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The new decade has not been good for Metallica. Their bass player for 14 years quit, their frontman left the band for rehab in 2001, and the band released arguably their worst album to date - St. Anger. But the band, according to James Hetfield, lived through the "near death experiences". They came out of it all with a new bass player (or "the new family member" as the rest of the band calls him), Rob Trujillo; a new producer, Rick Rubin; and a new virtuosity not seen out of this band in years. All things combined have led to undoubtedly one of their best albums, Death Magnetic.
The first thing you notice is the production. The biggest complaint from most against their last album, St. Anger, was the production. The intention was for it sound rough yet it failed. Death Magnetic, in terms of production, is what St. Anger tried to be. This album is very much a live sounding album. DM gets by with a simple amount of tracks - 2 guitars, lead guitars, bass, vocals, and drums unlike some past Metallica albums that would have 4 rhythm guitar tracks. This album is ridiculously LOUD! The volume is ganked past the cliche '11' to somewhere around 20 on their volume knobs. This leads to the sound being described as "hot" - you can hear some popping sounds in the mix. It is semi annoying, but what's a Metallica album without some bad mastering?!
The musicianship is some of the best I've ever heard out of this band. Kirk Hammett explodes in every single songs with solos that are some of the best of his career. James Hetfield proves why he is considered one of the best rhythm guitar players around. His playing is in the pocket and chugy as hell. Rob Trujillo, making his first appearance on a Metallica release, shows why he has long been considered one of the best bass players since he broke on the scene in 1990 with Suicidal Tendencies. He adds a great deal to the bottom end allowing the guitars to play higher notes and still retain a HEAVY sound. Lars Ulrichs drumming is quintessential to his style - little fineness is to be found in any song since he is simply beating the hell out of each song to get the beat. My only complaint is James' singing. There are moments where James simply can't help his voice going out of control. But at the same time there are moments, like in the chorus of the last track "My Apocalypse", where you hear a James sound that we haven't heard in a long time. Overall though, it is his best vocal performance since 1991's The Black Album.
As for the song's themselves, I can only describe them in 1 word: HEAVY!!!! As I listened to the albums second track, "The End Of The Line", I couldn't resist giggling at how heavy these songs are. Each song offers something completely different. Each one is a musical feast of riff after riff after head banging riff. From clean single notes like "The Day That Never Comes" and "Unforgiven 3" to the chugging chords of "Broken, Beat, And Scarred" to the harmonizing guitars on "My Apocalypse"....these songs have it all. The shortest song on the entire album, "My Apocalypse", is 5:01. The longest being the instrumental "Suicide and Redemption" at an incredible 9:58. The song lyrics are dark as the albums name suggests. Death is the dominant theme, the inspiration coming from a lot of the "near death experience" that was St.Anger according to Hetfield. James is back doing what he does best, being the main lyricist in the band where on St. Anger the band collaborated on the lyrics. Gone is the "tick tick tick tock", replaced by "BOW down, sell your soul to me, I will set you free" in "Judas Kiss". The majority of the songs are instant Metallica classics.
I refuse to say that this album sounds like "Old Metallica" or "New Metallica". Death Magnetic has, ironically, a life of it's own in the 27 year span of Metallica. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! As a fan of this band for 11 years, half of my life, this is the album I've always wanted them to make. It's hard, it's fast, it's heavy, it's absolutely KILLER! I've always said that depending what mood I'm in, either Master Of Puppets or ...And Justice For All are my favorite albums - Death Magnetic now ranks with them.
I give it a 9 out of 10.
The first thing you notice is the production. The biggest complaint from most against their last album, St. Anger, was the production. The intention was for it sound rough yet it failed. Death Magnetic, in terms of production, is what St. Anger tried to be. This album is very much a live sounding album. DM gets by with a simple amount of tracks - 2 guitars, lead guitars, bass, vocals, and drums unlike some past Metallica albums that would have 4 rhythm guitar tracks. This album is ridiculously LOUD! The volume is ganked past the cliche '11' to somewhere around 20 on their volume knobs. This leads to the sound being described as "hot" - you can hear some popping sounds in the mix. It is semi annoying, but what's a Metallica album without some bad mastering?!
The musicianship is some of the best I've ever heard out of this band. Kirk Hammett explodes in every single songs with solos that are some of the best of his career. James Hetfield proves why he is considered one of the best rhythm guitar players around. His playing is in the pocket and chugy as hell. Rob Trujillo, making his first appearance on a Metallica release, shows why he has long been considered one of the best bass players since he broke on the scene in 1990 with Suicidal Tendencies. He adds a great deal to the bottom end allowing the guitars to play higher notes and still retain a HEAVY sound. Lars Ulrichs drumming is quintessential to his style - little fineness is to be found in any song since he is simply beating the hell out of each song to get the beat. My only complaint is James' singing. There are moments where James simply can't help his voice going out of control. But at the same time there are moments, like in the chorus of the last track "My Apocalypse", where you hear a James sound that we haven't heard in a long time. Overall though, it is his best vocal performance since 1991's The Black Album.
As for the song's themselves, I can only describe them in 1 word: HEAVY!!!! As I listened to the albums second track, "The End Of The Line", I couldn't resist giggling at how heavy these songs are. Each song offers something completely different. Each one is a musical feast of riff after riff after head banging riff. From clean single notes like "The Day That Never Comes" and "Unforgiven 3" to the chugging chords of "Broken, Beat, And Scarred" to the harmonizing guitars on "My Apocalypse"....these songs have it all. The shortest song on the entire album, "My Apocalypse", is 5:01. The longest being the instrumental "Suicide and Redemption" at an incredible 9:58. The song lyrics are dark as the albums name suggests. Death is the dominant theme, the inspiration coming from a lot of the "near death experience" that was St.Anger according to Hetfield. James is back doing what he does best, being the main lyricist in the band where on St. Anger the band collaborated on the lyrics. Gone is the "tick tick tick tock", replaced by "BOW down, sell your soul to me, I will set you free" in "Judas Kiss". The majority of the songs are instant Metallica classics.
I refuse to say that this album sounds like "Old Metallica" or "New Metallica". Death Magnetic has, ironically, a life of it's own in the 27 year span of Metallica. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not! As a fan of this band for 11 years, half of my life, this is the album I've always wanted them to make. It's hard, it's fast, it's heavy, it's absolutely KILLER! I've always said that depending what mood I'm in, either Master Of Puppets or ...And Justice For All are my favorite albums - Death Magnetic now ranks with them.
I give it a 9 out of 10.
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