GTAForums Music in Review

[Scarface187]

Artist: Metallica

Album: Death Magnetic

Label: Warner Bros.

Release Date: September 12th, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 25, 1988: Metallica release what I feel is their ultimate masterpiece, …And Justice for All. The first album after the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton, this epic album was pure aggression from beginning to end. The song structures became more complex, the lyrics were politically charged, Lars showcased some awesome drumming before he just gave up it seems and James and Kirk churned out awesome riff after awesome riff. The only problem with this album is that then newcomer at the time Jason Newsted is barely audible, but this still in my mind doesn’t stop this album from being a classic. Not by a long shot. With the success of this album Metallica had sealed their arena status. This unfortunately would be the end of an era.

 

 

August 13, 1991: Metallica finds producer Bob Rock and the result is their 5th self titled album (The Black Album), which was a huge departure from their sound that made them famous in the 80’s. The songs were slowed down, the song structures became more simplified, James Hetfield had blown his voice out during the making of the album and underwent singing lessons which made his voice different from previous releases and they even put out the ballad ‘Nothing Else Matters’. Also gone was the traditional instrumental like all the previous albums had. The album produced 6 singles (5 of which had music videos) and sold tons and tons of copies. Because of this, many of Metallica’s fans felt the band had sold out. The band would continue a more commercial approach until they finally hit rock bottom.

 

 

By 2001, Metallica had become a dysfunctional group of middle aged men. Jason Newsted quit the band, and Lars Ulrich was off being a dickhead about Napster and filesharing. James Hetfield had also gone off to rehab for alcoholism. Fast forward a few years later, the band would find a new bass player, Rob Trujillo. The band would then go on to make their last album with Bob Rock (producing). This is where they hit rock bottom with the infamous, horrifyingly bad album, 2003’s St. Anger. The tuning is horrible, the lack of bass is horrible, the vocals are especially bad, there are no guitar solos and of course how can I rant about this album without mentioning the infamous trash can snare. After this album, even some diehard Metallica fans admitted it sucked and it looked like the band was destined for sh*t the rest of their career.

 

In 2006 Bob Rock finally stepped down as their producer and Rick Rubin was brought onboard for the next album. Soon enough the hype began. There were reports that the band was going back to their older style. In 2007 the band would perform two “new” songs live dubbed new song #1 and new song #2. When hearing these songs, I thought they sounded like complete sh*t, and they still do. However it was announced that only parts of the songs were going to be used on the album, thank god.

 

On August 9th, the song ’Cyanide’ would be the first new song played live in Dallas. I was shocked to hear that it was actually a really good improvement over their last few albums, the only weakness being James Hetfield’s vocals. A couple weeks later, the first single of the album ‘The Day That Never Comes’ debuted on radio. My initial reaction was pretty much like everyone else’s reaction, “It sounds a lot like a an updated version of ‘Fade to Black’/’One’, this was again another awesome song to my shock with the same problem as on ‘Cynaide’ the vocals. I also noticed some terribly cheesy lyrics, most notably the one everyone talked about, which would be “LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD!”, I laughed my ass off when I heard that, but oh man towards the end of the song I wanted more and more, it was excellent. After this song, the Metallica website also started streaming another song from the album called ‘My Apocalypse’ which was a faster paced song much like ‘Damage Inc.’ or ‘Dyers Eve’, again it was awesome. By then my anticipation for this album had gone through the roof. The wait was f*cking killing me. Well on September 2nd, this highly anticipated album had finally leaked on the internet. I was about to find out if Metallica was truly back and if this was an album worthy of purchase, or if Metallica fooled everyone and just created another piece of sh*t.

 

 

The songs:

 

1. That Was Just Your Life: The first thing you will notice at the beginning is the heartbeat (Dark Side anyone?). Well this could not be anymore appropriate and needed because it is like Metallica is being revived. Soon after some clean guitar (the clean guitar tones in this album at times remind me of some prog metal bands), the song kicks it into high gear with this electrifying opener, reminiscent of ‘Blackened’ off …And Justice for All. James’ vocals aren’t nearly as aggressive and good sounding as they are on that album but they are pretty decent I will say. Not every singer’s voice ages well, and his case is a good example, but the vocals never really hit terrible on this album.

 

Also in this song, guitar solos make their return and Kirk shreds it as usual but sometimes you’d wish he would lay off the wah pedal. Either way its still a good solo. This song also contains one of a few guitar harmonies in there, at one point it sounds like a Dragonforce song, only they don’t do this for 3 albums and can play it live. Overall this is one hell of an opener and for me the best song on the album.

 

2. The End of the Line: We go from the best song on the album to the weakest song on the album. Its not really bad but at some times the lyrics and music remind me of something like ‘Fuel’ or something off Re-Load. However there are spots in the song that are fantastic. I think this song is the closest the album goes to being bad and its not even really really bad, its just pretty week I think.

 

3. Broken, Beat & Scarred: This one starts off like a combination of ‘Shortest Straw’, ‘Eye of the Beholder’ and ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ and kicks all kinds of ass. Hetfield’s vocals are power (especially on the chorus). This song contains awesome riff after awesome riff. Awesome song.

 

4. The Day That Never Comes: The first single of the album, like I said earlier in the review, this song is reminiscent of such semi ballads as ‘Fade to Black’ and ‘One’ that stays pretty calm throughout the song until the end where it gets fast and heavy. Some of the lyrics are pretty bad and the vocals are weak at times, but the last few minutes of the song more than make up for it.

 

5. All Nightmare Long: My second favorite of the album. This starts out with tribal sounding drums and clean guitar followed by some fast riffs. This is another riff filled monster with the best chorus of the whole album. It is like a song from Justice and the Black Album fused together. There is a cool part near the end where it pauses suddenly for 3 seconds and you think its over, and then BAM the chorus comes in again. Fantastic.

 

6. Cyanide: The first song ever heard off the album, this one sounds like a mix between a song off Master of Puppets, the Black Album and Load. Its slower than some of the previous songs but its still good. Good riffs, guitar harmonies and some pretty awesome bass though on the live version you can hear the bass a lot better. James’ vocals are also pretty rusty on this.

 

7. The Unforgiven III: When I first saw that one of the tracks on here was going to be called ‘The Unforgiven III’ I laughed at the idea. I thought it was going to be a joke like James was actually going to say “You’re unforgiven three”, but this is actually a pretty good song. It starts out with some piano, some strings and horns and gets to the point where you might ask yourself if you are listening to a Metallica song or an Ennio Morricone score. This is a relatively mellow song throughout the whole thing, and the vocals are pretty good through this whole thing. Good song.

 

8. The Judas Kiss: The first couple riffs of this remind me of ‘Leper Messiah’. Around 4:30 the song gets really kick ass. Cool riffs and an awesome solo. Sounds like a Justice solo at one point. The vocals are pretty good and the chorus is pretty cool.

 

9. Suicide & Redemption: Instrumentals finally make their return on a Metallica album and it doesn’t disappoint. The guitar and bass grows and grows in the beginning and then the main riff which is one of the best riffs of the albums starts and chugs its way through this epic. Theres also some good melodic parts and more awesome guitar harmonies. Then this great epic instrumental slowly fades out and ends and takes us to the last track. It doesn’t hold a flame to their previous instrumentals but is still damn good.

 

10. My Apocalypse: The second single off the album, this is a closer much like ‘Damage Inc.’ or ‘Dyers Eve’, it is pure fast paced aggression. Maybe a bit too aggressive. There are some cheesy lyrics in there that sound more suited for a Slayer song than a Metallica song. This song could have been better but it’s a good closer to a great album nevertheless.

 

 

Final Thought:

 

I first thought that this album would fall apart despite hearing some good songs from it at first but boy was I wrong. This is a fantastic album and will be on my album of the year list for sure. This is a triumphant release Metallica has put out. They have made the comeback of the century as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t think they could produce anything good ever again after St. Anger. It isn’t a throwback album however. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of the classic Metallica elements on this album but they are simply just expanding their sound again. I like to think that St. Anger was a horrible end to a horrible chapter of the band and this is the start of a much better chapter.

 

Music wise the band brings some good stuff to the table. The riffs are heavy and fast, the drums are surprisingly really good, and the best they’ve been since …And Justice for All though there are times when the drums sound a bit high into the mix I think. Another minor gripe is some of the lyrics and Hetfield’s vocals at times. I really wish they would start telling stories in their songs again, that’s what I loved about old Metallica lyrics. Hetfield’s vocals while a lot better on this album than the last couple, hit some spots where it just sounds weak. You just wish he would go back to his old style. This is probably the only case I can think of where singing lessons ruined someone’s voice. When I give it repeat listens I try to imagine James Hetfield circa 88 singing the vocals. The bass is good too. Nothing like Cliff Burton but still not bad.

 

If you like Metallica, you will love this album, and even if you don’t really like them you should check it out anyway. However, as great as it is I know there is going to be tons of people hating on it just because its Metallica. I’ve already heard people bashing it without explaining why or saying it rips an artist off (for the most part I find it stupid when people say bands rip other bands off unless it has to do with the song structure, not just riffs because everyone is bound to copy someone at some point). Its just f*cking stupid. Just because a band is mainstream doesn’t mean they are bound to put out sh*t forever, although a lot of times that is true.

 

Rant aside, in my mind, Metallica have return. The band themselves described this album as the missing link between Justice and the Black Album and for the most part it sounds about right. The band needed a push in the right direction and they got it. Lets hope this isn’t the last good album from them for another 10 or years. I give this 3 and a half records. 4 if there were no minor gripes.

Edited September 6, 2008 by Scarface187

[Canoxa]

I don't think you would be able to fall for the hype, so I guess I'll have to take your word for it. This might actually be good.

[Groovy]

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/BeeseveN_90/1219687279176.jpg

 

Besides the intrumental and All Nightmare Long(both of which I hated), I dug the album quite a bit.

[Canoxa]

LMFAO.

 

I'm listening to the album as I type. I'm on The End of the Line, to be more precise. I'm digging it so far, and I really expected not to. That Was Just Your Life sounded rather thrashy, even though those harmonized lines sounded awful. The End of the Line sounded groovy, which wasn't too bad, but then there was a middle section that killed off the vibe. Just changed to BBS, liking it so far too.

 

Edit - Unsurprisingly, the Day That Never Comes stills sucks. LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD!

 

Meh, the rest of the album kinda dulled me out. Cyanide still sucks. The Unforgiven III wasn't bad due to the fact that it turned whole. Suicide and Redemption was boring. The Judas Kiss was probably the high point.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Canoxa

[Crimson King]

pin off mate, the end of the line is like the best on the album!

 

judas kiss is sh*t but weirdo.

Edited September 9, 2008 by Crimson King

[Slamman]

I like how comparing to old Metallica, we get to Master Of Puppets. That was their earliest widespread success, but core fans go back to Ride the Lighting and Kill Em All. Kill is by far the rawest of the raw Metallica and it is supurb, unllike many early attempts.

 

I mean HellHammer is RAW too, but in an entirely different way.

[nlitement]

those harmonized lines sounded awful.

That's what makes it sound new and that's what all the Triviums out there do.

[Slamman]

AOL had a sidebar showing Metallica has gone to Number 1. I am now eager to get my hands on it

[supernova_goes_pop]

AOL had a sidebar showing Metallica has gone to Number 1. I am now eager to get my hands on it

you should definitely check it out slamman. i personally enjoy all of their albums...yea including st. anger...so what!! yea, i mentioned "so what" but seriously check out "death magnetic" for it is definitely a great album.

[Crimson King]

you wont like it slamman, you cant play it on a grammophone. you only like music with static and impurities and sh*t. kill em all sounds like it was recorded with a webcam mic.

[supernova_goes_pop]

you wont like it slamman, you cant play it on a grammophone. you only like music with static and impurities and sh*t. kill em all sounds like it was recorded with a webcam mic.

lost it when i read "grammophone". that is some funny sh*t. kill em all is ok with production, but know what you mean. i wasn't a big fan of that record a few years ago. nowadays i can't get enough of it. the only thing that annoys me is sudden sound drop.

 

i think death magnetic is really good. i won't say it is their best. lately, i've listened to st. anger and garage inc. while i'm not listening to death magnetic. i don't care what anyone says about st. anger. i really like that album.

[Vanillainy]

sh*t, I'm no metal head but even I like it. It does need to be remastered though.

 

I've also read about the Guitar Hero versions of the songs are so much better in quality, read this, pretty interesting:

 

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/does-metallicas.html (http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/does-metallicas.html)

[Rhoda]

Good review.

 

I find That Was Just Your Life as one of the best tracks on the album, if not the best. I don't care all that much for Cyanide despite it's mainstream release (may be what's putting me off in the first place) and find that That Was Just Your Life is a fantastic introduction to a great album.

[Slamman]

Can I get the Guitar Hero version? where? I haven't bought it yet, but now I have deep reservations.