An unexpected return to form. Even my faith as a long-term Metallica fanatic was beginning to wane with each entry into the Metallica catalog post-Black Album. I had pretty been resigned to the fact that the Metallica that plays fast, thrashy and energetic was long gone, and was only seen periodically during its live performances.
However, I am very pleased to report that I was dead wrong. After the perfection exercise that was Black, the experimentation of the Loads and the statement of St.A, all of which never really delivered on a visceral level the experience of the first four albums. Metallica delivers with Death Magnetic, a record that shows that heavy metal can still be a vital force in current music.
Not many bands play heavy metal nowadays. I've come to this realization, as I am one of the few dinosaurs that still has metal in his playlist. The bands that do tend to be nostalgia or heritage type bands that play their greatest hits and live off their hits in concerts ... well, that for most of them, don't take them to much larger than the local bar or state fair. Sure, there are a few of the mega-acts that transcend the heavy rock/metal category and play large arenas and stadiums, but it is a short list of the usual suspects: KISS, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, etc. Of these bands, the remarkable thing is when they create a vital new album. Sometimes it seems like they release albums to tour on, then play shows with virtually no new material.
In that respect, Death Magnetic is quite remarkable in that it is vital and fresh sounding. Yes, it will please the gamut of Metallica fans, from the very hardcore, old school only types to the more mainstream post-1990 fans. The most remarkable aspect of the album is that it ends the experimentation with other styles of music, that made their most recent handful of albums not particularly successful or compelling -- to me, anyway.
With Death Magnetic, the core of Metallica music long left behind returns, but it is not a rehash of the first 4 or 5 albums. In this sense, I believe Metallica has created a fully modern 21st century heavy metal album. Too often nowadays, the bands in the current metal scene are stylistically limited and fit almost too well into predictable subgenres. Instead, Metallica has taken the core elements of its sound and rendered a modern version of long left for dead, thrash metal. And it serves notice once again that Metallica is still the undisputed force in heavy rock music.
One of the most outstanding aspects of the album is the welcome return of Kirk Hammett's soloing, which really shines and provided some of my moments of greatest enjoyment while listening to the album. I'm not that technically versed to discuss the interplay between players or the techniques employed. However, the band delivers an album filled with songs that show both quality riffs, amazing tempo changes, song length which shows off great progression -- basically many of the elements that people love in their earlier set of albums.
One of the more interesting aspects that I have discovered over the past few days of reading reactions to the album and its songs is that everyone has such a varied opinion about which song is best, worst, good, bad, etc. One of the more interesting discussions is over where the album fits in terms of ranking in the band's discography. Reading some reviews, this variance of opinions even extends to the music critics. What is ultimately good about all this buzz is that Metallica paid off on all the expectations of listeners of various interest levels, and now there is a renewed excitement and vitality -- and just overall interest in the band again.
There are some downsides to the album, notably the audio compression of the music. I don't like the way that the album "sounds", it sounds thin and loud with little dynamic range. The Guitar Hero 3 tracks actually "sound" better to me in that they have better range, clearer instrument sounds, and certain sounds emerge which are not obvious in the official release. I hope that a remaster will come to address this issue, as it is one of the few things that I will quibble about with this album. My other minor quibble is that some of the lyrics do not seem up to par with the quality of the songs.
That said, this is a welcome return to form by Metallica. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who likes heavy metal, and to those who are open minded in their tastes, who may appreciate a quality heavy rock album.
Death Magnetic: A
My Subjective Ranking of the Tracks:
That Was Just Your Life
Broken, Beat & Scarred
My Apocalypse
The Judas Kiss
The Day That Never Comes
All Nightmare Long
Cyanide
The End of the Line
The Unforgiven III
Suicide & Redemption
IMO, where it stands in the discography:
1. Ride the Lightning
2. Master of Puppets
3. Kill 'Em All
4. ... And Justice For All
5. Death Magnetic
6. The Black Album
7. Load
8. St. Anger
9. Reload
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