Metallica Announce S&M 20th Anniversary Show With Full Symphony Orchestra

It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Metallica dropped S&M, their adventurous live album and DVD featuring their songs accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Now, in honor of the release's anniversary, the band has announced that they will be performing with the SFSO once more.

The anniversary show, being hailed as ‘S&M²', will be part of the grand opening of the Chase Center in San Francisco this September. It has also been announced that conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, music director for the SFSO and artistic director of the New World Symphony, will conduct this portion of the event.

In a statement posted to their website, Metallica said, "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.

"Please join us for this one-night-only show as we celebrate the addition of what is sure to become a cultural landmark in the Bay Area. We’re thrilled to be invited to be a part of it and humbled to be sharing the stage with the legendary MTT and the city’s finest musicians in the San Francisco Symphony."

Video of the official announcement can be watched here.

The original S&M album, composed by Michael Kamen, was in part a tribute to late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton's love of classical music. The record went on to go 5x platinum, and featured the smash hit No Leaf Clover. Whether Metallica will incorporate new material like Here Comes Revenge into this anniversary show, or whether it will be a complete reproduction of the original show, is not yet clear.

The concert will go down Friday, September 6th. All ticketing details can be found on Metallica's website.