Metallica - Death Magnetic Album Review (2008)

This is without a doubt the album I have been waiting for all year. It has been a long time since the mighty Metallica made an album and the last one was not great. So I jumped at the change when it was offered by The Music Magazine. Huge thanks again to SC :)

The review:

Back when bands like Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith were redefining the LA heavy metal scene with big hair and tight jeans, Metallica simply got on with the job. They became a more viable alternative to their untouchable peers; a dirty, down-to-earth, 'everyman' metal band. After the promising debut 'Kill 'Em All', Metallica ruled the decade. Between 1984 and 1988 they made three albums, peaking with the monumental 'Master Of Puppets' - a rock album with just about everything from mind-bogglingly fast drums and speed guitars to orchestral strings. From here, an evolving music scene brought in a change to the band. Every great institution from Queen to U2 has faced these moments which often bring about mixed results. The key is to stay true to your roots. Change is one thing but you won't keep fans if you stop being 'you'.

In the '90s Metallica did not change as such, they transformed. The eponymous 'Black' album is a masterpiece, fusing the old with the new to create a more subdued modern rock sound while retaining the trademark Metallica style. Out went the massive speed metal guitars and in came delicate strings and slower arrangements. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett shines and no album since has captured the same brilliance. The last few years of the decade saw the inevitable live albums, box sets and even a collection of cover versions. Guitarist/singer James Hetfield even flirted with orchestral arrangements in the great 'S&M' album and DVD. It looked like one of the world's most revered bands were growing old gracefully.

But the band were in a mess. Drink and drugs threatened to create an irreparable rift between the two egos of Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. Bassist Jason Newsted quit the band just as they were on the verge of recording a new album. The idea was to document the making of the album but this resulted in a massive 'group therapy' session which put Hetfield into rehab. The album 'St. Anger' was eventually recorded and released along with the very public 'Some Kind Of Monster'. As absurd as it seemed, the warts-and-all documentary worked. Unfortunately the album did not. It is a one-dimensional, stuttering, unfocused mess; a brave yet futile attempt to redefine a dying genre...and a dying band.

Now with Robert Trujillo on bass, who has one of the hardest jobs in rock: to be heard over Hetfield, Ulrich and specifically Hammett, and a new reinvigorated desire to make music, Metallica has finally made a ninth studio album. After all the tantrums, the therapy, the schism and the egos, the music has survived. The band has emerged scarred but fighting and the new songs are a brutal assault of the senses; a deliberate well-executed counter-attack. Twenty years since they ruled the world and they now sound better than ever.

'Death Magnetic' has a startling and immediate impact. Credit has to be given to new producer Rick Rubin. Granted previous helmsman Bob Rock got the band through the '90s and produced the Black album but by then the band were out of control. Rubin's clear and focused approach, largely aimed at Hetfield and Ulrich, has brought them back from the edge. 'Death Magnetic' sounds like everyone involved went back to listen to 'Ride The Lightning', deconstructed it, worked out how and why it worked, produced a series of mathematical formulae using highly regarded physicists and computers, and discovered the secrets of how to make a new 'metal' album. The result is an enormous technically accomplished master class. It is not quite 'metal by numbers' but the relentless precision and meticulous planning often distracts from the utter brilliance of the music.
From the opening bars of 'That Was Just Your Life', starting with a heartbeat and the eerie combination of creepy guitars; then the huge crashing drums and thrashing guitars, you know this is a Metallica album. It is not that all the music sounds identical - that is just a misguided stereotype - the band have a sound which transcends every song, every riff, every drum strike, every word and every chord. The sound of Metallica washes through everything like a haunting ethereal entity. The effect is exactly what James Hetfield experiences: when the music starts, the world just goes away. By his own admission, this is his new drug.

The main guitar riff of 'The End Of The Line' is astonishing. Hetfield and Ulrich work together to add the machine guns, drilling the sound into your skull. After the remarkably tuneful build up, the chorus is a bit of a let down as Hetfield uses his old trick of just slowing down his voice at the end in time with the drums. He is openly recalling his former life: "Hooked into this deceiver, need more and more; Into the endless fever, need more and more". A network of guitars form a mid-point instrumental break before Hammett takes over, plunging his lead under water for his solo. More perplexing guitar work leads to another slow down and what threatens to be a slow melody outro. Hetfield comes back sounding like someone entirely different: "The slave becomes the master...". It is a fantastic end to an amazing song.

The most noticeable thing about 'Broken, Beat & Scarred' is the vocal arrangement. The music pales in comparison. The simple message is expressed with "The dawn, the death, the fight 'til the final breath. What don't kill you will make you more strong". Hetfield even provides his own backing vocals. A brief respite comes in the form of a guitar break, Hetfield first then Hammett letting loose - speeding up and slowing down. Ulrich, wanting in on the action, wades in but the duel is planned and controlled, choreographed more like a Yimou Zhang movie than WWE. 'The Day That Never Comes' is the album's 'everything' track and another major highlight. A slow build-up of simple guitar melody and pounding drums recall '...And Justice For All' before gliding into the same concept used on the 'Black' album. Hetfield uses his earnest vocals on the quiet parts and is equally majestic elsewhere, during the first half of the song. A thundering guitar duel brings a transformation and Hetfield declares: "Love is a four letter word..." before a different animal emerges. It is something of a tuneless lull until the thrash guitars and another excellent segmented solo from Hammett to end.

At the mid point 'All Nightmare Long' is a relentless eight minute charge, both musically and vocally, which descends into a series of 'let's see who can drum/strum/shout the fastest'. How the band will cope with this live is anyone's guess. This is followed by the more imaginative 'Cyanide' which bounces with the same energy but at least slows the tempo occasionally. Hetfield too is more controlled, only lifting for the choruses to match the drums. At the half way point, the song slows even more as the vocals lurk menacingly in between some chaotic guitar work. Hammett gets his solo (again!) before Ulrich fights him off then it is all back together for a rousing finish. The imaginatively titled 'The Unforgiven III' starts with gorgeous piano and horns leading into soft guitars and drums. When the band fully kick off, it feels a bit clumsy with Hetfield in uncomfortable story-telling mode. The song only serves as a respite from the barrage of guitars as it remains mid-tempo even into the last three minutes. When it quickly builds Hammett attempts to closes things with another frantic solo. But as always it is Hetfield who gets the last word, finishing the story.

Another great riff is at the core of 'The Judas Kiss'. Again this is an inspired vocal arrangement - Hetfield breaks from the usual monotone for some genuine melody. The mid section of the song gets bogged down in some more duelling guitar play before Hammett emerges victorious for an uncompromising solo. This is only broken by Hetfield declaring "Judas lives, recite this vow. I've become your new God now!". Somehow you feel inclined to believe him. The guitars continue, on the edge of going supersonic before the vocals return with extra vitriol and menace. An interesting eight minutes of twists and turns.

The penultimate song is a real surprise: 'Suicide & Redemption' is soaring ten minute instrumental. From the outset it is more a marathon than a sprint, arranged in several movements and reaching an early high point two minutes in when Hetfield is joined by an exquisite sub-riff from Hammett. Without a voice, they are both equally expressive. All this is underpinned by Ulrich's drums, sounding both laboured and controlled. The next chapter of the song and Hammett treats us to a Satriani-esque glide before the frenzy builds once more into more vocal guitars. Trujillo's bass pushes to the front as the guitars return, a brief respite before Hammett explodes again into arguably his best solo of the album. This is like an entire album in one song with all the tracks mashed together to form one giant sensory assault. The music revisits previous themes, adds in new riffs, drum arrangements (the last two minutes is owned by Ulrich) and reworked ideas, before returning full circle. The decision to omit vocals is both strange and inspired - something the band has done before but never with this precision. Both guitarists are supreme and for once equal weighting is given to everyone involved. Marvellous.

The album closes with 'My Apocalypse'. The frenzy of guitars and drums never let up for a second and the band are fast and furious right to the end. If anything it feels a bit revisited and isolated, removed from the rest. On an album that is over an hour long with songs of seven minutes, this five minute encore could be easily removed.

'Death Magnetic' will naturally be hailed as a massive return to form but is more a regression to find what worked in the first place. Much has been made of Hammett's trademark solos (missing on 'St. Anger') but for the most part instead of gliding and soaring they creep up and are stamped down in place. They are furious and outstandingly complex but at the same time, annoyingly rushed - yes this is thrash metal but it all sounds a bit forced. Likewise Hetfield may pull few punches with his vocals but he is not a great wordsmith. He often regresses into simply spitting words at us: "Violate, annihilate; Obliterate, exterminate" and "Choke, Asphyxia, Snuff reality; Reaper, Butchery, Karma amputee" are typical 'metal friendly' offerings. The main thing with Hetfield is that ultimately his words do not matter; it is his voice that is important, an acceptable compromise between soft rock crooning and a post-hardcore death metal growl. For the first time all writing credit for the music (Hetfield exclusively writes the lyrics) is attributed to all band members. This comes through in the coherence of the songs and the high level of musicianship. This is not the band's best work but it is damn close and after the problems with 'St. Anger' this is a huge achievement.

Metallica may not win any new fans with 'Death Magnetic' but they sure as hell will get the old ones back.

-- CS (for The Music Magazine)