Music Review: Metallica - Death Magnetic

Oh my fucking god.

Metallica is back in a big way with 2008’s implausibly exceptional Death Magnetic. Their best album in 17 years and one of the best pure metal albums of the millennium finds the band cutting a fierce swath of diabolical thrash metal through 10 superb tracks of metal brilliance.

After attempting to sound “raw” on St. Anger and dropping two records of hard rock sanitation prior to that, Metallica’s ninth studio album is mostly fast as **** and places the 40-something thrashers in the middle of a set of songs that contain enough unruly energy to fuel a jumbo jet filled with psychopaths.

The bashing and hammering is reminiscent of their late-80s insanity, making Rick Rubin a perfect fit for the proceedings. The recording was done at Sound City Studios, marking the first time the band has recorded outside of the Bay Area since their self-titled 1991 masterpiece. After mixing songs and performing a few new ones live at various concerts, Death Magnetic was finally ready to be released to a famished public.

It hits stores on September 12, 2008.

The first conspicuous thing about the record is that the songs are lengthy and colossal. There are two tracks over the eight-minute-mark and all of them exceed five minutes. And for the first time since …And Justice For All, there’s an instrumental cut.

A heartbeat starts things off unhurriedly on “That Was Just Your Life,” a haunting song with a nice slow guitar build and an ear-splitting preface that explodes in about six different directions to formulate a proper thrash stunner. Lars Ulrich keeps a feverish velocity and James Hetfield’s vocals tear through it. The breathless pace is a solid warning of what is to come.

“The End of the Line” continues the Metallica song structure that coats the album, launching an extended introduction that leads into a weighty jam of Kirk Hammett and Hetfield guitars. It has a great “live” feel, as though the track was cut in one take with illimitable energy prevailing over the proceedings. Watch for Hammett’s searing solo, too.

Robert Trujillo’s bass accentuates the deafening intro to “Broken, Beat, & Scarred.” The tune’s riff is the showstopper as it cuts through the air like a blade through tissue and gives the song another rhythm above Ulrich’s clattering milieu. Heavy as it is, it’s actually strangely funky and harmonious too. And Hetfield’s “What don’t kill ya make ya more strong” lyrics make the whole thing kind of…optimistic?

“The Day That Never Comes” is the first single from Death Magnetic and begins with a beautiful pair of guitars articulating something miraculous over a foundation that hearkens back to the band’s best days. Many people have said that the song is evocative of “One.” It is certainly a dazzling track and features one hell of a beguiling chorus and a deadly solo.

Bass takes the lead again on “All Nightmare Long,” a crunching piece that frightens and excites all at once. The thrash riffing and low rumble carries through to Hetfield’s grunts. And then the song really takes off, going into Guitar Hero territory with maddening riffs worthy of legend. It is truly one of Death Magnetic’s most magnificent cuts.

“Cyanide” is a rousing track with melodious undercurrents and a breakneck pace, with Ulrich cheerfully pounding away on the snare behind the wall of sound.

Piano and strings break the din at the start of “The Unforgiven III,” a song that winds in symphonic care and explodes with passion. Hetfield’s vocals are marvellous and he glides over the polished guitars with precision and ache, guiding the cut through its tempo changes with his imperfect singing style.

“The Judas Kiss” roars to life with a lattice of classical guitar and balls-to-the-wall rumbling, as the introduction cranks into high gear and revs through eight minutes of remorseless immensity.

The instrumental “Suicide & Redemption” is a seamlessly-composed track that lets Trujillo take over for moments at a time. The riffs are faultless and the almost-10-minute journey is fucking epic. The tempo changes, the slick production, and the astronomical percussion are mind-shatteringly amazing.

The shortest tune on the album finishes off Death Magnetic in rapid-fire style. “My Apocalypse” is a livid song that blasts away full-tempo for five minutes without stopping for a piss break. It’s the perfect closer to an incredible thrash metal record from the masters.

So yeah, it’s safe to say that Metallica is back and will unquestionably reclaim their lawful place as the true gods of thrash metal. Death Magnetic delivers the goods and does so at 100/mph, careening through outstanding songwriting, rolling guitars, menacing bass, and insane percussion with reckless abandon and no fucking seatbelts.

But with all that said, there’s truly only one axiom needed to sum up Death Magnetic:

Oh my fucking god.


Track Listing:

1. That Was Just Your Life 7:08
2. The End Of The Line 7:52
3. Broken, Beat & Scarred 6:25
4. The Day That Never Comes 7:56
5. All Nightmare Long 7:57
6. Cyanide 6:39
7. The Unforgiven III 7:46
8. The Judas Kiss 8:00
9. Suicide & Redemption 9:57
10. My Apocalypse 5:01

beast i mite just get that