On
September 2nd, 10 days before its official release date, a French
record store began selling copies of metal giant Metallica’s ninth studio album,
Death Magnetic. As can be expected in our day, it was leaked onto
online pirate sites almost immediately. So unsurprised by the leak was
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich
that the notoriously fiery critic of file-sharing met the news with
resignation. “By 2008 standards, that's a victory. If you'd told me six
months ago that our record wouldn't leak until 10 days out, I would
have signed up for that,” Ulrich said in an interview with USA Today.
“We made a great record, and people seem to be getting off on it way
more than anyone expected.”Indeed, people were.
S&M placed Metallica on the summit, as a result, everyone was anxious for anything new by Metallica, that was logical. But what was not logical, their album, St. Anger. Not only it was completely empty of Metallica style, but also did not contain one guitar solo! Everyone was disappointed.
Right from the off, it’s a relief to hear that the utterly awful production of St. Anger is no more. It sounds and feels much more "old school" and the sound is fresh, clean and resonant.
The first conspicuous thing about the record is that the songs are lengthy and colossal. There are two tracks over the eight-minute-mark and all of them exceed five minutes. And for the first time since ...And Justice For All., there’s an instrumental cut.
1. This Was Just Your Life - Nice slow guitar build that eventually explodes.
2. The End of the Line - Has a full, rough riff which this reviewer likes.
3. Broken, Beat & Scarred - Strangely funky and harmonious, too.
4. The Day That Never Comes - Feels like classic Metallica, even down to the name. It also varies wildly.
5. All Nightmare Long - Frightens and excites all at once. Definitely Metallica.
6. Cyanide - Rousing track with melodious undercurrents and a breakneck pace.
7. The Unforgiven III - Winds in symphonic care and explodes with passion.
8. The Judas Kiss - This song is amazing, maybe the best from Death Magnetic.
9. Suicide & Redemption - The riffs are faultless and epic.
10. My Apocalypse - Great riff, guitar solos, perfect drumming.
So, does this album return to the Metallica everyone knows and loves? Yes and no. Music wise, the guitar solos are good, ending solos are also good; I mean, it is always good to hear Kirk kicking in again. Death Magnetic bounces the band back to the days before Bob Rock, roughly sounding as if it could come immediately after ...And Justice for All or Ride the Lightning. In general, the album contained all the styles from their previous albums. In songs like That Was Just Your Life and All Nightmare Long, you get Master of Puppets kind of playing. In other songs you get Load/ReLoad kind of style. Many people compare this album to Kill Em All, but the varying nature of these songs begs the question of need for full albums. Maybe the future of Metallica is mini-albums which can cut out on songs like Suicide & Redemption. This reviewers opinion is mixed. At the very least, it is the best Metallica album in years, if not decades.
Metallica - Death Magnetic: 3.5/5
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