10 Fantastic Rock Albums That Never Got Made

Since the turn of the millennium, metaheads have gotten their fair share of the more lofty side of the genre. With acts like Epica and even the more melodramatic side of Evanescence rearing their heads around this time, the idea of symphonic metal finally started to make sense, with the dirty crunch of distortion mixing with the technical purity of classical instruments. While the newer faces on the scene managed to make some major steps forward with symphonic rock, one of the bands leading the charge could have been one of metal's biggest names.

As Metallica first started to reach legend status, S&M was the pure culmination of their powers, working with famed composer Michael Kamen to create some of the most lofty takes on their classic material. Then again, why the hell did we have to settle on just a handful of originals on the disc? Combined with S&M and its sequel, only a handful of originals have come from these sessions, when it could have been a fireworks show, with James Hetfield writing the perfect harmonies to go with the string accompaniment.

Doing something like this would not only be a testament to their abilities, but also a fitting tribute to Cliff Burton, whose knowledge of classical music informed Metallica's early days on albums like Master of Puppets. But who knows? Perhaps the purely concentrated kickass of orchestrated Metallica may be coming down the pipeline in the next few years.