METALLICA
DEATH MAGNETIC
ALBUM REVIEW
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“If this is their 9th studio album, where does it rank?”
DEATH MAGNETIC, the Rick Rubin produced 9th studio album from Bay Area metal titans METALLICA (and the first studio album featuring Robert Trujillo on bass) is chock full of riffs, tons of ugly chords, a boatload of guitar solos, and loads of twin guitar harmonies that harken back to the thrash metal veterans legendary 80’s output, with a sound that is a true return to their original thrash form which could have easily placed this album being released right after …AJFA. They brought back all of the classic elements (including their iconic logo!) that made METALLICA awesome to begin with and more than made up for their “Angry Loads” era.
Released September 12, 2008
Recorded March 14, 2007 – May 22, 2008
Label Warner Bros. Vertigo
Producer Rick Rubin
TRACKS
1 That Was Just Your Life
2 The End of the Line
3 Broken, Beat & Scarred
4 The Day That Never Comes
5 All Nightmare Long
6 Cyanide
7 The Unforgiven III
8 The Judas Kiss
9 Suicide & Redemption
10 My Apocalypse
SINGLES
The Day That Never Comes Released: August 21, 2008
My Apocalypse Released: August 26, 2008
All Nightmare Long Released: December 15, 2008
Broken, Beat & Scarred Released: April 3, 2009
JOIN US for a brief review of a recent local metal show featuring Atlanta’s own Embering Effigy at Sweetwater Live in Duluth (as well as a summary of the “aftermath” that followed), remember that “the Loads of Anger” are always at the bottom, and behold the victors of “The Loudness Wars” with METALLICA’s 2008 return to their thrash metal roots, DEATH MAGNETIC.
THAT WAS JUST YOUR LIFE
A good creepy soft intro preceded by the heartbeat of thrash, something missing since at least The Black Album. With this alone, it confirmed for all the fans who endured the “Anger & Loads” era that “Metallica was BACK!” with classic sounding, 80’s era, thrashy Metallica. Even the vocal style harkens back to the era of Lightning and Puppets.
2:24 – A nice blending of Pantera style power groove and classic era Metallica. Definitely sounds much more energetic and inspired than the 3 previous albums (aka “The Loads of Anger”).
4:27 – This riff, and the harmonies, are definitely a return to their 80’s signature sound. Oh yeah, and the guitar solos are also back, something that was omitted from St. Anger in much the same way that the bass was omitted from AJFA.
BTW, that bit of flange/phase near the outro twin guitar solo is all but washed out on the original release due to the brick walled mix that had no dynamics whatsoever.
“I blind my eyes and try to force it all into place,
I stitch them up, see not my fall from grace,
I blind my eyes, I hide and feel it passing me by,
I open just in time to say goodbye…”
THE END OF THE LINE
YEAH!!!
This one is killer, with the lyrics reflecting the never-ending thirst for numbness and peace that will never be quenched by addiction.
This is the first time Metallica has really sounded like themselves since the first four records, filled with the classic Metallica harmonies of old…
“Hooked into this deceiver,
Need more and more…”
Even the classic Metallica logo is back!
The songs are much more sprawling and progressive.
4:39 – even Kirk’s guitar sounds like it’s about to vomit forth the angst and endless frustration of never-ending addition. Fucking brilliant!!!
5:24 – the breakdown…5:50- the realization that it ‘s time to get off the ride and take back control. 6:47- what a triumphant way to finish. Reiterating the never-ending loss that will dominate until you forever exorcise the demons of addition that haunt you.
“Dead hourglass of time,
Sand we will not ever find,
We gather here today,
Say goodbye,
‘Cause you’ve reached the end of the line…”
BROKEN, BEAT & SCARRED
A different kind of riff for them. Keep in mind that Death Magnetic is the first official studio album that Robert Trujillo played bass on even though he’d joined the band back in 2003 around the time the sessions for St. Anger had wrapped.
1:00 – THAT is a classic riff!!!
There seems to be a lot of focus on addiction and recovery and taking back control over your life on this record.
“Rise, fall down, rise again,
What don’t kill you, make you more strong,
Through black days,
Through black nights,
Through pitch black insides…”
THE DAY THAT NEVER COMES
Track 4 soft intro energy, reminiscent of Fade To Black. Even the solo sort of has that feel, especially at the :49 mark. The chorus riff is even reminiscent of the chorus on FTB.
“Love is a four-letter word,
And never spoken here…”
4:55 – Breakdown time! Kinda like One but faster. The harmonies are very reminiscent of their first 4 albums. That riff at 6:12 could have been cut out, but it makes for a nice segue into the guitar solo.
ALL NIGHTMARE LONG
Creepy, down tuned intro.
:36 – Buckle up!
The atmosphere really has the feel and aesthetic of their 80’s output. Rick Rubin truly helped bring out the Metallica magic again.
2:25 – Killer chorus with very original sounding riffs, a nice blending of their classic sound with their modern sound, a refinement that could have only been made possible after enduring “The Angry Loads” era…
4:28 – riff change with a pre-solo melody.
5:22 – nice riff to carry out of the solo back to the song…and yet another solo.
(Hearing James count off in the background gives it a killer Garage Days kinda vibe too!)
Glad to hear Lars playing some double bass. It definitely gives it that old school sound.
That breath at 6:57 is haunting…and metal as all fuck!!!
“Luck runs out…”
CYANIDE
Weird riff…and with wah no less.
Oh yeah, and BASS!!! Y’know, the instrument that was insanely absent from their 4th album, …”And Justice For All”?
(Okay, I’m just being an asshole because the “bass mix” on AJFA will ALWAYS be a thorn of contention, but hey, at least Lars isn’t playing a lot of drum beats that sound “stock”, so that’s a win I guess.)
1:23 –Interesting riff. The 3-minute mark riff change seems strangely out of place, but I guess it’s a good transition into the “clean breakdown” section.
The flow of this song seems to get bogged down by too many riffs that don’t seem to belong in the same song which sort of kills the “memorable-ness” of the riffs that truly stand out.
Or, to put it another way, the really good riffs don’t stand out as much because there are too many riffs crammed into such a short space. (Mark the time…)
THE UNFORGIVEN III
Piano? Now THAT is definitely a first on a Metallica album.
Strings!?
Horns!?!?
WTF is going on here!?!?!?
Another song in the “Unforgiven” suite. Dark & somber, a song about self-forgiveness. I’d imagine after the “Angry Loads” era and the various life changes James had been subjected to that self-forgiveness was probably a challenging concept to embrace.
4:33 – the buildup and the solo. Likely representative of the authentic release of self-guilt and self-hatred that have to be cleansed in order to realize true self-forgiveness.
“Forgive me, why can’t I forgive me!?”
A lot of the harmonies have an interesting blend of Metallica’s 80’s catalog, old Queen, and old Iron Maiden.
“How can I be lost?
In remembrance I relive,
And how can I blame you?
When it’s me I can’t forgive…”
THE JUDAS KISS
The opening riff seems to get cut short before going into the ugly chords. Kinda wanted to see where that was going. The main verse riff doesn’t really come in until the one-minute mark.
The verse might be the most memorable part in the song, again, maybe a tad too many riffs that take away from the intensity of everything else. More is not necessarily “always” better… (especially as it relates to “The Loudness Wars”).
The shape and recurrence of some of the riffs from earlier is a clear testament to Metallica’s progressive metal heritage. At 4:55, considering the song is 8 minutes, it kinda feels like they should have cropped this one back a tad…one man’s opinion…the guitar solo is too long and not exactly memorable.
HFS! How many guitar solos are on here!? Enough already!!! And another unneeded breakdown at the 6:30 mark…(sigh). There’re too many unneeded passages that should have been cut out…this should have been about 5:30 or so.
“Twisting on the tourniquet,
When the pieces never fit,
So, what now?
Where go I?
When you think it’s all said and done…”
SUICIDE & REDEMPTION
An instrumental with a HUGE bass sound!!! Cliff and Jason would be proud. Not only a HUGE bass sound but HUGE riffs as well, and an almost 10-minute run time (sigh).
The first guitar melody around the 2-minute mark adds a nice degree of texture instead of just some randomly indulgent, unnecessary weedly woos to fill space.
3:08 – Balls.
3:53 – A mellower breakdown clean section with a guitar melody that builds back into the aforementioned twin guitar melody mentioned above.
Really?
Seriously…this could have been 6 minutes. Please stop!!!
MY APOCALYPSE
A killer way to close things out. Fast and to the point, clocking in right at 5 minutes. And for the record, it’s impossible to hear Metallica’s drummer without thinking of the dude who does those hilarious videos, mimicking Lars, on Instagram.
Fast riffs, uptempo, this is more like what The Black Album should have sounded like.
1:52 – the leadup to the solo…sort of a nod to Damage Inc.
2:22 – the way it transitions into the solo is killer, like putting the hammer down and red lining everything.
2:55 – a throwback to their classic sound, great stuff!
Yay! More double bass!!! Give that man all the gum he needs. A perfect ending to a perfect closer to their best (and most thrashy!) album in nearly 2 decades.
Show Notes:
(00:01): “Why not shred management?” / #highschoolmemories / “That was his ‘fuck off’ hour…”/ #guitarclass / “We came up with this song…it’s in my brain…”/ #LMAO / “I can play it on guitar right now…”/ “I left it in there just for you…”/ “I think we should do a toast…”/ ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / “He might get his feelings hurt…”/ #shinydiamonds and #cleantigers / #shinytigers and #cleandiamonds / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST HERE IN THE DIGITAL BUNKERPOON!!!*** / #thisepisodesbeeroftheepisode #baconsoda / “Somewhere Russell referenced ‘bacon soda’ and Billiam found a bottle of Bacon Soda…”/
Bacon of the Episode
“Tastes like maple bacon snooch…”/ “I need to let Doro taste it…”/ #markthetime / ***IF YOU WANNA SKIP THE NONSENSE AND GO STRAIGHT TO THE MEAT, GO TO #THEDOCKET ***
(07:20): “And I ordered #mediumrarechickentenders …”/ “Matthew…you were fuckin’ trashed!”/ “If you’re doing a rideshare, you really owe it to yourself to be hammered at least on one end of the journey…why take an Uber if you’re gonna be sober?”/ “I must have looked like a hammered 4 year old…”/ #blackoutASMR / “You know that pre-hangover hangover that you get?” / #markthetime / “Okay, so you paid $38 for $8 Chinese food?”/ “It was a lot of wind…and a lightshow…”/ “Let’s go back to the show…”/ #SweetwaterLive #LocalMetalShow #EmberingEffigy / #RussellsReflectionsConcertReview / “It’s not going in there…”/ “My relationship status is…complicated” / #strangerinthetub / “Back to the show…”/ “What kind of beast was he fucking?” / “Here’s what I liked about Embering Effigy…”/ “You don’t have to get hammered…”/ “Have you noticed that Waffle House has changed dramatically…? Now they’ve got cute girls working there…”
(22:44): “How about some #wolfsteak !?” / “We got an email here from Norvyn…”/ EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com / For less than the price of a bottle of lube…you can JOIN US on the #Patreon at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast / PATREON SHOUTOUT!!! / “Wait, what did you say?”/ Speaking of which… #WrathchildAmerica news from #dissonanceproductions / #WrathSAZ / ***IF YOU WANNA GIVE US A CALL AND LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL YOU CAN DO SO AT 980-666-8182!!!*** / “We could do a whole Atlanta show…” / #metalmemes
(29:20): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: METALLICA – DEATH MAGNETIC!!! / “This one should have come after Justice…they brought their old logo back…”/ “It’s a little bit longer…”/ “When they released it, it was a #brickwalled mix…”/ Produced by Rick Rubin / Released September 12, 2008 / Debuted at Number 1 / #assholecavern / “They had that whole lawsuit thing with #Gibson …”/ “I think I clipped the bird…”/ THAT WAS JUST YOUR LIFE / “That’s a hell of a comeback after St. Anger…”
(39:35): THE END OF THE LINE / “The riff sounds familiar but I can’t place it…”/ “That’s got a little bit of a Load feel to it…”/ “I know it’s rock n roll, bro, but…”/ “He can smoke his guitars, play his guitars, and not give a fuck what I say about Lars…”/ #poetry / BROKEN, BEAT & SCARRED / “Rise, fall down, rise again…”/ “They brought back all the elements that made classic #Metallica awesome…we’re gonna let the #angryloads go…”/ THE DAY THAT NEVER COMES / “It kinda has a Fade To Black cadence to it…”/ “Don’t want no A1 for my #wolfsteak YEAH!” / “Even that riff is kinda like Fade To Black a little bit…”/ “Sounds like #southernrock and #ThinLizzy and #IronMaiden / “That’s the riff from Am I Evil?...” / “One man’s opinion…sometimes I get a little put off…to me, the sound is the same…” / “The Loads don’t sound like this…” / The variation of mixes from earlier albums until later albums across multiple artists / “The mix is completely different…” / “Mix-wise with this and Hardwired…they sound like they could have been recorded at the same time…maybe that was their second dose of Loads…”
(56:13): “This goes out to all the dreamers out there…”/ ALL NIGHTMARE LONG / “In just a few short months…”/ “Luck…runs…out…”/ “He just leans into it…just give us one…”/ “We need to have a #YEAH counter…I’ve got a clicker, I’m bringing it…”/ CYANIDE / “The bass does have a pretty big part in this song…”/ #thickandfullandgirthy / “It’s not overbearing but it’s definitely there…”/ “I’m gonna be a dick about that forever…”/ “Warning for Billiam…”/ “Sorry, that’s #AWavyAdolf …”/ THE UNFORGIVEN III / “That was a good one…”/ #Huh? / “Oh yeah, it’s horny too…it’s horny & stringy…”/ “I can’t hear him play drums anymore without thinking about that dude on #Instagram…”/ “Forgive me…why can’t I forgive me!?” / “That’s fuckin’ rock’n’roll, man…”/ Reflecting on other albums suffering from a #BrickwalledMix
(1:09:37): THE JUDAS KISS / “That’s super ugly…like #butterface notes…”/ “I’ve gotten more impatient as I’ve gotten older…” / “We got spoiled by The Black Album…you can only write so many riffs, right?” / “I’m about to piss on myself…”/ SUICIDE & REDEMPTION / “Is that BASS back there?” / “That sounds like the #Metallica of old…” / #classicmetallica / “Charles is in town…and he brought his horse…”/ MY APOCALYPSE / “C’mon, stand up like Lars…”/ “Almost like Damage Inc. vibes…”/ “It’s been a while since we did a proper Metallica episode…”/ “Is that all you guys do? Metallica and Slayer?” / #Bro / “Nobody said bro that much, bro…”/ “You wanna hold hands?” / THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!! / “If this is their 9th studio album, where does it rank?” / “The Loads of Anger is at the bottom…the bottom is filled with Anger and Loads…”/ #untilthenext #outroreel