Verdict:
Concert films are usually quite simple: just videos of concerts shot from a few different angles, with an occasional lazy overlay is thrown in every now and then. Through the Never, on the other hand, combines a sparkly stage performance with a movie and a high sound quality, like one very long awesome music video. I think Michael Jackson’s Thriller might have just lost his spot at the top.
After the intro to the film, the Metallica concert plays in parallel to the story of a young roadie, who is entrusted to go bring some fuel to a stranded Metallica truck containing something very important. From then on, his story devolves into an ever more violent and mysterious dreamy adventure.
The roadie’s story is a fictional thriller but, even when it comes to the scenes of the concert itself, some of them seem surreal. Through the Never supposedly uses concert footage from several concerts Metallica gave in Vancouver. If so, those concerts must have been the most amazing ever, as the stage and light effects are breathtakingly good.
The special effects for fictional sequences are not overused. There is just enough for a few cool scenes. Even though this is a concert film, the quality of the production is that of a mainstream movie.
Perhaps the most impressive of all is the sound quality. A live recording is often just a washed-out incoherent version of the studio recording, but similar to their S&M album, the high-quality audio production techniques ensure the high fidelity of the live guitars, including a nice thumpy bass. At the same time, you get the energy of a live performance.
The songs include the best hits from the old and the new albums, including One, Battery, Master of Puppets, and Fuel.
Last time, I was to a Metallica concert, I could barely recognize their songs, let alone enjoy them, due to how poor the acoustics are for metal music in a stadium. Of course, the magic of being in a giant hall with friends and alcohol can never be recreated with a video, but this was still a fun watch.