Well, the seemingly inevitable time has come again where metal-heads all over the world will engage in a verbal onslaught of opinion regarding the genre's titans and the latest offering they have placed in our hands. After 'St.Anger' any fan will tell you that the deficit for Metallica to make a 'come-back' album was greater than ever, so the latest effort 'Death Magnetic' had a pretty big hole to fill, to say the least. The question is: are the once undoubted masters of metal back? To put it simply, yes and no.
The album kicks off with 'That Was Just Your Life' which immediately revokes the creepiness of classics which resided on the heavier end of the bands back-catalogue such as 'The Thing That Should Not Be'. It is a good start, with riffs once again immediately proclaiming themselves to be unmistakeably thrash in their approach. However, the opener also gives us a taste of what to expect from the album in a negative sense, with James Hetfield’s vocals seemingly highly under produced. I am not advocating the policy of 'pro-tooling' the hell out of everything, but nevertheless it seems a touch more reverb and some extra double tracking could have gone along way. However, all in all, as the song culminates with some harmonies reminiscent of the 'And Justice For All Days' it definitely relieves some anxieties one may have had after recent years of disappointment.
The next two songs, 'End Of The Line' and 'Broken Beat And Scarred' follow a slightly similar pattern, yet this is definitely a good thing as the progressive guitar lines coupled with rapidly changing rhythms add to the feel that this really is a return to form. However, although 'Broken Beat And Scarred' may be one of the more catchy songs on the album, it nevertheless brings me back to my main peeve, the mixing. Here, James' dry vocals are not noticeable next to the highly distracting clipping produced in the more drum heavy sections. James shouts of 'Show Your Scars!' are completely outweighed by the distorted reverberation which accompanies them. Although in terms of song writing, the first 3 entries have been a success, you may start to feel slightly annoyed that such a big band could not have got someone to do a better job of things, but I will return to that later.
'The Day That Never Comes', being the first single, requires little attention as most fans will have streamed it via the website long ago. A at first melodic and commercial passage later complimented by an intricate guitar driven progression definitely intend to stamp the seal of such accepted anthems as 'One' or even 'Sanitarium'. Where the first section definitely holds its own, the last 4 minutes seem slightly superfluous to these ears.
Next come the 2 probably least appealing songs on the record: 'All Nightmare Long' and 'Cyanide'. The former definitely contains more hooks than those songs on the first half of the album yet falls short in its arrangement, its back-and-forth trudging slightly off putting when we have already been given a demonstration that Metallica can still do better. The highlight of this song is however that it contains the first instance of a really noticeable bass-line. The intro provides an instance of what Robert Trujullio can bring to the mix, too bad the person at the table didn’t weave it in correctly. Subsequently, Trujillo becomes lost in cacophonic mess that Rick Rubin's minions have provided.
'Cyanide' continues more of a 'Load-Reload' tradition with a more mid tempo approach to things. If you are a fan of such era, then the song proves to be fairly interesting with some definitely sing along worthy moments coupled with some surprisingly noteworthy drum patterns from Lars. Even though it is not a weak song, 'Cyanide' doesn’t seem to fit the tone of the rest of the album and thus is instead condemned to the sidelines, pushed there by the higher degree of tenacity in the other cuts.
A few heads may have turned when the official track-listing was released for 'Death Magnetic' at the inclusion of the unexpected 'Unforgiven III'. "How can they make another song that similar to the last?" many voices cried. The first two entries in this saga did follow a strict musical and lyrical framework, and in my opinion provided thus two of the most moving songs in Metallica history. However, the third entry seeks to shatter the conventions of its predecessors, with riffs not atall resembling either past instalment. This, nevertheless, works extremely well. James Hetfield delivers what is probably his finest vocal performance on the album, and the lack of production does not quell the raw passion in his voice. The song progresses from a ballad/down beat rock combo into a section highly similar to something one may have heard on 'S&M' with violins providing to be an astonishing companion to the later sections. James does keep the song just about within the boundaries of the Unforgiven series through the inclusion of lines such as 'How can I blame you, when it’s me I can’t forgive?' yet even if he had not, it would still have been a fantastically moving stand alone piece.
By this point, there is definitely more positive than negative to talk about. However, I feel there is another pressing concern which needs to be addressed. Kirk Hammet, after being severely shackled throughout 'St.Anger' steps up to provide us with some blistering guitar work which shows he is still on top of his game. Sadly, some of this playing is masked by his incessant need to use the wah-wah pedal. If you are a long standing Metallica fan, you will have come to expect this, but it still doesn’t make it any less of a shame that the solos become less clear in their phrasing as a result of this.
Anyway, back on to the positive. Next up is 'The Judas Kiss' , possibly the best heavy song on the album. With its mix of old school thrash riffs, syncopated drumming throughout the verses and a vocal hook more memorable than anything else on the album, this is definitely a stand-out. After the adrenaline rush this song provides, the album oves into the instrumental 'Suicide & Redemption'. Although perhaps not the best way to capitalise on the energy of the last song, this si nevertheless a testament to the old way of doing all things Metallica. Some may argue that the inclusion on an instrumental merely proves the band wished to rekindle the vibe of the old fan favourites, albums such as 'Master Of Puppets'' or 'And Justice For All', but with its constantly evolving riffage, this somewhat drawn out jam of a song is definitely worth considering as 'worthy'. Harmonies glide throughout the middle section, making this a somewhat memorable experience for a cut with no vocals.
'My Apocalypse' ends the album in a slightly disappointing fashion. Although definitely akin to the ferocity of songs such as 'Damage Inc.' and 'Dyers Eve', the song fails to capture that certain element that made these songs so powerful. Maybe it is the slightly repetitive construction, maybe not, but the song definitely leaves one wanting. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely proves these boys, or rather men, can still thrash with the best of them, it just doesn’t quite live up to the level of the rest of the album.
In conclusion, 'Death Magnetic' is for the most part a fantastic entry to the Metallica legacy, with a few faces once hardened with resentment surely once again gleaming with a combination of nostalgia and relief. The band themselves have done us proud; it is the rest of those involved who let this record down. Producer Rick Rubin, where he might have 'got' this album out of Metallica, certainly didn’t do his duty when he and his team gave the final mix the ok. This is a great album; my only fear is that the terrible production will overshadow its musical achievement.
Final Verdict: 8/10
