CD Review: Death Magnetic, By Metallica

By the time that Metallica's long-awaited new album, Death Magnetic, hit record store shelves on Tuesday, September 12, 2008, I had already been let down by the band so many times that I no longer trusted them to give me my money's worth.  For several months before it's release, I had been hearing that this album would be a return to their glory days.  Unfortunately, I had heard that from the band when they finished their previous effort, the very dismal sounding St. Anger, back in 2003.  This time around, I just couldn't fall for the hype again.  Needless to say, I approached this album with more than a little trepidation.  To say that I was skeptical would be putting it mildly.

I suppose if I were to be completely honest, there was a part of me that actually wanted to hate this album simply out of spite; hating it would have been the perfect revenge for being disappointed so many times!  Still, no matter how hard I tried to hate it, I just couldn't bring myself to do so!  I have to say that James and the guys have finally delivered on the promise that they made so long ago.  This album is truly amazing from start to finish.  After one listen, all of my doubts had been erased.  I was grinning from ear to ear; at last, the real Metallica is back!

This is the album that should have followed And Justice For All.  In fact, it is not surprising to me that many reviewers have drawn comparisons between those two albums.  When you listen to both of them back-to-back, their does seem to be a very logical progression from one record to the next.  Death Magnetic sounds like what should have been the next step in Metallica's natural evolution following the Justice album.

While some elements of the more recent Metallica sound do remain, they are used differently than they have been in the past.  There is still the great sense of melody that was seen on the Load and Reload albums, but these new elements don't sound as strange on this record, because they are woven into the context of the band's former style, creating a much more subtle change in the band's overall sound.

On Death Magnetic, the band has returned to the more intricate arrangements and complex melodies seen in their earlier albums.  This outing also brings us some blistering guitar solos from Kirk Hammett, which had been noticeably absent in the recent past.  The vocals for all tracks are intense; they really pull you into the song.  There is also some truly outstanding drum work by Lars.  Choosing a favorite track here has proven to be difficult as they are all worthy candidates, but The End Of The Line did stand out to me, as did The Unforgiven III and Cyanide.

I certainly never thought that I would get to say these words again, but fans of Metallica's early work rejoice!  This album is what we have been waiting and praying for since 1988, and our patience has finally paid off!  Go and get it; I promise, you won't be disappointed!