Metallica: Death Magnetic- Album Review

Death Magnetic has been ridiculed by the online music community almost from the moment Metallica announced that there would be a new album.  That's probably because the band made themselves a target with their war against Napster.  However, I'll do my best to judge the album on its musical merits.

Long time producer Bob Rock was replaced behind the console for this one by American Records honcho Rick Rubin.  The result is the continuation of the band's drift away from the polished sound that sound them ten of millions of records, back towards their thrash metal roots.  It's a journey they started on St. Anger.

The 10-tracks on Death Magnetic do tend towards epic thrash metal excursions.  Only one of the tracks clocks in at under six minutes in length.

Kirk Hammett gets plenty of opportunity to create his signature riffs, something that was stifled in the Load era of radio friendly Metallica.  This is a good thing, since Hammett's guitar work really is one of the band's greatest assets.

The rhythm section has definitely been beefed up as well.  Rob Trujillo's bass is fatter and stronger than Rock's playing on St. Anger and to be honest, gets better placement in the mix than the band would ever allow Jason Newstead.

Lars Ulrich's drumming has been a constant with Metallica over the years.  It's just as good as ever whether he be playing a supporting role or during one of his more frequent machine-gun drum bursts.

The main shortcoming of Death Magnetic is the songwriting.  There are very few choruses to grab a hold of and very little in the lyrics that makes you want to give the album repeat listenings.  

As a listener I could use more singing and less grunting and barking from James Hetfield.  Maybe it's just that I'm getting older and can't handle the clamour as well as I used to.

We do get the occasional string arrangement, like on "The Unforgiven III".  The album could have used a little bit more of that or other melodic flairs as it has a tendency to sound atonal.

Death Magnetic, while not the greatest album of Metallica's career, has definitely suffered from Internet backlash beyond what is deserving.

Best tracks: "The Day The Never Comes", "Cyanide"

Track listing for Death Magnetic:

• That Was Just Your Life
• The End of the Line
• Broken, Beat & Scarred
• The Day That Never Comes
• All Nightmare Long
• Cyanide
• The Unforgiven III
• Judas Kiss
• Suicide & Redemption
• My Apocolypse

6.0

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