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Metallica has been labeled many things, from
America's great heavy metal band, to whiny rock stars who
fought against illegal downloading of their music through
Napster. No matter how you feel about Metallica, there
is no denying that the band remains an influential and relevant
force in modern metal and hard rock.
After a five year hiatus, Metallica is back with their ninth
studio album and their best work since 1988's ...And Justice
For All. Death Magnetic, a heavily promoted
album since May on Mission: Metallica, is the product of a
band in dire need of reconnecting to a fan base that has felt
let down by many of the band's past efforts. Fans are
rabid for the glory days and their heroes' thrash metal roots. Death
Magnetic is the album these fans have been waiting for
and represents an end to Metallica's attempt to reinvent itself.
Bob Rock, who produced Metallica's last five
albums, is gone and has been replaced by Rick Rubin. Rubin's
presence and his history with producing thrash metal records
is a much needed change for Metallica. He pushes the
band away from their recent foray into hard rock and back
to their thrash metal roots. Another example of progression
that we see with the band is that for the first time in their
history, every member has had input into each song. Even
new bassist Robert Trujillo has input into the album, which
is a huge step for a band that has been seemingly anti-bassist
for the past 20 years.
Death Magnetic is pure Metallica. Musically,
this album takes on the personality of a caged beast released
for the first time, tearing and ripping at anything that moves. Quite
simply, the album rocks. All of the old aggression remains
and the band is tight. Songs such as “All Nightmare
Long” and “My Apocalypse” exhibit the band's
ability to still hammer out good thrash metal, while “The
Unforgiven III” and “Cyanide” give us the
feel of '90s-era Metallica. Though we are given a few
tracks that sound more like Load/Reload-era
Metallica, the majority of the album is fast and reminiscent
of their earlier work.
One marked improvement over St. Anger is the sound
of the drums. Ulrich's drums sound more like the booming
drums of Metallica and not St. Anger's annoying
“tin can” sound. On Death Magnetic,
it is also clear Kirk Hammett fought hard for the return of
guitar solos and broke through the brick wall that is Ulrich
and James Hetfield. Hammett tears through the album at
a frantic pace, delivering searing riffs and solos. Trujillo
appears on his first album with the band but unfortunately
falls victim to Metallica's tradition of downplaying the bass
track. While the music is the strength of this album,
Hetfield remains a great frontman who growls and howls his
way through each track. All of the tracks featured on
the album are over five minutes long and epic in scope. Death
Magnetic even features an instrumental track, which has
been missing from a Metallica album since ...And Justice
For All. “The Unforgiven III” is the
only song that doesn't fit in with the feel of the album and
could have been left out.
Metallica may never give us another album on
par with Master of Puppets, but Death Magnetic
is a step in the right direction for an iconic band that has
long been marred by mediocrity. It is easily one of the
best metal albums of the year, so run out and pick it up or
legally download it. Highlights are “That
Was Just Your Life,” “Broken, Beat, and Scarred,”
“All Nightmare Long” and “My Apocalypse.”
®2008 Live-Metal.net
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