of the lot. That heavy riff right before the verse is such a cool jam and the verses feel really uplifting, even more so with the symphony behind it. I love the effect that James uses on his vocals at the start of those choruses. Kirk’s solo is great, and the breakdown is so heavy. I love that they’ve already used the riff here at the start of the song as an orchestral motif, but double down on it for the breakdown. This is honestly just an awesome song and again, I was lucky to see it back at that first show in 2010, just minus the symphony throughout. Metallica still play this one on and off to this day and I’m glad they do coz it’s an absolute banger.
Hero of the Day is our firer proper ballad of the show, coming in a whole 8 songs into the set. As I mentioned in the
Cunning Stunts deep dive, I think this one is definitely the best live version of the song and probably the best version of the song overall. Opting to keep the drums for the second verse while the orchestra keeps playing beautiful melodies behind it all, the main verses feel like they belong in a film soundtrack while the heavy bridges are still given some extra punch. James and Jason still nail the bridge call and response section, though I wish Jason’s mic was a little louder in the mix. Other than that, perfect!
Why stop there with the new songs?
Devil’s Dance with added strings sounds even more dangerously alluring than the original. This is just awesome, once again giving a song that left little impression in the studio a much bigger presence live. The band plays really tight, although they’re quite easily outdone by the symphony here. If this is what Hell sounds like, I’d love to hear Metallica’s version of Heaven!
Closing our main set wonderfully is
Bleeding Me. We talked about this song at length during the
Load review, coming to an almost universal conclusion that this is one of the two best songs on the album. This is another one that’s amplified by the rich tones of the orchestra. There arrangements add another layer of almost melancholia over a great song that Metallica are already having one of their best performances of. I love James having a bit of a moment vocally before that heavy section kicks in, which straight off the bat is embellished by cellos so heavy you’d think you were watching an action scene in a James Bond film. I love the orchestra backing that last heavy moment before it goes back into the clean riff again. It’s a great way to close the first half!
This marks the intermission for the concert, something that I believe is fairly common for orchestral shows. This is also where CD1 ends. What an excellent first half we’ve had with deep cuts and new material!
The second act begins with a choice I wouldn’t ever think of as an opening song,
Nothing Else Matters. This is a great version, with the orchestra playing the parts from the album, with the first verses and chorus sounding almost exactly like the Elevator Version that was released as a B-Side. There’s not really much to say other than “it’s
Nothing Else Matters”. I think the version on this album is much better than
S&M2, making this likely the definitive version, but that’s about it. James plays this one on an acoustic guitar, which makes the ending solo sound really different. A distorted acoustic tone. Neat! The band skip over the final verse of the song, but still play the outro from the album.
Next up, another ballad.
Until It Sleeps. I don’t know why, but the first orchestral flourish here feels almost Japanese to my mind. This one is a better performance from the band than the version on
Cunning Stunts and the orchestra really help to alleviate the totally empty feeling that the verses had on that live version. I really like Kirk’s solo even more here than on the album, which is different seeing as though it’s the same part. Another definitive edition to be found right here!
Now we’re finally back into the heavy territory with
For Whom the Bell Tolls. I’d have liked this a lot more if the symphony had doubled the bass riff here instead of staying with their own thing, though I do love that they lead into the second riff before James and Kirk get there. The interplay between the band and the orchestra in the lead sections is amazing! Nothing really beats the original on
Ride the Lightning, but I definitely enjoy this.
The second new song of the evening kicks off next.
-Human (Minus Human) feels almost like a spiritual precursor to everything that made up
St. Anger in just a few years time. This slower tempo heavy groove of a riff in drop tuning feels like it would have been right at home on the album amidst songs like
Some Kind of Monster and
My World. However, we get a solid snare, fairly decent lyrics and something resembling a solo. This song was only ever performed at the original
S&M shows, but it’s a very solid rocker. The orchestral intro lays it on heavy as well. Not really as much to say on this as
No Leaf Clover, but it’s definitely no slouch.
Wherever I May Roam is up next. Kirk plays the sitar intro live, which is a very cool moment especially offset by those cinematic strings. This song always felt adventurous and cinematic to me on the
Black Album which is definitely heightened by those strings, with the choruses and the harmonic section being some of my favourite moments here. You’re probably getting sick of me saying “it’s great” by now, but this album is just so full of absolutely fantastic performances.
This next song is definitely not an exception and I’d be lying if I didn’t say this was my favourite song on the whole album.
The Outlaw Torn is our final track from the
Load era and this is a perfect bed for the orchestra to go all out and construct one of the best scores of them all for the evening. James’ vocals are damn near perfection, as are his solo sections. Jason’s bass is so thick and strong. Lars keeps a nice strong groove going and Kirk’s solo is much better here than it was on Load. This is just amazing and probably the best live song of the entire 90s era in my opinion. It’s marvellous!
Then we have
Sad But True. It’s another solid performance, but I don’t think this one benefits from the orchestra all that much. This is meant to just be a heavy and kinda ugly song, so sticking extra melodic layers on top of it kinda dilutes the original intention of the song for my ears. Don’t get me wrong, I think the arrangement is cool, I just don’t think this was necessarily the right choice for the setlist as it is.
The sounds of gunfire and explosions erupt through the PA for the only pre-recorded track of the night. While this performance doesn’t feature any pyro showcase for obvious reasons, this version of
One is allowed to be one of the best by the added melodies and harmonies that just add to the tragic tale the lyrics portray. That said, I don’t know that what’s happening for the heavy bridge and onwards is necessarily the right choices to make in this arrangement. I do like hearing the Timpani and Cellos hitting the machine gun chugs hard with Metallica though. I think this is another great ”no” section for James and I absolutely love the orchestra nailing that harmony section with James and Kirk.
Enter Sandman is next and again it’s nothing all that special. I feel like the big three songs from the
Black Album don’t really excite me all that much anymore unless something spectacular happens (like
Cunning Stunts and
Through the Never) or I’m actually there to witness it. This arrangement kinda feels a little bit generic, like if you’ve been paying attention to the orchestra throughout the show, you’ve got a fair idea of exactly what this is going to sound like put over this song. It’s easily my least favourite track in the whole album just because it doesn’t push the envelope in any way. Favourite moment of this particular performance is actually the ending, where we get a little teaser of the ending of
Phantom Lord. Makes me wonder what a full version of a
Kill ‘Em All song would’ve been like. We sadly still don’t officially know to this day.
But every single twinge of indifference that I felt for
Sandman is repaid in full by the intro alone of the next song. The closing song for an amazing evening of music is
Battery, but with an orchestra only intro that is easily my favourite moment of everything on this setlist. The symphony alone was amazing, but Metallica gives an absolutely fantastic performance of this song and I feel that the arrangement for this song is just about flawless. Do I wish they’d have done the bridge before the solo? Yeah. But man, that’s pretty much just looking a gift horse in the mouth at this point. Everything here is pushed to eleven and it’s amazing! Metallica even incorporate the ending of
Damage, Inc. into the song before everything is said and done. What a way to close a concert!
It’s easily the best Metallica live album we’ve covered so far. It might technically be the best of them all, but for now, I have a different favourite that is yet to come. Current live ranking is
S&M,
Binge and Purge Seattle,
Cunning Stunts and on the bottom is
Binge and Purge San Diego.
It’s truly amazing how on top of their game they were here, given that just under a year from the performance date and less than six months from the album’s release, Metallica started the lowest point in their careers. We’ll cover all the Napster controversy and negativity that started here in about 2 weeks time when I cover the
Some Kind of Monster movie, but for now, let’s dig into the song from which it all stemmed.
I Disappear.
I Disappear is the only non-album single to date for Metallica. This was written for the soundtrack of Mission Impossible 2. The music video for this is absolutely top notch, by the way and I really recommend watching it. (
https://youtu.be/nYSDC3cHoZs ). This song definitely takes a step away from where they were with the
Load era, going for a much more simplistic approach. The lyrics are also written in a very simple vain, with the verses mostly repeating a single line before a repeated refrain and then the same line again. The chorus is super atmospheric though, which sounds really good. It’s interesting to note though that everyone’s favourite snare sound from Lars is already stating to rear it’s head a full 3 years before
St. Anger. The production on this is pretty poor too, compared to the golden age they had throughout the 90s. Kirk’s solo is really nothing to write home about either, being a simple repeated motif. I sound very negative on this, but I actually really like the song and think people should definitely check it out.
Topic: Deadeye Deep Dives: Metallica (Chapter 13: 72 Seasons) (Read 13784 times)
