Death Magnetic

As a long time listener of Metallica, going back 26 years to the Kill `Em All album, I am proud to say that the most popular Metal band in existence have returned to their roots. I love the heavy Metallica of old and ever since The Black Album have been a bigger fan of Slayer than Metallica, although I still occasionally throw in "Modern Metallica" and really like specific songs from Load, Reload etc. Unlike many Metallica fans, I feel St. Anger was a superb experiment that requires many listens to appreciate. That being said, Death Magnetic contains doses from ALL of their past efforts. Metallica sound as relaxed and confident as ever and they use all of their past experience, including thrash metal (Kill Em All), The Black Album, St. Anger, And Justice For All to create ten songs of awesome, schizophrenic mayhem. Many of the songs feel like they are five songs in one, as if they were created by a genius child with ADD. It is said that each song was composed by all band members but as most fans already know, some members are more equal than others (Hetfield). But this may explain the turning on a dime in direction of the riffs. Somehow after several listens, each song comes together. Songs go in many directions, reset themselves (like in Cyanide) and then finish leaving you wanting more (even though most are more than seven minutes long). There is a kind of low tech mixing, rough and grungy, which must be on purpose (it is kind of like Maiden's first album), that gives you instant feedback that you are not listening to any Metallica album of old, although you hear riffs that could have been written at any time in their career. Rick Rubin has once again done a wonderful job! As many of you know, he is the man who brought Reign in Blood to the planet. Hammett is unleashed and sounds better than ever (again I hear a little Maiden influence showing up, which I don't really recall in the past)! Ulrich has laid down some of his best skin bashing ever and you won't be able to stop "air drumming." Several songs have the drums in front and the guitars follow beautifully. Hetfield has written some great, catchy, Black Album like lyrics that you will find yourself singing / screaming to. Favorites for me are The Day That Never Comes (Hammett sounds awesome!) and All Nightmare Long (great head banging tune). But there really isn't a weak song on the record in my opinion. You will want to purchase the entire album not just download a few songs. And this comes from a guy who usually only downloads three or four songs of any given album. This album will require many more listens to appreciate (it is not nearly as accessible to the masses as The Black Album) as each hidden goodie manifest itself in our consciousness, much like Reign in Blood. I have a hunch that it will reveal its greatness to fans and the masses in the long run.

Nay-sayers beware your death! Straight out of the gate, the first thing I notice is that Metallica has released an album with only ten songs, this fills me excitement and apprehension, excitement with the hope that this must mean that every song is GREAT, apprehension because, if they are great, there are only ten! That Was Just Your Life - the first ten seconds of this song don't even sound like Metallica, its fresh, clean tone a great intro to get the blood pumping. A hard driving song and the first clear picture of the album.....the sound...is AMAZING. The guitars are thick and heavy, finally for the first time since the black album the guitars are back, up front and in your face! The End of the Line - you can really hear Rob's influence in this song....the main riff has a lot of groove to match its heavy (if you know Rob's history you'll hear it here!) The bridge in this song is incredible, that dropped bass, clear guitars behind James slow voice...NICE guys, friggin NICE! Great use of dynamics in this song. Broken, Beat & Scarred - Full driving, hard hitting from the first note. Again, sweet harmonies, ripping guitar riffs to burn your face off! (this song makes me a little sad when I think about what St. Anger "could have" sounded like) I really like the lyrical movement in this song, this song is incredibly tight but doesn't feel strangled like the St. Anger's tunes. I cannot wait to hear this song live. IMO this song is a must for the set list guys!!! The Day That Never Comes - you've heard it and I'm sure like many you said, is this the new Metallica song, or did I click the wrong button??? The intro with its clean, biting guitars is a bit of a different sound for them (its an octave up from where you'll find them on previous albums) Again, is it just me or can no one else hear the Iron Maiden/Diamond Head influences in this song? (so for those who have indeed said Metallica have gone back to their roots were right, but any time anyone says that people come expecting a Ride or MOP copy, come on where were you in 1981?!!!) The slide harmonies in the intro are SICK...friggin beautiful. Rob really shines here also, my Bose speakers were humming, we all know this guy is great, and now we can HEAR it! If this is the future of Metallica, the rest of my musical life just kicked into high gear. This song will be another bullet when played live. All Nightmare Long - Kick drum, bass line, clean guitars to open this baby up, then driving riffs straight into a heavy gallop (and I can't say it enough the guitars sound amazing Rick Rubin stand up and take a bow) this song sounds like a natural progression from Damage Inc. to me!! Listen to the two songs back to back and tell me Metallica have gone soft. Cyanide Heavy, heavy , heavy!! Drums and bass! Remember what those sound like? Yah, they're back!! I really like the lyrical movement in this song, riffs flow amazingly well with the vox, and this song also has a lot of groove between those epic guitars and stops. (again you may mourn what could have been on St. Anger when hearing this) I love the chorus in this song. The Unforgiven III I saw this title on the back cover and my shoulders slumped (didn't really think Unforgiven II was all that great) But this song really stands on its own...and it may shock some with a PIANO intro. Yah, the ivory keys on a Metallica record. But don't worry every second of this song is great, it has an epic feel and really paints a picture with the music. The volume swells used in the bridge really brought me straight back to ORION. The Judas Kiss - Lots of stops and quick riffs in this, fast lyrical movement...liked the short solo coming out of the bridge. Suicide & Redemption - This is such a great surprise, they are so great at constructing epic instrumentals. I was so disappointed in the last few years that they had dropped that from their records. It's back and you'll see a thousand images in your minds eye while you're listening. My Apocalypse A great way to close the album, its not a short one-off like some of their records, it's a great closer with a lot of power and grit, they haven't closed an album with a song this strong since Justice. FINAL THOUGHTS: Raise a fist in the air for all the harmonies! These are everywhere on this album (Kirk and James playing the same riff an octave apart)...still don't understand what I mean? Check out any Iron Maiden album, they are known for dual guitar harmonies. This Metallica album is full of them, hard, heavy harmonies that make your speakers glow with heavy godliness. Metallica's early influences are everywhere here: Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond...you will hear those influences on this album again (remember back to Kill Em All and Ride? Yah) I've listened to Metallica nearly all of my life, and this album sounds like a natural progression in their history to me. Load, Reload and St. Anger don't fit for me, they seem more like detours. Death Magnetic feels like its on the hard road, fitting comfortably after the black album. The bass on this album is superb, the only down side for me were the solos. I don't feel that they were good enough for the songs. They weren't good enough for the album. They were fast licks and ascending and descending lines with no real phrasing, instead of a mini-story they weren't much else than quick runs (Kirk you are better than this, turn off that WAH box and go back to the fundamentals) I am anxiously awaiting seeing Metallica LIVE. That is where they really shine. In closing: Just like all of Metallica's records, so-called old school fans will crap all over it and the truth of it is...these people are angry with everyone that has changed, Kill, Ride and MOP will NEVER happen again, and frankly I don't want them to. It's an impossibility and it isn't even reasonable to expect that it will happen again. I see those so-called old school fans on all the message boards, and they try to provoke people, while they sit in their desk chair with their old ratty t-shirts at 37 years old with mullets and acne scars. This album feels right and it is METALLICA. For the first time in many years I am excited again about a Metallica album and in the end, that's all that really matters. See you at the show!!!!!

I've been a Metallica fan for quite some time. The first album of theirs I bought was Ride the Lightning back in the early 80's. I've continued to buy all their releases, even through the time when most of their early fans abandoned them. You either liked the early stuff, and hated the post Black Album material, or you only liked the newer stuff. Hardly did you ever find a Metallica fan that liked both. I'm one of the latter. I liked both. They had a different feel on the latter albums, but I still liked it. Having said that, since I grew up with albums like Puppets & Justice, I did long for an album like that again. We sort of got it with St Anger (rather underrated), but Death Magnetic was it. This is the album they should have made after And Justice For All. This feels like old school Metallica, yet with modern production values. Normally when I write one of these things, I say which tracks I like, and why. But I'm not doing that. This disc is totally solid (save for one song which I'll talk about in a bit) from front to back. The first track just starts off with that "WHAM", and it doesn't let you go. It's one of those discs that when I was listening to it in my truck and it finished, I just let it repeat. It's fantastic. Has the twin guitar sound, there's solos again, and we have some good Lars drums. By far and away, not even funny - the best thing since 1989. The one track I don't care for is "The Unforgiven III". Musically it doesn't fit with anything else on the album. Now that I can deal with - most albums have a track that doesn't sound like the rest of the album. That's not why. I don't like it for two reasons. First, I just don't care for the tune. Secondly is the title. If you're going to bother calling something a "three", then it would stand to reason that it would bear some resemblance to the two previous entries that bear it's namesake. This does not. I totally fail to see why it's called "Unforgiven 3", it might as well been called "Random Other Song", and it would have worked better, I think. However, that's just one track. All the others are bloody well fantastic. If you are a Metallica fan, and gave up on them awhile back - this is what you have wanted. It's a Metallica renaissance. Go get it.

METALLICA DEATH MAGENETIC REVIEW I had a good feeling about DEATH MAGNETIC while hearing about the preparation for it , in the last few years, just the fact that metallica was teaming up with Rick Rubin for production, put a stamp of approval for advent music listeners, judging from his track record over the years. The band returns to its old school roots in some ways , while still meshing the great production of the black album with the strong melodic points of load and reload, this is the album metallica listners have been waitin for. The songs on DEATH MAGNETIC are more of epic style, longer with great lead work from james and Kurt , its great to hear those two back together pushing the limts of metal, with screeching leads and massive rythem collaborations, lar's also displays classic drumming showcasing his growth over the years as a drummer, metallica always set the bar for thrash albums.. The first track "THAT WAS JUST YOUR LIFE" really sets the tone for the record with its unforgettable old -school riffing and clean, precise tone , taking the listener back . To the power driven "BROKEN BEAT & SCARRED showcases the band's tight unified song structure. The track "All Nightmare Long" feels like it could have been on the and justice , the lyrics remind me of the lyrical chorus and patterns of that album. Overall the DEATH MAGNETIC is a body of work that fans can listen to from beginning to end , I haven't gotten that from this band since the black album , the songs really keep your attention and do not present any lack luster moments. Rick Rubin had the band specifically tap into the feeling of when they where creating those older albums, but still it sounds fresh and new. The instrumental track is a personal favorite of mine "SUICIDE AND REDEMPTION " reminding us all that metallica can still dish out raw musical track without vocals. As far as vocals are concerned on the CD Mr hetfield delivers a powerful performance with deep intricate lyrics. The "Judas Kiss" and "Cyanide" are also note worthy tracks on the CD . On a down side I still feel the sound pushes the limit when IT comes to volume,also lacking bass presence at times,, Metallica will always have a problem with that because of the overpowering guitars and drums, taken nothing away from Mr. Trujillo , job well done , maybe its the mixing. Anyone who considers themselves an old school metal fan should love this effort by Metallica, I have to admit its my first purchase from this band's catalog of releases in over ten years, because of growing interest in other realms of metal and other genre's of music, and to be quite honest I was not feeling what I heard from load or reload or st anger, from the some kind of monster grim representation thinking they need serious therapy , to bouncing back on the scene.. I have to give them major credit for this comeback, Bottom line metallica can put out whatever they want to after all these years, it's whatever they feel creatively that works. I give the album 4 stars a definite must have in your collection hopefully you will buy it instead of downloading it's a cool cd package worth purchasing. Michael Conaway

Turn the dial back to 1991 for a minute. That's the year Metallica's hit "Enter Sandman" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" both stormed on to the charts. It was a turning point for rock music. The former track marked the high point of popularity for a band that had dominated the metal scene for much of the previous decade with epic albums shot through with equal measure of dark lyrics and face-melting musicianship. The latter song defined a just-budding decade and launched a million garage bands who hoped that a surplus of angst and flannel would make up for their meager repertoire of guitar chords. Within one year, Cobain's catchy hooks and stripped-down act seemed to make the brooding extravagance of Metallica and other metal bands irrelevant. The rest of the decade saw Metallica struggle to define itself and its direction. Although "St. Anger" was released in 2003, the album shared more in common with its lackluster predecessors from the 90s, "Load" and "Reload". The musical malaise of the 90s had carried over into the new millennium. Fast forward to 2008. "Death Magnetic" hits shelves in September and the cosmos are set right again. Under the mystic direction of production druid Rick Rubin, the band has crafted 10 songs that harken back to their glory days, when fans threw the horns to epic tracks like "And Justic For All", "Master of Puppets" and "Blackened". This is also one of those rare cases of an album not having any bad songs. None. Even "Unforgiven III", dismissed by many critics as "unnecessary", would more than hold its own as a standout hit track on a lesser album. There are, of course, genuine standouts, starting with the opening trio of songs -- "That Was Just Your Life", "The End of the Line" and "Broken, Beat and Scarred" -- that form an intro that must surely rank as one of the best ever. Other tracks of note include "The Day That Never Comes", "All Nightmare Long", "Cyanide" and "Judas Kiss". It's clear that Rubin succeeded in drawing out the best in each band member. Singer/guitarist James Hetfield's urgent snarl is in full force; Kirk Hammett's intricate noodling proves he's still one of the finest lead guitarists out there; Lars Ulrich's dual bass drums are like twin howitzers blasting away at your eardrums; and Robert Trujillo proves his mettle by serving up meaty basslines that bind the songs like steel bands. One of my favorite one-sentence summaries of the album was given by a DJ on Seattle's KISW: "It's an album that punches you in the face repeatedly, and I mean that in a good way." This is an amazing album that instantly revives old-school Metallica and proves Tenacious D's memorable adage: You can't kill the metal!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!! Hell yeah! This is some mind crushing work and in my opinion it stands with all of the earlier Metallica work and exceeds And Justice For All! Simply amazing stuff here. long songs but so many tempo changes they stay fresh as hell. The band is completely ON FIRE here. Yes it is recorded loud but do not let that scare you away. I gave up on Metallica after Load came out and never bought another album. They have won me back in a big way....this hits like a Mike Tyson right hook!!! Smoking, killer, 5 star album!!! Can not wait to hear the next one! Come on boys, make it happen! Edit: I thought I would mention for anyone thinking about purchasing the vinyl that it is a lot better than the CD. Still sounds loud but not as much clipping and the instruments are more clear. This album rocks, the negative critics on the sound quality are overblown. Edit 10/2015: After repeated listens to the vinyl there is still an alarming amount of clipping which is unfortunate. I have never seen the DR ratings for this vinyl but would imagine it comes in at 5 or 6 which is piss poor for vinyl. I finally broke down and downloaded a remastered version which blows the original CD and vinyl away. It is sad that some guy in his moms basement can master an album better than a "professional" getting paid tons of money. Lars, if you are reading this get up off your ass and remaster this album properly!!! My full Metallica power rating rundown: 1. Kill Em All 10.0 - a perfect metal album for me. The first and still the best. Brutal energy unleashed, raw but extremely powerful. Masterpiece number one and my first Metallica album. 2. Ride The Lightning 9.9 - easily could be considered a 10. This one adds some polish to the production and shows some growth in song writing and James vocals show improvement. The title cut is a brutal assault and Fade To Black remains one of the greatest metal songs ever written. The Call of Ktulu is an incredible instrumental as a closer. 3. Master of Puppets 9.8 - many fans would put this at number one. Stellar production and incredibly strong from start to finish. Battery, Master of Puppets, and Welcome Home (Sanitarium) all stunning and epic masterworks. Orion may be there best instrumental ever and Damage Inc. is about as strong as closer as you can get. 4. Death Magnetic 9.6 - production problems aside this album is so strong and so consistent it has moved into my top four. The first four songs are as strong as you will ever find. Incredible stuff here, wildly shattering all expectations. Absolute masterpiece and very easily the album of the year. Truly one of the great metal albums of all time. This deserves a proper remastering. Search out a download remaster version without the compression. 5. St. Anger 9.5 - that's right!!! A rock solid offering and highly addictive from start to finish. No weak tracks here! This challenges Kill Em All for most angry and agressive Metallica album. This one is criminally underrated! Wow, love the drum sound and everything about this. A few more guitar solos would have pushed this closer to a 10. 6. And Justice For All 9.4 - obviously an all time classic and the last of the first four brutal and classic era. Long intricate songs with expert playing. This one pushed Metallica into a new level on popularity with MTV. 7. Black Album/ Load/ Reload 9.0 - all incredible in their own right and all rock solid. This is polished Metallica, fully produced with more of an AC/CD hard rock sound than their speed metal roots. These albums outraged some fans who wanted the old Metallica to continue forever. I disagree. Still full of great songs and blistering solo's if you can get over your preconceived notions of what Metallica should sound like and simply enjoy it on it's own merits. This band has never released a poor album in thier existence.

ive heard all the hype , master of puppets , ride the lightning, etc. sorry folks , this album is a welcome throw back to kill em' all. piss n' vinegar ,motorhead influenced shot to the jaw, i cannot tell you how pleasent it has been actually listening to this album. wiplash riffing all over the place, ballsy bouncing bass playing[ actually somewhat audible] i mean i want to seek and destroy, and have no remorse about it either, damn this is great, the last truly killer song metallica made was sad but true, and maybe of wolf and man, on the black album, i always liked kill em' all best, it was the rawest , most visceral sound they ever had. once mustain was gone that sound faded to black, so to speak.i wander what ole dave is thinkin, he has to be impressed, every once in a while a riff or feeling of the load albums creep in. lets be honest the last 3 albums in total were pretty pedestrian, i always thought if you took the best of all three ,you could have had a classic 80 min. disc. either way, no filler here, not one bad track , im excited. the future of metallica just may be bright. i can guaren damn tee , ill be at the live shows. havent been since 92 i believe. every song is so damn good i cant really pick one. the judas kiss , broken beat and scarred, the end of the line, really resonate, the unforgiven 3 intro surprised me. reminded me of opeth a little i would have said the unforgiven 3 was the weakest track here. [to load like] and made for radio. but the last third with the killer solo saves the song. i know this sounds like a fanboy review ,forgive me, i deserted metallica 12 years ago after load, i feel some of the old fire is back . and i love it. i hope this is a trend, this album has a raw, live. underproduced vibe to it. like a live recording. like kill em' all ive even clinched my fists and grit my teethe a few times.it also has made me reach back to the first 5 albums again and understand how monumental this band was. and master of puppets , is still the masterpiece. but death magnetic is certainly worthy of the first 5, it realy touches all the previous albums , leaning heavily on kill em' all. ill tell you this , i hvent heard anything this good this year, with opeths watershed being somewhat a dissapointment compared to ghost reveries, this has been a shot to the gut , metallica is back,and i am so ready for more.

Metallica was one of my favorite bands growing up and I looked up to them. Even with Load and ReLoad I stood by them. Grage Inc. was pretty great too but St. Anger to me at the time was so devastating to me that I sold it and boycotted Metallica. I didn't give this cd a chance when it came out. Only recently when I read a magazine about how many problems, trials, and tribulations these guys overcame and what good guys they were did I revisit their really good catalogue. Having said that, "Death Magnetic" is a stellar album. To me, it's like that album that sounds like it could've fit in between "and Justice for All" and "Black Album" and also Rick Rubin's production is reminiscent of some of Slayer's records and that adds more abrasiveness and aggression to the thrash or speedy guitar solos. Kirk Hammet is definitely soloing again with a vengenance here but it doesn't sound forced. James Hetfield's voice is not suga rcoated but at the same time sometimes he sings. Lars has some amazing drumming and Robert Trujillo is one of the best modern bassists out there and gels perfectly with Metallica, The songwriting here is what Metallica had been needing in their career about up to this point in my opinion. Some of the sound of Load creeps in on songs like Cyanide and Suicide and Redemption is not as good as the instrumentals with Cliff Burton but it's still up there with Metallica's best. As for the compressed sound people complain about, I don't get it. It sounds wonderful to me, if you're a fan of Metallica you need this. If you are just starting out, this isn't the place to start; go with "Master of Puppets" or "Black Album" or both to get a sense of the band.

Personalmente me parece buenísimo. Pensaba que con el tiempo Metallica había perdido parte de su esencia, pero para nada. Este disco suena potente y rabiosamente duro. Muy bueno.

I purchased the 2nd hand version. The condition was very good despite of the fact that it was 10 year old cd, the seller kept it very nicely. It's looking so good in my collection. I love it!

Moinz, also habe so eben alle 6 Songs über Missionmetallica gehört und muss dazu sagen, die Könige sind wieder zurück. Alle Songs klingen definitiv besser als die Load und Re-Load Alben und auch St. Anger. Das ist ein großer Schritt in Richtung back-to-the-roots, jedoch konnte kein zweites Master, Justice oder Kill em all erwartet werden! Warum? Eine Weltklasse-Metalband entwickelt sich weiter und bleibt eben nicht auf dem Stand der 80-er stehen. Das ist nun mal Fakt und auch sehr gut so. Also ich finde die Songs in sich schon sehr stimmig und überhaupt gar nicht langweilig. Ich finde Metallica ist mit diesem Album oder auch alle Songs eine sehr gute Mischung gelungen. Davon zu sprechen, das Kirk's Solis langweilig sind, das spricht nicht gerade für Ahnung. Also instrumental ist Metallica auf einem ganz hohen Niveau, das spiegeln auch die LIVE-Auftritte wieder. Das kann niemand leugnen oder verneinen. Gesanglich hätte James vielleicht noch einen Tick rausholen können, denke ich. Aber trotzdem kann man dafür keine Abwertung geben! Also wenn ich ehrlich bin, habe ich genau so ein Album erwartet. Eine 100% Weiterentwicklung ist das für mich und der Umstieg auf Rubin als Produzenten hat sich auch bezahlt gemacht. Und wenn wir hier von Abzocke und Kommerz sprechen, warum sind Slipknot eigentlich so erfolgreich? Weil sie instrumental mehr draufhaben, oder die Masken auch ihren Teil dazu beigetragen haben, auch für viele Kiddies die Art von Rebellion. Also bei Metallica von einer satten Band zu sprechen, ist für einen wahren Fan und die Band eine pure Frechheit. HALLO? Die Band hätte es schon lange nicht mehr nötig regelmäßig zu touren und lieben ihre Musik, sonst würden die Leutz das gar nicht mehr machen brauchen. Aber das ist wieder dieses true Gerede, ja Metallica die sind voll die Kommerz-Band, wirklich? Also Kommerz-Musik klingt anders, meine ich. Aber das Album klingt ja nicht nach den 80-ern, so ein Schrott aber auch. Also ich denke es gibt nicht viele Bands, die das draufhaben was Metallica drauf hat und schon gar nicht über diesen langen Zeitraum! Metallica ist und bleibt die erfolgreichste Metalband der Welt. Und wer sich ein wenig damit auskennt, also mit den Alben der kann nicht allen Ernstes von Kommerz sprechen, der in den Charts läuft und die Masse ansprechen soll! Das ist doch lächerlich. Es gibt mit Sicherheit sehr viele, verdammt viele Leute denen selbst bei Songs vom Black-Album das Blut aus den Ohren tropfen würde!!!!! Die würden durchdrehen und das als Lärm bezeichnen. Also wenn eine Metalband Songs wie The Unforgiven oder Nothing else matters zu Stande bringt, dann ist das für mich kein Zeichen für KOMMERZ, sondern ein Zeichen für ganz große Klasse!!!! Also für alle wahren Metallica-Fans, die eine Weiterentwicklung erwartet haben, jetzt schon mal die Scheibe vorbestellen, für alle anderen die eine Kopie von der ersten drei Alben erwartet haben oder einen Klon aus den 80-ern die können sich ganz beruhigt die Augen ausheulen und sich das Geld sparen! Denn Stillstand einer Band in der Entwicklung, ist meistens der Tod. Aber natürlich muss man einige Jahre Metal hören um sich über wahre Qualität ein Bild machen zu können. DEFINITIV ist, das diese Band es noch drauf hat und bei den nächsten Touren wieder alles zerschmettern wird!!!! Stay heavy.

I like many other teenagers in the 80's loved Metallica, but from Master of Puppets onwards they started slowly going down hill. Their worst ever album St Anger just proved to many metal fans they were finished. However like many metal fans, many of us still wanted to hear if they could make a comeback...they did and what a comeback. The first 5 songs are total killers, it does have the newer Metallica production, but reeks of old school Metallica as well. Don't get me wrong, the production is miles better than St Anger, which sounded like it was recorded using tins for drums, but Death Magnetic is much better thanks to the guy who produced Slayer as well. it goes to show production can make or break even the best bands. I also went to see them live at the O2 Arena London for the Death Magnetic one off special show for their fans, the sound was not great, more to the acoustics of the arena itself, but the songs from Death Magnetic really got the place rock'n, it's obvious the album has put them back on track. It's no Ride The Lightning & it's not Master of Puppets, but any band would be hard pushed to match those two fine albums, Death Magnetic is the best thing since Master of Puppets in my opinion, not as commercial as Black, Load or Re-Load etc, which is probably why I like it more. Can't fault this album, if I was nip-picking I'd say Hammet uses to much wah effect on solo's and Ulrich's snare has a slight distorted sound on it which is not really that annoying. One thing Lars has done is not play over the top technical drum beats n fills, more basic so the songs rock out really well and you can get into the songs better. I'm sure Hetfield does not use as many vocal layers during his vocal production, many fans complain his voice is not as strong, this could be a production thing or a tuning thing...again his voice is still very good, considering his age and lifestyle he's done great to even keep a voice. Welcome back Metallica

All tracks are strong and the failures around load, reload and St Anger have been pushed aside. Up there with Justice and Puppets but not better A real 8/10 record