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 Review
by Chris Skoyles
With Death Magnetic, heavy
metal veterans Metallica have made a spectacular return to form.
Embarking on their ninth studio album, their first since 2003’s
ill-fated St. Anger, with famed producer, Rick Rubin, the
Metallica clan remerge from the dark pit of mediocrity they were led
down by former knob-twiddler, Bob Rock, and reaffirmed their status as
true legends of the genre.
A sublime meeting of the Metallica of old and the older Metallica, Death
Magnetic should be just the thing to appease those old-skool die-hards
who deserted the former thrash lords en masse in the 1990s, whilst
retaining enough familiarity to keep newer fans on board.
Take The Day That Never Comes, a soaring song with a swooping
melody and a swift riff that wouldn’t be all that out of place on their
famed Black Album which will quite easily enthral those weaned on a
staple diet of Enter Sandman yet also amps the aggression up a
notch.
And it’s that aggression which really stands out on this ten-track
testament to good, hard heavy metal.
Whilst the aforementioned St. Anger came across as something of a
personal exorcism taking place in drummer Lars Ulrich’s garage, Death
Magnetic channels such misplaced fury into apocalyptic riffs and a
venomous sense of purgery that rips its way straight through the
underbelly of hell and explodes on an unsuspecting earth.
Right from the thumping heartbeat intro of That Was Just Your Life,
Death Magnetic quickly accelerates to 100mph, obliterating everything in
its path with an unrelenting prowess.
Solos sharper than daggers slice through pummelling, juggernaut riffs as
Hetfield bellows and growls like a man in the throes of an agonising
catharsis throughout tumultuous behemoths such as The End of The
Line’ and the maniacal monster that is The Judas Kiss.
Other such highlights take shape in the form of Broken, Beat &
Scarred and Cynaide, both lengthy beasts with nasty, snarling
riffs lacerating some seriously dirty bass and which see Hetfield’s
enraged vocal merge into an embittered crooning.
Or we could even pick instrumental number, Suicide & Redemption,
with its weighty groove and haunting interludes, moulded together with
some thick, stodgy bass, licks reminiscent of the ‘Justice’ era and a
surreal sense of imagination.
Yet even with its knowing nod in the direction of their ’88 clasic,
…And Justice For All, and a power arguably unmatched by anything
else in the Metallica back catalogue, Death Magnetic isn’t quite
perfect.
The inclusion of an Unforgiven III (parts I & 2 being found on
the ‘Black Album’ and ‘Reload’ respectively), was always something of an
ominous choice to begin with, and, slipped as it is between the
fantastic furiosity of the aforementioned ‘Cyanide’ and ‘Judas Kiss’, it
only helps drag Death Magnetic down a peg or two.
Perhaps its just the addition of an unexpected piano introduction that’s
throwing us off, but Unforgiven III certainly stands out as one
of the weakest tracks on the album.
Lyrically too, this is a pretty primitive affair.
With the pen handed firmly back to frontman, James Hetfield, after
attempts at collaborative efforts on ‘St. Anger’, words are frequently
spat out in short, sharp bursts with more emphasis on rhyme than reason.
But words have never been a main concern for Metallica fans. It’s the
riffs, the rage and the relentless sound that has helped the former
overlords of thrash become one of the biggest bands on the planet, and
to that end, Metallica certainly don’t disappoint.
In a nutshell: An aggressive, untamed beast of an album which
marks a welcome return for the greatest heavy metal band on the planet.
You might like this if you enjoy: Slayer, Black Label Society,
anything Metallica did before ‘Load’.
• Metallica’s ‘Death Magnetic’ is out now on Vertigo Records.
Recommended links:
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www.metallica.com
►
www.missionmetallica.com
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