Metallica – Death Magnetic

After becoming the biggest metal band in the world, and conquering everything worth conquering by the turn of the 80’s, Metallica decided to throw everything away with a barrage of disappointing albums, which did not even bear a hint of their heyday greatness. Their 2003 album, St. Anger, of course was the worst in the list.

But, fortunately with the band’s latest release Death Magnetic, 

the band have delivered what they have been promising over the months to the build up to the release of the album, and have chosen the old school road once again, a road they have been cruising on since ages but probably lost directions to during the interlude. Death Magnetic would be their 9^th studio album to date and their first under producer Rick Rubin.

The band’s comeback to the metal world becomes quite apparent from the first track onwards. The album opener This Was Just Your Life, has everything that made the band a hit. Punk inspired vocals, hard hitting drums, bangable riffs and of course Kirk’s bluesy metal solos. 

Apart from the jump back to heavier and faster music than their more recent albums, the band has also moved back to better lyrics. The theme of the album being the inevitability of death, say it would quite understandable to expect a similar lyrical set up. Break, Beat & Scarred is one of the tracks whose powerfully constructed lyrics aim to shelter one from this inexorable end.

The third generation Unforgiven includes the participation of a piano, which by itself brings its own form of uniqueness to the album. The track bears a modern footprint, which stands to contradict the direction of the rest of the album. The song unfortunately does not live up to the expectation raised by it’s predecessors. 

One of the greatest qualities the band possessed as a band would be the ability to write catchy riffs which stick to the head like super glue. Whether it be the mutted riffs of Master of Puppets or the simple arpeggio of Enter The Sandman, the band’s music simply keeps ringing in the head longer than compared to other bands’. End of the Line and The Day That Never Comes, are two such tracks that have a great rhythm attack, a prerequisite for any metal song.

Being a metal band in the 80’s required one to be an instrumentally sound band. Metallica did not lack on that account by any means, writing all instrumental masterpieces such as Call of the Ktulu and Orion over the years. Suicide and Redemption, tries to relieve these classics in it’s own lesser yet impressive way. The song features a ripping solo from Kirk, who seems more than contend by having his freedom to fly again.

The Judas Kiss, one of the best tracks on the album has the makings of becoming an all time Metallica favorite. The rhythm section of the album is reminiscent of the band’s very early tracks, while the style of the solo on the track is closer to the band’s 1991 self-titled album. The pounding track Cyanide highlights some slick lead work from Kirk, whose playing has matured and branched out even more than before.

Amongst many firsts on the album, one of the more crucial ones is the album being the first to include Robert Trujillo at the helm of the bass department. Trujillo provides the groovy intro to All Nightmare Long, his unique style has worked well to infuse new life into the band. The track along with the final track My Apocalypse, indicate that the band has maintained some of the rawness in spite of the years that have rolled on.

With a band of Metallica’s stature, expectations will always be running high. The same album released under another band’s name would probably propel the band to super stardom. But, with Metallica, good is never good enough. Honestly speaking, anything would be an improvement compared to St. Anger, but on a serious note the band have definitely not disappointed on this album.

Finally a Metallica album worthy of being stacked alongside Master of Puppets and Ride The Lightning.