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Band Name: Metallica
Album Name: Death Magnetic
Rating: 4 / 5 User Rating: 4.2 / 5
Label: Warner Brothers
Buy Album: Amazon.com
Rate Album: Rate
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Tracklist
1. That Was Just Your Life
2. The End of the Line
3. Broken, Beat & Scarred
4. The Day That Never Comes
5. All Nightmare Long
6. Cyanide
7. The Unforgiven III
8. The Judas Kiss
9. Suicide & Redemption
10. My Apocalypse
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Hype is being thrown about like flaming Frisbees and the peasants are arguing unremittingly. This can mean only one thing: a new Metallica album has arrived. Will it be an all-time classic or a steaming pile of shit? Or will it fall somewhere in the middle, sort of a “smile and nod” release as my friend and music critic Lonnie Hill would probably describe the new Motörhead. I shall be the judge of all this.
“Death Magnetic” is… very good. It stands in my mind as the best album Metallica has produced since 1991, and perhaps the most akin to Metallica's original mojo since 1988. Lightning-fast thrash riffs have returned, as have technically precise and memorable solos by one Kirk Hammett. Also returning are absurdly long song lengths and a really clicky drum sound. I guess you can't have everything.
Yea, I said it. “Death Magnetic” is above all (believe it or not) a thrash metal album. From the Slayerrific intro of “That Was Just Your Life” to the romping, rollicking good time that is “My Apocalypse,” the album easily contains more fast parts than any Metallica release since “…And Justice For All.”
Thrash metal does not begin to describe the entire album, however. There is plenty in here for all of Metallica's fans. The old schoolers will enjoy the aforementioned songs, while radio addicts will find their fix with tunes like “The Day That Never Comes” and “The Unforgiven III,” which will both surely receive heavy rotation.
A song-by-song assessment of the album seems to be the required course of action in a case as major as this. These are just overall descriptions of each song. Something I must make clear is that just about every song has a hidden portion or two that is fucking great, whether or not the song itself it that fantastic.
“That Was Just Your Life” possesses an absolutely killer intro, and is very punky and fast throughout, with a couple nice solos.
“The End of the Line” is a tad on the bland side. I don't have much to say about it, except that it has a fun little Maidenesque mid-section.
“Broken, Beat & Scarred” is very “…And Justice,”… meaning that it's too long and a little vanilla. It is the least memorable song on the album to me.
“The Day That Never Comes” is the infamous ballad that everyone has already heard and formed their opinion on. Not a favorite of mine. It combines stereotypical portions from all of Metallica's eras, the second half of the song being stronger by default.
“All Nightmare Long” possesses another Slayer-style intro, and is perhaps the overall heaviest song on the album, despite still possessing a radio-friendly chorus.
“Cyanide” hits the listener like a ton of bricks from the get go and bludgeons the throughout. A killer chorus breaks up the somewhat monotonous riff.
“The Unforgiven III” sort of resembles a parallel world in which Metallica is an Apocalyptica cover band. With horns. Probably could have been left off the album. Will somebody please just forgive him so we can get on with it?
“The Judas Kiss” is a lumbering behemoth of a tune with a catchy chorus.
“Suicide & Redemption” is a decent, but overly long instrumental that fails to capture the majesty of prior instrumentals like “Orion” and “The Call of Ktulu.”
“My Apocalypse” is a fast and fun closer that should be good for a circle pit or two.
Overall, “Death Magnetic” is a much stronger and more diverse album than “St. Anger,” as well as a much heavier and thrashier release than “Load” and “Reload.” Both old school and new school Metallica fans, as well as rock fans in general should give this one at least a sample. Personally, I consider this a big step below Metallica's “Classic 5,” but a very solid effort that redeems them quite a bit in my eyes.
Review by: Quentin Haigh
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