Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has taken to Instagram to pay tribute to late composer/conductor, and S&M collaborator, Michael Kamen.

Ulrich's message reads (in part): "Today is the 20th anniversary of the very first concert ‘Tallica played with the @SFSymphony under the direction of Michael Kamen. The shows took place at the Berkeley Community Theatre April 21 & 22, 1999. At the time, the gigs weren’t even called S&M yet... that came six months later when the live album and movie was released.

"I’m pictured here with the conductor, the arranger, the main instigator and the reason the whole thing came to be, Michael Kamen, who had reached out a few years earlier to see if we were game to try this kinda collaboration out.

"Michael had a background in film scores, including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard, and had previously done similar undertakings with Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith among others. He thought that we would be an obvious choice for a pairing like this and we said yes in 2 nano seconds flat and followed Michael’s lead for the next few years, as we went on an incredible adventure together with concerts in SF, Berlin and NYC among other things. We threw ourselves deep into unknown creative territories and walked away with most incredible of experiences and the coolest album and concert film.

"Michael passed on in November 2003, but his love of life and his appetite for shaking up conventions will always be something I’ll take with me and cherish.. A very precious few years."

Read Ulrich's full tribute via the Instagram post below:

 

 

 

 

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Today is the 20th anniversary of the very first concert ‘Tallica played with the @SFSymphony under the direction of Michael Kamen. The shows took place at the Berkeley Community Theatre April 21 & 22, 1999.  At the time, the gigs weren’t even called S&M yet...that came six months later when the live album and movie was released. I’m pictured here with the conductor, the arranger, the main instigator and the reason the whole thing came to be, Michael Kamen, who had reached out a few years earlier to see if we were game to try this kinda collaboration out. Michael had a background in film scores,  including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard,  and had previously done similar undertakings with Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith among others. He thought that we would be an obvious choice for a pairing like this and we said yes in 2 nano seconds flat and followed Michael’s lead for the next few years, as we went on an incredible adventure together with concerts in SF, Berlin and NYC among other things. We threw ourselves deep into unknown creative territories and walked away with most incredible of experiences and the coolest album and concert film.  Michael passed on in November 2003, but his love of life and his appetite for shaking up conventions will always be something I’ll take with me and cherish.. A very precious few years. And of course looking forward to the continuation of this, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this whole endeavor with our two very unique concerts in September opening the @Chase_Center. Wanna? Fuck yeah I wanna!!! #wanna 📸 by @antoncorbijn4real

A post shared by Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich) on Apr 21, 2019 at 11:10pm PDT

"In celebration of the historic Grand Opening of San Francisco’s Chase Center, we are beyond honored to be joining together with the San Francisco Symphony for the first time in 20 years!," states a recent message from Metallica. "Join us on Friday, September 6th for S&M²: a one-night-only show featuring the SF Symphony and legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas."

James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich joined Michael Tilson Thomas, along with representatives from the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco mayor London Breed, to make the announcement at the Chase Center. Watch the announcement here.

The original S&M concerts were performed by Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony conducted by the late Michael Kamen in spring of 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre. The S&M² concert will feature the first live performances of these arrangements in 20 years, plus the first ever Metallica/San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since the original S&M, with new orchestral charts by Bruce Coughlin.