Metallica’s New Batch of Blackened American Whiskey Was Made to the “S and M 2” Playlist


Metallica released their latest album S&M² (Blackened Recordings) this past summer, as a live document (CD/Blu-ray) of their 20th-anniversary concerts in 2019. Now Sweet Amber Distilling Co. has announced the launch of Blackened American Whiskey’s Batch 106 expression, which has been sonically enhanced to an S&M² live album playlist. The new Blackened batch is sold in a limited-edition box featuring a unique, original design by artist Squindo that is a rendition of the sonic-enhancement process, making it the perfect gift or collector’s item. It can be purchased through Caskers.com or found at local retailers by visiting Blackened’s web site.Continue reading


REVIEW: Metallica and The San Francisco Symphony Live at the Chase Center


A Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony review was written by a band kid.

Full disclosure: I’ve known about Metallica since they were a four-line advert in the back pages of physical rock magazines. My first year of high school Kie C. gave me a mixtape of No Life Til Leather and Kill ‘Em All in the band room. I. Was. Hooked. Master of Puppets was released and I played it non stop. I learned to play the entire album on my flute, by ear. My first Metallica show was in 1986 when they opened for Ozzy. I was front row. That was my place for the next thirty-three years and nine countries consisting of 60 shows. It’s a lifelong love affair. Continue reading


Watch Metallica and The San Francisco Symphony Perform at The Chase Center


Metallica performed last night with The San Francisco Symphony to crown their “S & M 20” performances this weekend, and christened the brand new Chase Center, the newest sports arena in the Bay Area. The band played old favorites, deep cuts and more recent tracks from the 2016 album Hardwired… To Self Destruct (Blackened Recordings). Ghost Cult will bring you a review of this show next week! The two-weekend shows are being filmed for an exclusive global event next month, by Trafalgar Releasing. Watch fan-filmed videos below!Continue reading


Watch a Teaser Trailer for Metallica’s “S and M 20” Concert Film


Metallica has released a trailer for this weekends’ two “S & M 20th-anniversary” concerts with the San Francisco Symphony in San Francisco. As we previously reported the band will also host a film event in conjunction with Trafalgar Releasing to screen footage from these new shows on October 9th as well. The event will be one night only at 3000 movie screens worldwide. Tickets are on sale now at the link below!Continue reading


Metallica’s “S&M 20th Anniversary Concerts” to Debut in Theaters in October


The much-anticipated Metallica “S&M²” concerts taking place September 6th and 8th will appear on movie screens at 3,000 theaters worldwide on October 9th. The concerts also serve as the grand opening of the state-of-the-art Chase Center, a historic addition to San Francisco’s waterfront. Recorded live on September 6 and September 8, “S&M²” will see Metallica joining forces once again with the San Francisco Symphony, led in part by legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas as he kicks off his final season. The band will perform several tracks from the original 1999 “S&M” release as well as symphonic versions of new songs released since then. Movie theaters are still being confirmed and tickets will go on sale August 7, so visit the link below to sign up for alerts, including more ticket on-sale details, and stay up to date on all the latest information about this one-night-only film event. The classical musicians and classic rockers will be the first acts to perform at the new 18,064-seat arena that will serve as home to the NBA team Golden State Warriors in the fall. Most Metallica fans took to Twitter to express their outrage after the pre-sale for the “S&M²” show ended within seconds due to bots grabbing all the available tickets. Members of Metallica’s fan club were supposed to be given the opportunity to buy tickets a few days early, but it was reported that tickets began showing up instantly at StubHub before fans had a chance to view their pre-sale opportunity. Fans reported signing in at exactly 9:00 a.m. PT and being unable to purchase a single ticket, while tickets went on sale at StubHub via resellers at prices ranging from $300 to $16,000 for one ticket. The original “S&M” concerts were conducted by the late Michael Kamen in spring of 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre.Continue reading


Metallica Is Planning A Second Symphonic Show Only For Fan Club Members


Following the recent announcement of Metallica’s reunion with the San Francisco Symphony for the 20th anniversary of S&M, and the subsequent debacle that saw scores of fans shut out of tickets by bots and scalpers, the band have announced they are planning a second show. Members of the bands fanclub, specifically legacy members promised early, unfettered access to ticket buying options were particularly bitter and outspoken on social media during and following three separate pre-sales and the public on-sale. Meanwhile, the band was patted on the back for selling out the all-new Chase Center so quickly, much the chagrin of fans. In the letter to fan club members below, Metallica extends an olive branch to try and fix this slight. The date of Sunday, September 8th has been announced for the show, but no one sale date yet. Maybe they ought to keep that part private, and just for the fans. We are tracking this story at Ghost Cult for you, the real fans. Continue reading


Metallica Fans Outraged as Scalpers Claim Most Tickets For Symphonic Concert


Yesterday should have been a great day for Metallica fans. The band announced their 20th-anniversary concert to celebrate the release of the S & M (Elektra) album with the San Francisco Symphony. By partnering with the new venue the Chase Center, Metallica sacrificed their usual anti-scalping practices and ended up succumbing to Tickets today and Ticketmaster. Of course, the minute the fan pre-sale went live, some fans got tickets. But many more still were shut out by bots, clearly having infiltrated the fan club ticket event. Quickly the queue filled up with over 2000 places ahead of most trying to get through to make a purchase. Fans trying for the second pre-sale at 3 PM local time a few hours later were also, mostly shut out. Metal Insider reported on the outrage felt by fans and also the resale prices escalated grossly with tickets that were priced at face values of 50, 100, 250 and 500 going for up to $10000 USD. For many years Metallica’s fanclub was a paid membership, but the band made the Fifth Member Club free when they relaunched it last year. One of the main perks was to be unencumbered access to tickets. This isn’t strictly Metallica’s fault, but a brutal burn on fans. We have reported in the past that companies like Ticketmaster are colluding with scalpers, allowing Bots and artificially inflating the resale market at a profit, at the expense of fans. Continue reading


Metallica Books Show With The San Francisco Symphony In September


According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony have been booked to open the brand new Chase Center, the home of the Golden State Warriors on September 6th, in Mission Bay, CA. They will perform together at the show, reprising Metallica and a symphony for “one night only”. Warriors officials announced Monday, March 18 at a sweltering press conference attended by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, Warriors Owner, and CEO Joe Lacob, Warriors President, and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. Metallica is no stranger to symphony collaborations, as they did an entire concert album with 1999’s S & M (Elektra Records), with 2019 marking the 20th anniversary of the album. Watch the press conference video below. Continue reading