Metallica
Hardwired... To Self Destruct

Today, November 18, the 10th studio album by Metallica has been released. The situation, a solid 8 years after "Death Magnetic" with only the miserably failed experiment "Lulu" in between, remains the same: fans divided between those who consider them dead since the Black Album and those who still appreciate them. In my opinion, this double album will only serve to bring more people to the first of these two aforementioned factions. Metallica has made a series of missteps: firstly, besides the three singles, they published all the tracks on their YouTube channel in the days leading up to the album's release, diminishing interest in the album. Then there are the usual tracks stretched to the limit even when unnecessary (with the exception of the extremely flat single "Hardwired"), the usual typical band sound made passable mainly by Hetfield and Hammett. Ulrich is as banal as ever on drums, Trujillo nonexistent, and the production is average by Fidelman. As for the tracks, the flatness of "Hardwired" is followed by the mediocre "Atlas, Rise!", "Now that We're Dead," and "Moth Into Flame." Then we have the unoriginal but at least intriguing "Dream No More" and "Halo On Fire," a track that becomes boring due to its excessive length. The second album starts poorly, with "Confusion" (never was a title more fitting), "ManUNkind," and the boring "Here Comes Revenge" and "Am I Savage?", followed by a tribute to Lemmy "Murder One," and finally the excellent track "Spit Out the Bone." A sufficient album but hampered by its lengthiness and lack of new ideas.