LARS ULRICH Says METALLICA's Concerts With SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY Are 'An Opportunity For New Discoveries'

METALLICA will perform a pair of shows with the San Francisco Symphony for the grand opening of Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors, on Friday, September 6, and Sunday, September 8.

The concerts, conducted by Edwin Outwater with a special appearance by Michael Tilson Thomas, mark the 20th anniversary of METALLICA's first performance with the symphony at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1999, which resulted in the live album "S&M" (Symphony & Metallica). A film of this month's concerts, called " S&M²", will arrive in theaters worldwide on October 9.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Mercury News that fans shouldn’t expect the "S&M²" concerts to be copycats of the original gigs.

"It's a new group of people," he said. "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."

Ulrich went on to say that the biggest challenge of collaborating with the symphony is "not being completely fucking intimidated by all these incredible players and incredible musicians.

"We do what we do and some even accuse us of being semi-good at it," he explained. "And that’s sort of our niche. But I believe that any musician will always have a tremendous amount of respect and humility around other players and other people who excel at their particular niche or particular craft.

"I take it very seriously that I am, for better or worse, the anchor of the whole thing. And you just want to be on top of your game and really focused."

Back in March, 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.