Metallica are gearing up to play two special shows in San Francisco this coming weekend.
The band will team up with the San Francisco Symphony, led by conductor Edwin Outwater, with a special appearance by Michael Tilson Thomas, on September 6 and 8 for a pair of S&M2 performances to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Metallica’s landmark S&M album.
And in a new interview with The Mercury News, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says the shows will be an “opportunity for new discoveries.”
He explains: “It’s a new group of people. It’s a new building. Robert Trujillo wasn’t involved 20 years ago. I like that this production extends a respectful nod to what it’s been in the past. But, at the same time, it’s an opportunity for new discoveries.
“And I think that is the Metallica spirit – of continuing this sort of quest forward rather than being tied down to the past.”
The first show was organised to open the Chase Centre, but after it quickly sold out, the second night was added – and Ulrich says it made complete sense to be a part of something special in the city.
Ulrich says: “If you look at all the things that get thrown around in our world, that is 110% a no-brainer. The whole concept came together fairly effortlessly.
“Everybody realised that this was the right thing to do for the greater celebration of this new arena and San Francisco and the Bay Area.”
Footage from both nights will be screened in cinemas for one night only around the world on October 9.
Earlier this week, Metallica revealed that more than €1.5 million was raised for charity on the European leg of their WorldWired tour.
