Metallica hits the drive-in

At this point in the pandemic it's safe to say "Nothing Else Matters" other than the fact Metallica is set to perform its first virtual concert as part of the Encore Drive-In Nights series. Recorded in the last few weeks, the Aug. 29 concert screening — which features the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame act performing a full set — will be shown at hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada. This includes Wadsworth's Blue Sky Drive-In Theater, Barberton's Magic City Drive-In Theater, Norwalk's Star View Drive-In and Chardon's Mayfield Road Drive-In. It turns out to be quite the Metallica weekend with not only the drive-in theater concert but also yesterday's CD/Blu-ray release of "S&M2." Exactly 20 years after the metal band performed with the San Francisco Symphony for "S&M," the two entities last year regrouped for another symphonic project that included a theatrical release last fall. The Chronicle-Telegram talked to Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo about life in the pandemic, "S&M2" and the upcoming virtual gig. Robert, good afternoon. How are you doing? I'm doing great considering. We're pretty good here in Southern California. We're getting to the beach. We have studio spaces in our home, a lot of creativity, good vibes, cooking. It's all good. Has it been tough not being able to jam with your bandmates, let alone tour or even go see shows? One of the things you have to consider, Metallica just did more than two and a half years of touring on the "Hardwired" record and "S&M2" ended up being the grand finale. If you think about it, finishing up with "S&M2" wasn't that bad of a thing. Speaking of "S&M2," what was your initial reaction to 1999's "S&M," which you weren't a part of at the time. "S&M1" was interesting. At the time, I remember I was working with Ozzy Osbourne. My connection with Metallica was super strong back in 1993 and 1994 when Suicidal Tendencies opened for them, but then I lost track of the band. I remember somebody telling me Metallica is playing with an orchestra. I thought, are you kidding me? Then I heard "No Leaf Clover" and thought this is great. That song had a great balance between the melodies and riffs, and also how the orchestra was featured. It was like, Metallica did it again. They always surprise us. How did you approach the recording of "S&M2? I do understand "S&M1" came with a lot of challenges, whereas "S&M2" got through all of that and it was more of a collaborative spirit. It seemed to flow better with kind of an interesting magic to it. One of the things they told me was for "S&M1" most of the musicians were older than the band and weren't necessarily fans. Then "S&M2," most of the musicians were younger than Metallica and a lot of them loved the band's music. So it was kind of weird thing how things change over 20 years. As far as Metallica's Encore Drive-In Nights series performance, what was the recording experience like? The most important thing was just being able to get together, to create, to make music and to see each other. We found a location in wine country. We basically set up — I don't want to call it a stage — and we were playing on gravel, twisting around. It wasn't a comfortable environment, but it was beautiful. There were a lot of interesting moments. Back in the day you'd go see a friend's band play and nobody was there. You'd go, "Bro, nobody showed up. It was crickets." Well, this show we recently did, there were literally crickets. It was so surreal and weird, but we took it on and made the best of it. We had fun doing it. What's cool is the concert will be shown in drive-in theaters across the country. When's the last time you saw a drive-in movie? I have no idea, but the movie I remember seeing in a drive-in was Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon." It was a way of life back then and it was something you did with your families that was super fun. Odds are families will be joining together once again to go to the drive-in, only this time they're seeing Metallica in concert. Yeah, it's really strange. We're going to go check it out too. Not knowing what to expect is kind of the exciting part of it. Contact John Benson at Ndiffrence@att.net.