Metallica’s Death Magnetic celebrates the bands return to their humble beginnings as an aggressive, loud, and in-your-face thrash metal band. At 74 minutes and 48 seconds the sheer tenacity of thisalbum will leave most fans with just enough energy to breathe a sigh of relief.
Return to Thrash Metal
Metallica fans can rest assured: this album is on the verge of imploding with complex riffs, fierce guitar solos, aggressive palm muting, and tumultuous drums. Without question, this is the best Metallica album to be released since the bands 1991 Black Album. After abandoning attempts at a southern infused hard-rock sound, the band has returned to the thrash metal scene with progressive elements and a more mature sound.
Death Magnetic Key Tracks
Death Magnetic quickly makes it presence known with the explosive opening track “That Was Just Your Life.” The album maintains its aggression for the next twenty minutes until the albums first single, “The Day That Never Comes,” makes its appearance. This single is a ballad with a song structure reminiscent of “One,” with a tinge of guitar work that will remind some listeners of Master of Puppets.
Among the many other virtues, Death Magnetic boasts the first inclusion of an instrumental track (“Suicide & Redemption”) since …And Justice For All was released twenty years ago. Metallica’s lauded instrumentals gives band members an opportunity to do what made them famous in the first place: showcase their proficiency as masters of metal. The final track, “My Apocalypse” is the most aggressive song on the album. Also the shortest song on the album, (just over five minutes) “My Apocalypse” is the perfect ending to Metallica’s grand reintroduction into the thrash metal scene. This album will remind listeners why Metallica has become a figurehead for the metal genre.
Metallica's New Musical Focus
Bassist Robert Trujillo, the newest addition to the bands lineup, has no trouble keeping up with his veteran bandmates. Lars Ulrich delivers a speedy smattering of percussion, maybe relying too heavily on his boisterous snare drum. At the same time, the juxtaposition of Kirk Hammett’s astral guitar work with Hetfield’s terrestrial vocals blends to create a sound that is unique, yet familiar to listeners. However, some of Hetfield’s lyrics may strike listeners as a bit cliché. “Love… is a four letter word” Hetfield professes in “The Day That Never Comes.”
Success of Death Magnetic
The albums critical success has been matched by its financial success. According to billboard.com the album has sold 490,000 copies in just the first week, making Metallica the only band to have five albums debut at No. 1 in chart history.
Lyrics from the third track, “Broken, Beat & Scarred,” might be interpreted as an allegory for the bands journey over the past 25 years. “You rise/You Fall/You’re Down/Then you rise again/ What don’t kill ya make ya more strong.” And it’s true; Metallica has emerged, stronger than ever.
Tickets to see Metallica for their 2008 tour are currently available online.
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