“As for the writing – there were certain sections where I knew exactly what I wanted and it was mainly a matter of figuring out the details. “This kind of technology was not available 20 years ago and it is pretty mind-blowing if you think about it. “The great thing about it is that you can immediately hear the result, how each melody works, and how it sounds with the band. “The community edition I was using has some limitations, but otherwise it offers great samples of classical music instruments.” Valentin continues, “So the process was writing the melodies for the various instruments in each section and then doing the balance for those (which instrument is dominant in each specific part, what is the dominant note in a harmony and such). I wrote them in midi (basically – when to hit which note and at which velocity) for each instrument and for the sounds themselves I was using a plugin called VSCO 2. This process of recording and composing the orchestral part proved to be a tedious experience. So making orchestra arrangements, where the orchestra has a central role was a very new experience for me.” Despite his musical background, and his knack for “Mad” ideas, doing an orchestra arrangement was something completely new for Valentin.Īs he explained to MetalTalk, “The most I did before was adding some strings\piano\organ to several of the softer tracks from my solo project and even then, those instruments were mostly in the background. The uniqueness, and surprising quality of the final product, has led to a video that has 60,000 views to date on YouTube. One of his previous ideas, titled Boar Metal, was highlighted on MetalTalk and eventually went viral.įor this idea, Valentin composed a brutal Death Metal song and recorded actual wild boars for vocals. Valentin The Mad: Wild Boar recording in the ‘studio’ Valentin The Mad is an experienced guitarist and composer, who is no stranger to creating YouTube videos.
He decided to take this throwaway joke to a whole new level by composing and ultimately recording his own orchestral arrangement to ‘So What’ to see what it would sound like. Valentin The Mad however, is not just any Metallica fan. It is the last track any Metallica fan would expect to get the orchestral treatment, hence the joke. In a documentary about the making of the project, Michael Kamen jokes about writing an arrangement for ‘So What’ an obscene cover song originally recorded by Punk band Anti-Nowhere League.
Leading up to the performance, the conductor and arranger for the project, the late Michael Kamen, did a deep dive into the entire catalog of Metallica carefully selecting songs he felt would lend themselves the best to an orchestral accompaniment. Back in 1999 Metallica released their first collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony called S&M.
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