Metallica
Cunning Stunts

THE REVIEW

Directed by: Wayne Isham
Year of Production: 1998
Duration: 140 min
Distribution Company: Polygram Video
Video Format: Fullscreen 4:3
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM Stereo
Packaging Type: Box Set with Double SuperJewelBox including 2 CDs
Subtitle Languages: English
Audio Languages: English
Multiple Angle Viewing
Over 140 minutes of concert, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage
Multiple camera control in "Ain't My Bitch," "For Whom The Bell Tolls," and "Wherever I May Roam"
About 1000 photos from Metallica's '97 tour

The discography has been completely reviewed, but one can still contribute with reviews of some live performances of the Four Horsemen. The live performance in question is "Cunning Stunts," certainly not on the level of "Live Shit: Binge And Purge," yet a performance worthy of the name Metallica. For those who hate "Load" and "Reload," this live might prove difficult because it contains a lot of "New Shit" (as James Hetfield calls it when addressing the audience to ask if they enjoy it), but there are also tracks from 'tallica's glorious past that are performed with great style. Another issue: the band presents itself with an annoyingly flashy look (especially Hammett, who is made up almost like Brian Molko of Placebo). But what do you think? Isn't the music the important thing?
The concert is set in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 9 and 10, 1997, and the scenery is truly spectacular: exceptional lighting effects, audience enthusiasm, Hetfield behaving like the true leader he is, engaging the lucky spectators at every moment, a 360-degree stage completely surrounded by fans, and then the music of the four from Frisco. What more could you ask for?

Here We Go!!!!!!!!!!

I insert the first of the two CDs into the DVD player, and before I even have time to get accustomed to a menu, it starts. There they are! The four horsemen (flashy?) storm the stage, fueling the audience's delirium. Ulrich even allows himself to spit the juice he was drinking right in the faces of some delighted fans. It starts with a cover, straight from Garage Inc., "So What" by the punk group Anti-Nowhere League, and Metallica immediately demonstrate that despite the (partial?) disappointments of the last two albums, they still know how to convey emotions with their great concerts. The second song is a cornerstone of the group, from Ride The Lightning comes like a thunderbolt "Creeping Death" that cannot help but leave a mark. Things slow down with "Sad But True," preceded by Hetfield who adds: "We come here to kick your ass!!!!" with great public acclaim. It continues with "Ain't My Bitch," a decent song with a Hard-Rock rhythm compared to the Thrash-Speed of their glorious past, the melancholic "Hero Of The Day," and the anonymous "King Nothing," all taken from "Load." The usual intro of battlefield bombings, but accompanied this time by hallucinatory explosive effects, and the most famous ballad (not the most beautiful) by Metallica, "One," begins, and there's nothing more to add to this historic song. Hetfield hypes up the crowd, informing them that it's time for an unreleased song that will be featured on the next CD, but it doesn't have a title yet, so: "Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire, Gimme That Which I Desire." "Fuel" is different from the final version, but the adrenalinic charge is the same, for one of the few successful songs on the "Reload" album. After the song, Jason Newstead sits down and starts playing the bass, but after a minute, gently, Hammett's guitar intervenes. This "Bass/Guitar Doodle" opens with an approach of "My Friend Of Misery" and closes with the intro of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," followed by the semi-acoustic ballad "Nothing Else Matters." After this moment of calm, comes the appreciable "Until It Sleeps." Another dive into the past, and "For Whom The Bell Tolls" begins with Hetfield asking the audience for noise. It moves to the "Black Album" with the heavy and enjoyable "Wherever I May Roam," but you can go straight to what I consider the best (also the first) Metallica ballad, "Fade To Black."
The peak of emotions in this concert is reached when the hundreds of flames from the audience's lighters begin to appear during the first part of the song, as it awaits its progression into the finale where Hammett stretches the solo to the limit. It's time for a medley from the first two albums: subsequently, the electrifying "Ride The Lightning," the fast "No Remorse," the primordial "Hit The Lights" (it's impressive to hear it sung by a Hetfield fifteen years older), the galloping "The Four Horsemen," the omnipresent "Seek And Destroy." The medley closes with the masterpiece "Fight Fire With Fire."

The second CD is very short, only five songs. It starts with "Last Caress," another song from "Garage Inc.," a cover of Danzig. Newstead even finds time to improvise as a second drummer. Hetfield asks what song the audience wants, and there's a unanimous chorus shouting MASTER. "Last Caress" continues. Hetfield warms up his pipes and starts "Master Of Puppets," which is chopped up, and cut right when the beautiful middle part with Hammett's two solos should be.
"Enter Sandman" doesn't offer much consolation, though well executed. Everything stops, but after a while, the song resumes. What's happening? A man swings in the air attached to a rope, James sees him and lets slip a "What a F**K" (one of many of the evening). The man falls and is immediately reached by Security. Another appears suspended in mid-air, and yet another seems like a human torch. The scenery falls, smoke everywhere, even a fright if you want. Help arrives, and everything returns to normal. It was all a setup. Well-executed. Lights dim, now they play with some suspended torches to illuminate the stage. The first to appear is Lars Ulrich, feigning surprise, then James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett (with a transparent guitar with blue liquid inside, as flashy as it is stunning), and finally Jason Newstead. The penultimate song begins, the cover of "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head. Hammett resumes the "serious" guitar, and it concludes with the highlight, three minutes of the past, back in 1983, "Motorbreath," James Hetfield's youthful tribute to Motorhead. It's time to say goodbye, and the Four Horsemen exit the stage amid more than deserved applause.

Definitely a good work, but it doesn't equal or come close to "Live Shit," which remains a grand work and hardly surpassable. Recommended to all Metallica fans.