Metallica to celebrate 20th anniversary of 'S&M' with S&M² orchestral concert

Metallica will mark the 20th anniversary of their 1999 live album ‘S&M’ with a very special concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

Author: Scott Colothan Published 18th Mar 2019



Billed as S & M², the one-off concert on Friday 6th September will also celebrate the grand opening of the Chase Center venue in the Mission Bay area of Metallica’s native San Francisco.

Alongside hosting concerts, the 18,000 capacity multipurpose arena will be the new home venue for National Basketball Association team Golden State Warriors.

Announcing the special show, Metallica said on their official website: “Check this out, you know how much we love firsts and we are always extremely proud to wave the flag for our hometown of San Francisco, so this first is particularly exciting as we announce that we will be performing at the grand opening celebration of the Chase Center with S & M² on Friday, September 6th. That’s right, not only will this be the inaugural event at the new arena in the city, but we will be playing once again with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra as we join together to commemorate this historic addition to the Bay Area and mark the 20th anniversary of the S & M concerts and album release.

“We’re honored that legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will kick off his final season as San Francisco Symphony Musical Director with a special appearance conducting a portion of the show. James and Lars joined Michael, along with representatives from the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco mayor London Breed, to make the announcement at the Chase Center today.”

Tickets to the concert go on sale to fan club members tomorrow (19th March) before going on general sale on Friday.

Recorded on 21st and 22nd April 1999 and released that November, ‘S & M’ features classic Metallica songs - plus the new pieces, 'New Leaf Clover' and 'Minus Human' - with additional symphonic accompaniment composed by conductor Michael Kamen.

Watch 'No Leaf Clover' here:



The album has sold more than 8million units globally and it proved to be Jason Newsted’s final release as Metallica bassist.

Don’t forget, Metallica play two massive stadium shows at Manchester Etihad Stadium on Tuesday 18th and London Twickenham Stadium on Thursday 20th June with special guests Ghost and Bokassa. Tickets are on sale from sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.