989. Metallica / Death Magnetic. 2008. 4/5

It had been a long hard road for Metallica the band. Not in regards to popularity, because they still sold out shows and had fans falling over themselves to see them. But the mixed reaction to their releases since 1991 must have caused questioning within the band and their management. Three studio albums that had their core fan base up in arms, a live album with a symphony in support, and a double album filled with cover songs was hardly the track record one would expect from a band of Metallica’s stature. One wondered if there would ever be an album again that could be embraced by the faithful.

In many ways, Death Magnetic was the ‘comeback’ album Metallica had to have.

I have no qualms in admitting that I had written off Metallica forever after the release of St Crapulous. The initial excitement of that album wore off so quickly once the realisation was that it sounded awful and was a completely depressing series of tracks. As a result I had decided I would not be buying the next album, and would have no problem if I never had to listen to it. And this may well have been the case if, at the time the album was released, I had not been working with a 19 year old fan boy who insisted on bringing the album to work and playing it, as well as demanding that I buy it and invest myself in it. From that point I slowly allowed myself to listen to snatches of songs, until eventually I did relent and purchased the disc. Because, as it turned out, Metallica seemed to have found themselves, even if it was in bits and pieces.
What was it that brought all of this on? Was it because on the St Crapulous tour they had begun playing more songs from their halcyon period, including songs from ...And Justice for All that they had abandoned for years, and as such realised not only how good those songs were but how much their fans appreciated them? Was it the introduction of Robert Trujillo to the studio for the first time in the writing and recording process? Was it the jettisoning of Bob Rock as producer for renown metal icon Rick Rubin to take the helm? Is it merely that the band realised the songs need guitar solos from Kirk, and for James to sing as he used to sing? Was it all of these things, or a conglomerate of pieces of them? I don’t know, but whatever it was, it was about bloody time!!!
Given that this is the case, I still think half of the songs are terrific, and the other half average or just above average. It goes without saying that writing and recording a song entitled “The Unforgiven III” is an unforgivable act. Honestly, was it just a bridge too far to expect that the band could completely sever their ties from the 1990’s and leave this behind them? The fact that this is also the most average song on the album is almost incomprehensible. Did Rubin not hear this and strongly advise the band to move in a different direction? They could have replaced this with any of the four songs they later released on Beyond Magnetic and the album would have been lifted. The other songs that I am less than enamoured with here could probably have been improved just by shortening them. The shortest song on the album is the final track at five minutes. The next is “Broken, Beat & Scarred” at 6:25 – one of the songs that would have been improved by a few cuts. “The Day That Never Comes” revisits those ugly days of the 1990’s in the way it sounds as well, and its eight minutes in length becomes unbearable about halfway through. “Cyanide” is better than these three mentioned songs, but both it and “The Judas Kiss” could have used a bit of refining.
The songs that light up the album are the ones that brought new hope for a brave new existence for Metallica fans. Opening with “That Was Just Your Life” and into “The End of the Line”, the album kicks off on the most positive note in years. It’s what first drags you in to the album. It certainly did for me. “All Nightmare Long” is my favourite song on the album, closely followed by the closer “My Apocalypse”, which mimics “Damage Inc” so closely that it has to be deliberate. There is also the instrumental track “Suicide & Redemption”, the band’s first since “To Live Is to Die”, which also is too much of a coincidence not to have been a planned reminder of past glories.

With so much bad blood having flowed under the bridge, it probably wouldn’t have taken a lot to put together an album that could be claimed to be ‘better’ than recent releases. Instead, there had been a major rethink, and the band has come through with the goods. No, it isn’t a return to their glory days. No it is not the next Master of Puppets. What this can claim is that it is a better than average metal record that would probably rate much higher with most people if it had been recorded by another band, but because it is Metallica it will always be judged against those halcyon albums. Put that aside, forgive the creaks that three or four songs offer here, and it is a very enjoyable metal album.

Rating:  “Hunt you down without mercy”.  4/5