Metallica And San Francisco Symphony - S&M2 ( Blackend Records)

It certainly feels strange hearing a live concert and audience in these unusual times. It might be a while yet before we can experience a live concert again.

In the meantime this live CD and DVD from metal giants Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony might seem on paper an unusual idea but surprisingly it works.

The concerts were special on many levels: they served as the grand opening of San Francisco’s Chase Center and also reunited the band and Symphony for the first time since the 1999 performance.

The sold out shows were attended by 40,000 fans who travelled from up to 70 countries to be there.

Songs such as For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Memory Remains, One, Master of Puppets and of course Enter Sandman take on a new dimension. You might not think it but classical music can at times intertwine with heavy metal. Even Rainbow back in the early 80’s covered Beethoven’s Ninth.

The concert film is a brand new edit done by Joe Hutching with the concert now being able to be seen by the fans who could not squeeze in to the Chase Center.

If you are a fan of Metallica you will love the album and DVD. If you are curious to see what it all sounds like you might find that the two opposite ends of the musical spectrum actually works.

I rate the album 4 out of 5.