S&M (Live)

An abbreviation of Symphony and Metallica, S&M is a live album by Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael Kamen and recorded on April 21 and 22, 1999, at the Berkeley Community Theatre. It would be bassist Jason Newsted’s final album with the group. James Hetfield said it had been a dream of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton to match classical music and heavy metal; he'd been a serious fan of J.S. Bach. S&M also includes specific orchestral parts composed by conductor Michael Kamen. By 1999, Metallica wasn't just a pioneering thrash-metal band but a household name that brought an aggressive style into the mainstream far beyond thrash. Here, a symphony’s grandeur heightens what was already a furious, grand attack. “No Leaf Clover” and “Human” were the new songs, along with “The Ecstasy of Gold,” the Ennio Morricone introductory music being performed live by the symphony. Classic songs like “The Call of Ktulu,” “Master of Puppets,” and “The Thing That Should Not Be” benefit greatly from the expanded roster, as do the more recent tunes “Until It Sleeps” and “Fuel,” which swell with new possibilities.