In this era of the rock/metal genre of music, there is only a handful of bands that can be considered legendary and are still producing music. Legendary can be defined by years in the limelight or by the myriad of albums and singles released that top the charts even today. Tom Petty can release an album tomorrow and it’d probably be good; AC/DC is releasing one this week, and fans of nostalgia will go flocking back; and even The Cure has polished up for their diehards this year. They all meet the standard for legendary, but in their releases it almost feels like nostalgia is the only reason to pick up their latest works. However, one band of this calibur blew me away with their latest: Metallica’s “Death Magnetic.”
If you’ve picked up the album or watched the first single “Day That Never Comes,” the experience is fully explained without words. Conversely, if you’ve yet to experience this new album, it’s a definite surprise considering their last studio album, “St. Anger,” which was a true deviation from their early years. “Death Magnetic” isn’t a regression, but is a return to quality for Metallica, lyrically and musically.
To put it simply, Metallica sounds like Metallica again.
In this album and at this juncture in their career, the band is showing off their experience and creativity: fast tempo progression, well-executed transitions from wailing to guitar to ranged vocals with rhythm sections—and Metallica holds all this with seemingly little effort.
Lars Ulrich, age forty-four, shows off why he is one of the drum gods, metal, rock, or otherwise, with insane beats from the first song on, backing the normally ridiculous guitar work of Hammett and Hetfield in unison. The new bassist Trujillo, formerly of Ozzy Osbourne, while less pronounced within the bulk of the songs, shows off his own talents, especially in the track “Cyanide.”
My top picks for this album are hard to discern simply because the album as a whole is so good. The singles “Day That Never Comes” and “Cyanide” are considerably some of the better songs on the album, with “All Nightmare Long” and “Broken, Beat & Scarred” being close seconds. As a whole, though, every song is unique and, to be frank, fun to listen to, which is a feat few metal bands could ever pull off. Also, if you wondered if it was going to happen, it did: “The Unforgiven III.” Guess what? It surpasses both its predecessors in every respect.The only qualm I can possibly have about this album is that I wish it were longer. The songs are seven minutes long a piece and are rolling riots of music, but it makes me want more.
That is the sign of talent, though, and the tell-tale trait of the legendary.
Official Thorn rating: 5 elephants