Metallica
Beyond Magnetic

Let's add another review to the already 127 existing ones about Metallica. Probably the most followed band today, capable of absolutely dividing rock lovers. Some still consider them the quintessential metal band while others, on the contrary, give them nicknames like "Merdallica." The truth? As always, it lies in the middle. The quartet (so to speak) from Cisco has produced five masterpieces in eight years. Then, for equal measure, five liquid turds. In the last twenty years. It's clear why it's hard to still consider them "artists," given that for two decades they've been selling their intestinal waste on compact discs.

And yet, if it weren't for the excessive ticket prices, seeing one of their shows would still be a great experience. They no longer play pieces from "Santa Anger," at most they do one piece from the "Load" - "Reload" duo (almost always "Fuel"), and they can't draw from "Lulu" on their own. The worst that can happen is hearing a couple of pieces from "Death Magnetic," but more than anything, their repertoire consists of classics from the '80s or early '90s, which I am not ashamed to say... I love. "One" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" are two pieces of art, at least to me.

But let's move on to comment on this E.P., which will be released shortly, about four years after being recorded. "Beyond Magnetic" contains four tracks discarded from the 2008 album because, apparently, "they didn't fit into the context of the album," or for any other reason you can think of.

I listened to them on YouTube, starting with many prejudices, mainly dictated by the quality of the "main" tracks, those that the whole world has listened to on "Death Magnetic" and learned to love (the hardcore fan base) or to despise (all the others). But the final result, in this half-hour of metal, is not what I expected. Obviously, the songs are light years away from the level of the first four or five albums, but still "passable."

And now I'll reveal why.

"Load" and "Reload" started with the noble intention of introducing a more hard rock style but ended up drifting into country or pop. Crap. "St. Anger" proposed a more garage approach, but the interminable tracks, lack of solos, and Dash detergent canisters (this one I stole from another review) created an unlistenable monster. Crap. "Death Magnetic," in theory, was supposed to sound like one of the old thrash albums and, in fact, is the sad overproduced parody of that sound. Crap.

These four tracks, on the other hand, contain all the good elements of the previous four works. The hard rock is present in the right measure, especially in "Hate Train" and "Hell And Back." Their state as rough mixes gives the whole a certain "live" dimension, without necessarily sounding like a band of teenagers recording themselves with a cassette recorder. Moreover, the phenomenon called Loudness War, which characterized the tracks on "Death Magnetic," is absent. The revival of thrash still results in being heavily ridiculous, but not much was expected from this point of view.

I elect my favorite track of the batch as the third one, "Hell And Back."

Overall, I predict that this E.P. will be praised by Tallica fans, who already consider it their best effort since the "Black Album." It will probably be despised by those who continue to think the band is dead and buried.

And I also think that, despite this review seeming positive, the group has no future artistically. I also predict that these four tracks will be sold in an album priced at 15.99 euros. Undoubtedly, it is pleasant to listen to these songs a couple of times or, at most, download them and leave them in a corner of our PC, at our disposal when a hint of curiosity returns. But they remain mediocre tracks, just slightly superior to what Metallica has proposed to us since 1996.

The score? For me, they are worth 5 out of 10. I'm generous, so I'll give three stars. Listen to them a couple of times, if you will. This is the attention they deserve, no more and no less. Thank you for your attention.