Metallica - Death Magnetic
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Free Music Notes for Death Magnetic
Free Music Review: Worth the wait...
Hit: 5 Stars
Death Magnetic is a masterpiece. Stylistically, it's similar to ...And Justice for All. But better, thanks to Rick Rubin's crisp, clean production job. The songs are tight, complex and powerful. Every instrument is audible. James's stop-on-a-dime rhythm guitar has never been more compelling (how does he do it?), Kirk's solos are amazing, Lars is thunderous, and Robert "The Human Earthquake" Trujillo brings the bass to the fore again. Put off by the length of the songs? Don't be. They're that good you'll end up wanting more. Let's look at the album track by track, shall we?
That Was Just Your Life: This song has a gentle (although slightly sinister) start, and quickly snaps to life with a stuttering guitar/drum volley. Settles into an urgent riff reminiscent of "Blackened" off the Justice album. Nice opener.
The End of the Line: Starts with the riff that Metallica first debuted in "The New Song". The body of the song has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and an explosive waa waa solo from Kirk that brings us back to the main riff again. Finishes with some great vocals from James and thudding drums from Lars.
Broken, Beat & Scarred: A truly catchy rhythm (courtesy of Lars's machine-like drumming) that will get your head bobbing. The simple rhythm anchors the song, allowing the band to throw in different tunes along the way. You'll like it.
The Day That Never Comes: A stand-out track that starts with a plaintive melody guaranteed to stick in your head. The second half is a rip-snorter. Smooth and powerful; it roars along like a well-tuned V8.
All Nightmare Long: Some nice chug chug rhythms and a tuneful chorus. This is a fast song that should please the old-school thashers. Good solos from Kirk.
Cyanide: Fantastic start to this one: a waa waa riff (that you'll hear more of throughout the song) and some rumbling bass from Robert. More chugging guitar during the chorus and some crisp military drumming. One to sing along to.
The Unforgiven III: No links to the previous Unforgivens that I can see. This track is supremely melodic that nonetheless has some surging guitar underneath to remind us this is Metallica after all. Towards the end, a solo from Kirk bursts out of nowhere like a sprinter leaving the blocks. Tasteful and well put together.
The Judas Kiss: Like something off Justice. Takes a bit of getting into, but worth it. A prog feel to it with abrupt changes in rhythm and good solos.
Suicide & Redemption: The instrumental. It's long - clocking in at almost ten minutes - but never boring. There's enough material here for three or four songs. It never loses its way because it keeps returning to the main riffs. All band members shine.
My Apocalypse: Another fast one. I'm guessing Lars would shed a few pounds by the end. You'll like the blaring guitars that kick in just before James bellows the song title. A great finish for the album.
Death Magnetic sees Metallica at the top of their game. Exciting and relevant. Move over Master of Puppets, there's a new benchmark in town...
Free Music Review: Great music, but ravaged by time and mistakes
Hit: 5 Stars
Metallica has long been the black sheep of the metal community. The past three albums (Load, Re:Load, and St. Anger) have been far from appreciated by fans of the Metallica that gave us Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, or ...And Justice for All. The new music had it's own merits of course, but it was clearly not aimed at it's old audience. That's fine, they were certainly allowed to do so, but nothing guaranteed that fans would stick around. I myself had given up hope for Metallica even *attempting* a return after St. Anger. Even *after* hearing of an album titled Death Magnetic had a much more traditional sound to it. The clips on the Mission Metallica website weren't even enough to convince me. But, I had $10 sitting around and wanted to buy a CD, and lo and behold, I could get it for that price here. I thought to myself, "if it's crap, it's crap, it's my own fault. But I'll given them a chance."
I was pleasantly surprised. The music was, in fact, quite good. Not really their old style, but it was *like* the old style. It was a developed version of the old style. It never quite reached the technical proficiency in ...And Justice for All, but even Metallica has had problems playing those songs out of studio, so it's forgivable for an old fan like me. Though, I still much prefer Hetfield's old voice, and that's something that I still can't quite appreciate. It's good, but it doesn't feel like "Metallica" at all. If Chuck Billy could go through changes of vocal style and still be able to emulate his old style at will, why couldn't Hetfield?
The other thing that bothers me to absolutely no end is the huge mistake that was made before the CD's were printed. They sent the wrong copy of the music to the final printing steps. They sent very badly normalized tracks for final production. At first I thought I was because of my laptop's single mono speaker and lack of a sound card, but it sounded the same with a USB sound card on both my $20 and $120 headphones. Something was terribly wrong. I'm not an audiophile in the least, but even *I* could sense that something was up with the production, and my audiophile friends agreed. What's even more interesting is that the tracks given to Activision earlier was much, much better. And more interesting yet, the master tracks are preserved in the game files, so one could rip them out, re-master it themselves, and have the music much closer to what it ought to sound like. I have neither the songs (GH3 Wii has no DLC) or the ability to rip them, but I would very much like to. After all, I paid for the album fair and square, why not get what I was actually supposed to get. If Warner Bros. was smart and wanted to make Metallica fans everwhere happy, they'd let anyone who had proof of purchase access to the properly mastered tracks. If they were really nice, though I doubt any company would ever go so far as this, they would print the right ones and send them to those who had purchased the old version free of charge. I doubt it will happen, since after all, all companies need to pull in profits, but it's a nice dream.
Free Music Review: A taste of every era of Metallica 100 mph in a blender!
Hit: 5 Stars
9 year metallica fan here, and I was expecting a lot from these guys. Most people will agree that St. Anger was basically a let-down. I totally understood where the band were coming from, and why it sounded and felt the way it did. It took that album, to make this one. Death Magnetic. And it is incredible!!! Like my title says, it does have elements from every era, and it works. There is fast stuff from the first 2 or 3 albums, heaviness and complexity from Puppets and Justice, some areas do resemble some 90s stuff, but it blends well with the songs. There are some shouts from James or breakdowns that resemble St. Anger, but the production and sound make it so much better.
Lets go over the general points first. Solos, yes, lots of them and Kirk rip it up. Riffs, tons of them and they keep the head banging. Drums, they aren't breakthrough and amazing, but they do what they need to do to keep the song together. There are some decent double bass sections that are suprising. Bass, its there, and its what makes this feel like a MODERN justice that has some low end to it. The big thing that I love about this album is the solos are back, and the awesome guitar harmonies by James and Kirk. Definetly some Thin Lizzy feel to the songs in that department.
Production is obviously a huge step up. Its almost like the horrid production of St. Anger never happened. Actually the whole CD makes me feel like all of St. Anger never happened. I feel like it really does fit between Justice and Black Album. Production seems clean, but not to the point of Black Album, not to mention the blending of the two eras musically, 80s and 90s.
Tons of favorites from the album, and I am sure there are concert staples present already. I could name the songs that really took me on the first listen, but that's majority of the album. I will say I think Judas Kiss is my favorite so far.
There are two songs people seem to be skeptical the most that I have heard, and thats Unforgiven III and the insturmental (Suicide & Redemption). Unforgiven wasn't that bad actually. It does start off with piano, but it builds in a great way to a heavier climax. I think it will also grow with fans. The insturmental was claimed to get boring by some people, but I was jamming the whole time. 10 minutes is a long time to play with no vocals, but they did it and I love the stoner rock vib on the main riff.
All Nightmare Long is intenstly fast with musical parts that resemble Slayer. Has some creepy moments as well to go along with the lyrical theme of Nightmares. I also have to mention the great closing track, My Apocalypse. Definetly ends the album with a right hook. Its fast and crazy in the vein of battery, damage inc. and dyers eve.
In the end, this album is a monster, and it will be fun hearing some of these tunes on tour. In all honesty, I dont feel fans can expect, or should expect anything more from a band like Metallica. These guys are in their 40s, and giving this album a chance with an open mind, It is a great accomplishment by the band.
Free Music Review: It only took 17 years
Hit: 5 Stars
At the age of 15 (1988) my musical taste was heavily influenced by my father. Alot of AC/DC, Styx, Foreigner, Bad Company etc. So when a friend of mine handed me a casette tape (yes, I did say casette tape) from this band named, "Metallica", I didnt quite know what to expect. I went home and placed the tape in my casette player... and the intro could not possibly prepare me for what I was in for. Throughout listening to the CD, I wasnt really sure if I felt comfortable listening to this type of music. It almost made me feel like I was doing something wrong, but somehow I was hooked and couldnt stop. I listened to the tape several more times and I was hooked, returned my friends tape and bought a copy of my very own. Metallica had changed my view on music, and although I still enjoyed classic rock, they added a whole slew of new bands to listen to within their genre. Throughout the next two years I purchased every one of their backlist albums up to JUSTICE and loved them all (I also upgraded to a CD player).
I can remember all the hype in 1991 when their new self titled album (aka: the black album) was released. I waited in line for hours to purchase this CD and was again pleased.
In 1996 when Load was released, I was a bit disappointed as the band appeared to sell out then Re-Load in 1997 was a bit of the same. Not horrible albums... just not Metallica. They re-packaged some material following those two cd's further emphasizing their sell out (not to mention the whole illegal download fiasco)
Then in 2003 the fans were promised an album that was back to the bands roots and heavier than the past couple of releases. When I purchased the album and hit play... I was sadly disappointed. Who were these imposters that are claiming they are Metallica? St Anger was the most horribly mixed, written... sounding album this band has ever produced. I vowed to never purchase a Metallica album again.
So at this point, you may have noticed that I havent even mentioned the cd I should be reviewing, Death Magnetic. I think it is important before reviewing this cd that people know my personal history with the band and even the history that lead to the release of this cd, you see, this was a band who came crashing in on me, changed my view on many things and had a huge musical influence on me. Metallica, in my mind, could do no wrong and was the best band ever until 1996 with their Load release and it all went downhill since, then crashed with ST Anger. I went from having all the respect in the world for them, to absolutely none.
DEATH MAGNETIC: This album is their best album since 1991's self titled album. This should have been the cd that followed it. Every single song is incredible and truely displays their talent. Metallica has made a believer out of me yet again. If you are a current Metallica fain and are hesitant on purchasing.... you will love this album. If you are not a Metallica fan, but are looking for something new, try the older stuff and work your way to it. (but be sure to skip (load, reload, s&m, st-anger).
Free Music Review: Death Magnetic
Hit: 5 Stars
The day finally came: a new Metallica album was realeased! And, as so many reviewers before me has stated, what an album it is. Death Magnetic has, in an ever more seldomly seen combination of riffs, solos, and intelligence, it all.
This release harkens back to ye days of yore when Metallica-tracks were more long metal hymns of 7+ minutes than songs under 5 minutes, with the shortest track on Death Magnetic being a full 5:01 (and the only track under 6 minutes). It also, and this is important, brings back the old days of proper riffs, proper speed, and the (fantastic) solos of Kirk Hammet. Just listen to 'All Nightmare Long' or 'Cyanide', and you'll know what I'm on about. The riffs are heavy, rhythmic, and, very importantly, thrashy. The solos are not, as in the olden days, attempts at landspeed records in the guitar category (although they at times are quite fast), but rather bluesy and very becoming indeed. The drums are back in true form, as Ulrich seemingly has remembered how a snare drum should sound, and really lays down a 'metal' foundation on which the beforementioned riffs and solos can build their tower of power on. And we must not forget the bass! Death Magnetic is the first stuidoalbum with (5 year) new bass player Rob Trujillo, and he does, in my mind and to my ear, a wonderful job. Trujillo, being a fingerstyle player (and a very fine example of the breed, indeed) as opposed to Newstead, who preferred picks, brings his own, slightly funky, but very metaly style of playing to the Metallica sound with great succes. The bass may seem a bit 'dead' on the CD, but that is the fault of the compression, as has been said so many times before. The vocals are not of the kind we knew 20 years ago, but rather the 'new', 'singing' ones we have heard over the past many albums. Some people dislike them, but I think they sound rather good. It's definitely a different sound, but it's quite suitable nonetheless.
This brings us on to a different matter: this is not "And Justice for All", or indeed any of the 80ies albums. The formula is roughly the same, but the people using the formula have developed. The music is as angry, as heavy, as fast, as good as before, but it is slightly different. And why wouldn't it be? One of the biggest strengths of Metallica, to my mind anyway, has always been, that they do not copy themselves. They experiment and reinvent themselves. Apart from Load and Reload, that were supposed to be a double album, not two of Metallicas albums have sounded the same. They may have been sidetracked by this and that over the years, but they did a complete and utter reinvension of themselves with St. Anger (an album, which, by the way, I liked. Very powerful, good riffs, but no solos, which was indeed bollocks) and Death Magnetic is the next step in the Metallica evolution. It is the Ride the Lightning to the Kill 'em All of St. Anger. It is Metallica as interpreted by Metallica, and it is absolutely, undeniably, irrefutably, and massively fantastic.
Highest possible recommendation.