Metallica's S&M² orchestral concerts to hit cinemas worldwide

Metallica’s upcoming orchestral S&M² concerts will be screened at over 3,000 cinemas around the glove. .

Marking the 20th anniversary of their 1999 live album ‘S&M’, the metal titans are playing two celebratory concerts with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra on Friday 6th and Sunday 8th September 2019.

In a double celebration, the two special shows also serve as the grand opening of the 18,000-capacity Chase Center venue in the Mission Bay area of Metallica’s native San Francisco.

Unsurprisingly, the two concerts are completely and utterly sold out, however Metallica are giving fans the chance to witness these landmark concerts.

Recorded live at both shows, the S&M² concert film will be screened for one-night-only at more than 3,000 cinemas worldwide – including the UK – on Wednesday 9th October.

Metallica fans are invited to sign up for information at metallica.film and tickets are tentatively due to go on sale on Wednesday 7th August.

In a statement, Metallica said: “As many of you know, we were blown away by the response to S&M² when we announced the first – and then second – show this past spring. For those of you who can't attend either of the gigs in the Bay Area, we still want to share this unique performance with you. On October 9th, we are psyched to be bringing you S&M², a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the original S&M concerts, album, and film that also commemorates the grand opening of the state-of-the-art Chase Center, a historic addition to San Francisco's waterfront. This one-night-only event will be shown in over 3,000 movie theaters around the world!

“Recorded live on September 6th & 8th, S&M² will see us joining forces once again with the San Francisco Symphony, lead in part by legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas as he kicks off his final season. We'll be performing several tracks from the original '99 S&M release as well as symphonic versions of new songs released since then.”

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

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

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• Metallica