Metallica, Death Magnetic
Written on October 30, 2008
I don’t know who smacked sense into these rich, lazy bastards. But the millionaires once known as Alcoholica have finally released a proper follow-up to …And Justice For All. I’ve heard rumors they’ve been releasing “music” of some sort the last couple decades, but no one heard that crap, right? Metal fans should thank Satan every night that Slayer producer Rick Rubin somehow ousted pop-metal producer Bob Rock from the Metallicamp. Because Rubin in the producer’s chair means these forty-somethings show their teeth for the first time in twenty years, giving a performance just south of their classic first four albums. Sure, they might have “matured” their sound with terrible “oh-poor-me” vocals explored in the radio-rock era of Load and St. Anger. And yes, “Unforgiven 3″ should not exist in this or any universe. And OK, there’s a vague feeling of familiarity at times, like they cribbed chord progressions from “Harvester of Sorrow.” But should we really complain? Death Magnetic is a flawed but welcome gift to anyone who drew the spiked logo in junior high; a blast of nimble-yet-brutal thrash metal. And hopefully, this album is a return to form for a band that’s wasted too many prime years searching out and finding mediocrity.
[...] That’s why he reached across the aisle to be inclusive of all walks of life. He heard the new Metallica album was a change in form and adjusted his campaign accordingly. Damn, the man is [...]