An official announcement for the "S&M²" box set, featuring METALLICA's 2019 performance with the San Francisco Symphony, will be made tomorrow (Wednesday, July 15) at 9:00 a.m. EDT / 6:00 a.m. PDT via the band's official social media channels.
The news of the set's release was broken last month by drummer Lars Ulrich, who chatted with METALLICA superfan Tracey Bednar, a pediatric ICU nurse from Long Island, New York, during an episode of "Jimmi Kimmel Live!"
The "S&M²" concerts featured METALLICA reuniting with San Francisco Symphony for the first time since the original "S&M²" performances in 1999 documented by the Grammy-winning live album "S&M" — plus the first-ever METALLICA/San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since those shows. Filmed over the two sold-out METALLICA shows that opened the Chase Center — the new 18,064-seat arena in San Francisco — "S&M²" captures more than two and a half hours of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo joining forces with the nearly 80-strong San Francisco Symphony, with a special appearance by legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.
A clip of "The Memory Remains" performance from the "S&M²" movie can be seen below.
The shows each drew 16,000 fans and saw the four members of METALLICA playing on a circular, revolving stage in the center of the arena floor, surrounded by 75 members of the Symphony and conductor Edwin Outwater.
The three-hour concerts were split into two parts and included a rendition of "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" from METALLICA's debut album, "Kill 'Em All", performed as a solo by the Symphony bassist Scott Pingel in tribute to METALLICA's late bassist Cliff Burton.
Ulrich told Kerrang! magazine: "The 'Anesthesia' bass solo was incredible. The way the fans reacted to that was goosebump-city. I loved the dare of playing 'Iron Foundry'. I loved revisiting songs we don't play so often like 'The Outlaw Torn' and 'The Call Of Ktulu'.
"I loved how Edwin brought one sort of dynamic when he was conducting the more rock stuff, and how Michael Tilson Thomas — the maestro, the elder statesman of his world — brought in some different pieces and encouraged the fans to understand where the symphonic and rock worlds overlap.
"Most of all, though, the fact that there was no barricade stood out. When was the last time you went to a rock show of that size without one? What does that barricade do? What does it mean? It's a safety thing, but in essence it's something that separates people. I loved just being able to walk out with the fans. At one point, I leaned back and let myself go into their embrace. That was a great moment."
Set I
01. The Ecstasy Of Gold (Ennio Morricone cover) (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)
02. The Call Of Ktulu
03. For Whom The Bell Tolls
04. The Day That Never Comes
05. The Memory Remains
06. Confusion
07. Moth Into Flame
08. The Outlaw Torn
09. No Leaf Clover
10. Halo On Fire
Set II
11. Scythian Suite, Op.20, Second Movement (Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev cover) (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)
12. Iron Foundry (Alexander Mosolov cover) (live debut)
13. The Unforgiven III (performed by the San Francisco Symphony)
14. All Within My Hands (acoustic)
15. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth (bass part performed by San Francisco Symphony bassist)
16. Wherever I May Roam
17. One
18. Master Of Puppets
19. Nothing Else Matters
20. Enter Sandman (with "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" outro)
