Death Magnetic

 

 

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Firstly This album is not a return to anything.

Metallica, will never make another Killemall or another ride the lightning nor for that matter another master of puppets or and justice for all. It will never happen. And thanks for that, life is about moving forward.. Some people think they want album after album of The killemall formula.. But if they had it Metallica would be cursed by fans for never moving forward.

Some people simply don't realize what they actually want.

So this album is neither the 80's era, nor is it the 90's either. It certainly doesn't sound much like Load/reload. Not St Anger, in fact even though I loved this album, Hetfields vocals were actually better on St Anger.

This album though, Is great. The only low point is unforgiven part 3, which unfortunately adds nothing to the unforgiven parts 1 and 2.

And even though the rifts are powerful, the guitar harmonies are there. It still lacks that kick you in the stomach full force that a metallica album usually hits you with. This of course is the productions fault, a muddy sound may have worked for St Angers stripped down approach but it hinders it on death magnetic.

So you have rifts, that should practically leave you breathless yet you end up practically losing them in a muddy distorted mess. Which worked for Nirvana, worked for Sonic youth etc, Even worked For St Anger. But this isn't that type of record.

But In the end, this is an album which should please everyone. It will please or "should" at least people who think metallica need to recapture their earlier sound. It will please the Load/reload era of fans. It will also please people like me who have found merit in all metallica albums.

Overall the highpoint for me is Suicide and Redemption, which is metallicas first Full length instrumental since To live is to die in 88. It lacks for nothing. I enjoyed it as much as the call of Ktulu or Orion which were beautiful pieces of music. Judas kiss is another high point as is my apocalypse which sounds as if Tom Arya possessed James Hetfields body for 5 minutes. All nightmare long is another output of heavy melody itself.

The rest of the album is basically metallica at a gallop, a good, heavy, thoughtful gallop. One in which you find yourself simply smiling as if you've run into an old and unexpected friend you thought you might never see again.

I know, it's "not out yet", but I have an advance copy- and I am highly pleased. I've been a Metallica fan since they began, and I've heard it all. Overall the album is more like Justice For All- longer songs, shifting tempos, blistering solos. It has occasional touches of the St. Anger looseness to some of the lyrics and song structure, which is not always the best thing, but it's still an incredible cd (and that damn tinny high-hat sound is gone:-)Don't judge by those demos you've heard- the finished songs are much richer in sound. Of course, I have to spend more time with it, but initial impressions:
"That Was Just Your Life" rolls us into the cd in style, with the kind of energy and speed only "Blackened" could match.
"The End of the Line" Believe it or not, like a newer version of "Creeping Death". Similar melody, great headbanging power.
"Broken, Beat & Scarred"- mid-tempo (usually- all these songs change tempo in places). Feels like "Disposable Heroes" with a bit more melody. Nice military drums.
"The Day That Never Comes" is similar to "Unforgiven 1" or "God That Failed". Definitely a "Black Album" type-slower track until it goes into faster solo territory. Worth the wait.
"All Nightmare Long" is the band's reply to "Enter Sandman", and it's harder than hell. Remember when Metallica was a thrash metal band? Yep, 8 minutes of fury. I love this tune.
"Cyanide" is a less structured, shifting song, not as tight as the other tracks. More like a St. Anger song, but still solid.
The Unforgiven III: Nice. Starts in that slow droning that characterized the first two parts of this trilogy, and then rips into a nice Load-style solo. (Listening to all three "Unforgiven"s in a row is very interesting, incidentally).
"The Judas Kiss"- rocks. Much like "The God That Failed" meets "Harvester of Sorrow". Great lyrics, and perhaps my favorite track right now.
"Suicide & Redemption". A 10 minute instrumental, it feels like "To Live is to Die". Not a standout track, but proof that the band still throw out riffs with the best of them.
"My Apocalypse", last tune, nice Master of Puppets style drums. A lot like "battery", and definitely ends the cd with a blast.

So, Metallica fan- BUY IT. This is not St. Anger, or Reload here. This is "Justice For All Part II", 10 years later and 10 years sleeker. I promise you that there are no metal cds coming out this year that could touch this beast. I was very dubious about what to expect, but this is a classic return to form that will blow you away if you give it a chance.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to it again. And again:-)

If you want to buy the box set so that you can have most of the album artwork seen elsewhere on five huge LP sleeves, assembled with painstakingly by-hand care so that nothing gets dented or broken in delivery, then I can vouch you should be readily satisfied. If you're looking for great sound, GOOD LUCK. I just received my copy, and this is the squelched-up, compressed mix that even brings distorion in the snare drum. We had the stereo turned a good -40 dB while listening to this album after listening to a recent Warner Bros 45-rpm mastering of "Master of Puppets" at 0 dB... "Master of Puppets" was refreshing, "Death Magnetic" absolutely hurt the ears (feeling as if we were at a gig, listening to a bad concert mix plummel us without earplugs).

(For a quick reference: reducing volume by 3 dB is equal to reducing it to half its volume, and reducing by 6 dB is equal to reducing it to a quarter. Reducing by 9 dB = 1/8 the original volume. Now imagine reducing something by 40 dB, and result still hurting your ears).

This is not a criticism on their music, or original choices of guitar/instrument sounds (this may be some of their best music if not their best album yet, and you can still tell that the original sounds were quite great, if anyone's heard the Guitar Hero mixes to these tracks). Just don't bother paying in the $100-and-up range for a 5-LP set that, by right, should sound pristine (I mean, a 5-minute track having its own LP side? Can you say "reference record"?), but JUST PLAIN SOUNDS BAD. Warner Bros ("www.becausesoundmatters.com"), Metallica, or whoever, somebody really dropped the ball on this one.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Death Magnetic Experience
Like many bands today, Metallica decided to release crazy special editions of their last album in order to make a little extra cash. Read more

Published 18 months ago by LeBrain

2.0 out of 5 stars Torn Between Awesome Music and Craptastic Sound
The music on this album is awesome. This is some of my favorite Metallica music. I like the sound, the mixing, the EQ, all that is good. Read more

Published on Mar 4 2010 by Todd Elgert

2.0 out of 5 stars No dynamic range left...
Its difficult to listen to this album for any length because its so damn loud. I love cranking up Metallica but this ablum has no dynamic range left making everything sound loud... Read more

Published on Mar 3 2010 by Jamie Irwin

2.0 out of 5 stars Uninspiring
I used to be a die-hard Metallica fan, but less so after St. Anger and now this album. Frankly, I think this band has lost it's hunger, and after the black album it shows. Read more

Published on Feb 3 2010 by Kwazy Wabbit

2.0 out of 5 stars a sort-of decent attempt at music
I bought Death Magnetic on its release day. It is the loudest album I have ever heard (this is a bad thing! it hurt my ears! Read more

Published on Oct 5 2009 by Brandon C. Atkinson

3.0 out of 5 stars Best Album Since The Black Album...
I knew that this album would be different as soon as I heard that Rick Rubin was gonna produce it. Although the black album was a change for Metallica, it still was better than... Read more

Published on Aug 19 2009 by D. Pagliaroli

5.0 out of 5 stars Their Best Yet!!!
I have LOTS of Mettilica CDs but I think this has to be their best one yet. I seems like a real GROUP effort.Not much more I can say.... Read more

Published on July 15 2009 by Luap Van Horn

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing return to form
This album is amazing. It's a band back together, in terms of actually producing an album with feeling. Read more

Published on Mar 27 2009 by Alexander P. Thompson

4.0 out of 5 stars The Day that Finally Came
Wow this is a great Metallica album, reminciscent Ride the Lightening. The Day that Never Comes is a great track to hear on the radio. Unforgiven 3 is unbelievable. Read more

Published on Mar 15 2009 by Harris Macklin

5.0 out of 5 stars It's been way too long!!!
Being a longtime fan(since "...And Justice For All") of the band and finding merit in both "Load" and "Re-Load" I was skeptical when I heard Metallica was turning back the clock... Read more

Published on Nov 24 2008 by Sebastien Lessard

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