Metallica - Death Magnetic

Metallica have through the years gained the reputation of being – shall we say – a ‘marmite’ band. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em, with little middle ground. This of course is a testament to them being one of the world’s most innovative rock bands, with several distinct changes in their sound from album to album. Such pioneering, coupled with their attitude of irreverence to anyone who would question their actions put them at the height of controversy as well as innovation.

Their last change in sound, as heard on their 2003 LP, St. Anger, would indeed turn out to be their most controversial of their career. On initial listening, it was clear the guitar amp had been turned up again, banishing any painful memories of Load-era folk music, something that drew many (including me!) and a large part of the seemingly fickle music press into a false sense of security.

Yet after further listens, horrible reality began to sink in. Kirk Hammett had ‘forgotten’ to do guitar solos, Bob Rock had ‘forgotten’ to produce the album properly, with Lars Ulrich’s drumming resembling the sound of biscuit tins being hit rather than drums, and, most crucially, James Hetfield had ‘forgotten’ how to write good songs. Putting excuses of the album being recorded in a turbulent time in the band’s history aside, the album was an incoherent mess.

Thankfully, I am glad to report, this is not the case on Death Magnetic. Opening track ‘This Was Just Your Life’ starts with an introduction sounding somewhere in between Machine Head and …And Justice for All-era Metallica. A slow burning guitar eventually gives way to an almighty crunch. Soon after, Hetfield begins his largely indecipherable growling, and with the song keeping a heavy, fast tempo, early impressions are good. It seems like Metallica have gone back to the old school – heavy guitars, Hetfield’s wolf-like growling, the sound of musical masculinity at its very best, the reason why Metallica grew such a large legion of fans in the first place. Then, at 4 minutes, 52 seconds in, comes a pivotal moment in the album.

Kirk Hammett was quoted in an interview recently as to being surprised to learning that a principal reason as to why St. Anger was received so negatively was because of the lack of guitar solos. This has been an (impressive) fundamental part to Metallica’s music throughout the years, so it is also a surprise to learn that Hammett thought this. Thankfully, Hammett took heed of this. At 4 minutes and 52 seconds comes the first guitar solo (of many) on the album. And arguably it is as fast and manic as any solo of his in 20 years. The next two tracks follow a similar formula, but to the eager Metallica fanatic, eager to hear something to reignite their Metallica worshipping fire, which has been doused somewhat over the last decade or so, it ticks all the right boxes.

Fourth track ‘The Day That Never Comes’ is the lead single on the album. And it is easy to see why. The most commercial of a very un-commercial bunch, it could almost be seen as a successor to the band’s classic 1989 single, ‘One’. Complete with a similar anti-war promo video, the songs also draw parallels in their structure; a few minutes of relative calm before giving away to grinding workman like thrash; classic Metallica. An indication of the far better job than predecessor Bob Rock that Rick Rubin has done of producing is perhaps best heard on next track ‘All Nightmare Long.’ Lars Ulrich’s bass drum gets a hammering, but no cringes of “what the hell is that sound?” are needed here, you could almost imagine sitting on the Great Dane’s lap as he plays along.

Second single to be ‘Cyanide’ is ironically probably the weakest track on the album. A relatively weak riff allows the listener’s attention to stray to the relatively weak lyrics that lie within on this track more than others, although this is an overriding problem of the whole album. Lyrics such as “Suicide, I’ve already died, you’re just the funeral I’ve been waiting for…” suggest a theme of death, which – one may have correctly assumed just by noting the album’s title - links to a motif throughout Death Magnetic. Yet even the most casual Metallica fan will probably see this as being nothing new, with death being a prominent theme in many Metallica songs down the years (‘Creeping Death’ anyone?), as indeed with it is with many metal bands. Yet also lyrics have never been Metallica’s strongpoint, with one gaining the sense that lyrics are put to the music, rather than the other way round. Therefore, because the lyrics are secondary, this problem is secondary – it is not important. It is the music that counts.

Next track ‘The Unforgiven III’ (part of a long running series) is the mandatory quiet song. A haunting piano intro sets the precedent to the semi-operatic feel of the song, although there is still time for the mandatory solo. Perhaps more than any other song on the album this showcases Metallica’s talents the best; showing how they can effortlessly switch from playing loud to playing quiet in a breath. ‘The Judas Kiss’ is typically unrelenting; played with the panache of a band sounding like they’re back at the zenith of their game. Following on from this, ‘Suicide and Redemption’ ranks as the heaviest and (perhaps most impressive) instrumental Metallica have done in their whole career.

The final track, ‘My Apocalypse’ is a fitting closer, played with all the raw energy of a band playing as if this was their last song they played before the Apocalypse. In a sense though, the end of the album is apocalyptic – until you play it again. For the whole of the album’s duration, Death Magnetic is the sound of a band with a point to prove; to prove that they still deserve their thrones as the kings of metal. Ten tracks on, it is mission accomplished; Metallica have produced something here as fresh and exciting as anything they have done in their whole career.

In essence, they have gone back to the primitive – not in their music, but in going back to a style that they know they do best. Metallica probably won’t win many new fans with Death Magnetic, but they may well win back a few old ones.