S&M2 (stylized as S&M2; an abbreviation of Symphony and Metallica 2) is a live album by American thrash metal band Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony. It is a follow-up to S&M, a live collaborative album released in 1999. The album was recorded during a live performance in San Francisco at the Chase Center in 2019. The performance was also filmed and released theatrically on October 9, 2019.
Background and recording
On April 21 and 22, 1999, Metallica, in collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Kamen, recorded and filmed a concert at the Berkeley Community Theater. The performance was released as a film and a live album in November 1999.
In March 2019, Metallica announced the S&M2 concert. The concert, which was similarly performed in collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony, was planned in celebration of the 20th anniversary of S&M. The concert was recorded and filmed at the Chase Center in San Francisco on September 6 and 8, 2019, with Edwin Outwater and Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the symphony orchestra. The concert also marked the grand opening of the Chase Center. Filming was directed by Wayne Isham, who also directed S&M.
Release The film was released in theaters on October 9, 2019. It earned over $1.2 million at the North American box office, and totaled $5.5 million internationally, making it the highest-grossing rock cinema event ever. As a result, the film was shown theatrically for a second time on October 30, 2019.
The live album was released on August 28, 2020. The Blu-ray release included a new revised version of the film seen in theaters edited by the band, with remixed and remastered audio plus behind the scenes footage.
Critical reception
At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 78 based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Critics generally praised the album as a worthy successor of S&M. Paul Brannigan of Kerrang! gave the performance a perfect rating, writing that the album "stands as a tribute both to Metallica’s growing confidence as players and composers, and an absolute vindication of their decision to revisit one of their most inspired creative outings."
In a mixed review, Andy Cush of Pitchfork felt that the album had the same issues that S&M did. Cush wrote that the songs are not suited to an orchestral accompaniment, writing "Metallica’s best songs, intricate and ambitious though they may be, are not actually well suited for the additional orchestrating they get here, precisely because they are plenty symphonic already." Cush was also critical of the song selection for S&M2, noting that "Of the 20 pieces of music here, more than half appeared in a similar form more than two decades ago on the first S&M."
Commercial performance S&M2 debuted at No. 4 on Billboard with 56,000 equivalent album units, with 53,000 units of that coming from album sales."Metallica & San Francisco Symphony's 'S&M2' Starts Atop Rock, Classical Charts". Rutherford, Keven. Billboard. September 9, 2020.
Track listing
Personnel
Metallica James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on "Nothing Else Matters", "Master of Puppets" and "The Outlaw Torn", acoustic (rhythm) guitar on "All Within My Hands", production Lars Ulrich – drums, production Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals, acoustic (lead) guitar on "All Within My Hands", Coral electric sitar on "Wherever I May Roam" Robert Trujillo – bass guitar, backing vocals
San Francisco Symphony
Edwin Outwater – conductor Michael Tilson Thomas – conductor on "Scythian Suite, Opus 20 II: The Enemy God and the Dance of the Dark Spirits", "The Iron Foundry, Opus 19", "The Unforgiven III" and "Enter Sandman", keyboards on "Enter Sandman" Scott Pingel – bass solo for "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth" Nadya Tichman (concertmaster), Jeremy Constant, Mariko Smiley, Melissa Kleinbart, Sarn Oliver, Naomi Kazama Hull, Victor Romasevich, Yun Chu, Yukiko Kurakata, Katie Kadarauch – first violins Jessie Fellows, Polina Sedukh, David Chernyavsky, Raushan Akhmedyarova, Chen Zhao, Adam Smyla, Sarah Knutson, Yuna Lee – second violins Yun Jie Liu, John Schoening, Christina King, Gina Cooper, David Gaudry, Matthew Young, David Kim, Nanci Severance – violas Amos Yang, Margaret Tait, Jill Rachuy Brindel, Stephen Tramontozzi, Shu-Yi Pai, Richard Andaya, Miriam Perkoff, Adelle-Akiko Kearns – cellos Scott Pingel, Daniel G. Smith, S. Mark Wright, Charles Chandler, Chris Gilbert, William Ritchen – double basses Robin McKee, Linda Lukas, Catherine Payne – flutes James Button, Pamela Smith, Russ deLuna – oboes Luis Baez, David Neuman, Jerome Simas – clarinets Stephen Paulson, Rob Weir, Steven Braunstein – bassons Robert Ward, Jonathan Ring, Bruce Roberts, Daniel Hawkins, Chris Cooper, Joshua Paulus, Jeff Garza – horns Aaron Schuman, Joseph Brown, Robert Giambruno, John Freeman – trumpets Timothy Higgins, Nick Platoff, John Engelkes, Jeff Budin – trombones Jeffrey Anderson – tuba Edward Stephan – timpani Jacob Nissly, James Lee Wyatt III, Tom Hemphill, Robert Klieger – percussion Douglas Rioth – harp Marc Shapiro – keyboard Margo Kieser, John Campbell, Matt Gray – librarians
Additional musicians Avi Vinocur – backing vocals on "All Within My Hands"
Technical personnel
Greg Fidelman – production, mixing Edwin Outwater – musical direction Michael Tilson Thomas – additional conceptualization Bruce Coughlin, Michael Kamen – arrangement Scott Pingel – arrangement on "(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth" Emily Grisham, Adriana Grace, David Horne, Larry Spivack, Frederick Alden Terry – copyists Ann Shuttlesworth, Patrick DiCenso – transcribers John Harris, Jay Vicari, Brian Flanzbaum – recording engineering Bran Vibberts, Bob Wartinbee, Charlie Campbell, Mike Fortunato, Jimmy Goldsmith, Dave Schwerkolt – recording crew Sara Lyn Killion, Dan Monti, Jim Monti, Jason Gossman, Kent Matcke, Billy Joe Bowers – engineering, editing Bob Ludwig – mastering Anton Corbijn – band photography Stan Musilek – cover/instrument photography Brett Murray – additional audience photography David Turner – album package design, art direction Alex Tenta – album package layout, additional art direction
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance of S&M2 Chart (2020) Peakposition Croatian International Albums (HDU) 1 French Albums (SNEP) 4 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 6 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 3
Year-end charts + 2020 year-end chart performance for S&M2 Chart (2020) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 71 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 123 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 55 French Albums (SNEP) 183 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 7 Polish Albums (ZPAV) 30 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 81 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 42 US Top Classical Albums (Billboard) 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 58 + 2021 year-end chart performance for S&M2 Chart (2021) Position US Top Classical Albums (Billboard) 10
Certifications
Notes
References
External links