Metallica
Death Magnetic

THE REVIEW

We must admit that Metallica have pretty much exhausted us with the release of their ninth studio album: first it started with various statements, like it resembles this, it reminds of that, and other useless blah blah... then it moved on to the cover which slowly unveiled itself to the eyes of the world... and finally it arrived at the music: loads of samples (personally I stopped at 10), live previews of the track "Cyanide", other songs shared online to gauge the public's reaction, and finally a preview of the first official video (also not very good).

In short, "Death Magnetic" would undoubtedly win the Grammy for the most talked-about album ever.

Everything suggested that we would be faced with yet another flop, also because the bizarre "St. Anger" left everyone with a bit of a bad taste in their mouths... instead, the former Four Horsemen show up in 2008 well-polished, perhaps mainly thanks to a Rick Rubin who, somehow, managed to give them the right shock.

I'd start by saying that this album finally sounds metal, as it hadn't since the famous "Black Album" was released in the now distant 1991, although to be honest, in terms of execution speed, drive, and aggressiveness, it is closer to the controversial (at least at the time) "...And Justice For All".

Right from the introductory "That Was Just Your Life", you can immediately understand how eager Metallica are to climb back on the metal throne and look down on everyone as they did throughout the '80s decade: sharp guitars churning out fast riffs full of groove as hadn't been heard in a long time from these parts, Ulrich dusting off the double bass (granted, nothing exceptional), James singing with attitude and grit and finally the solos that had been sorely missed in their last LP. All great features that pervade the entire album. Welcome back, Metallica!

"The End Of The Line" impresses with its tempo changes and proud strides, even though it is marred by a not-too-successful guitar solo due to the excessive use of Wah Wah, an effect so dear to the curly-haired (and in the photos increasingly young and cool!) Kirk Hammett.

"Broken, Beat & Scarred","The Judas Kiss" and "My Apocalypse" (the latter very thrash style "Kill 'em All") flow smoothly leaving you with the growing conviction that you're facing a valid album without dips in tone or lapses in tension, while perhaps it is with the two ballads that Metallica show a bit of weakness, "The Day That Never Comes" and "The Unforgiven III" are listenable, but they surely won't enter the annals: the former recalls too many things done in the past, whether for the arpeggio, or for its ascending climax (see "Fade To Black" or "One"); the latter, aside from the highly original choice in the title, perhaps saves itself in the nick of time with a curious piano intro.

With "Suicide & Redemption" the four venture into the intricate and dangerous path of instrumental tracks, nevertheless emerging with heads held high, with "All Nightmare Long" they allow themselves to be contaminated by what the metal scene has proposed in recent years inserting such a catchy chorus that it will surely make many old fans cringe, but which I personally find a successful experiment.

Finally, "Cyanide" was already known, but in my opinion, it is much more convincing in the studio version, also thanks to the excellent sound that the aforementioned Rick Rubin has given to the album.

I haven't talked about Rob Trujillo yet: the stocky bassist occasionally makes himself heard, popping up here and there to remind everyone he's there too, but he never truly convinces, although one shouldn't underestimate the role of binder and tranquilizer that he might play within the band; so I don't see why we shouldn't give him some credit in the creative process.

In short, we might well say (rightly or wrongly) that James doesn't exactly sing as he used to, and that Lars doesn't pound the drums like when he was twenty, or that the Testament sounds heavier, or that Iron have never betrayed their fans, or even that Mastodon's, Cynic's next albums, etc., will be on another level. But I have to acknowledge that this "Death Magnetic" excites me like when, as a beardless kid, I listened to 'tallica classics on cassette with my sister's stereo.

And forgive me if that's not much.