Metallica - Death Magnetic

[dolson]

Anyone else here formerly a Metallica fan, looking for a reason to care about anything they do these days?

If so... Death Magnetic is actually a pretty giant step up from the last three albums, though I think they kinda cheated... I swear they just took riffs from Puppets, Justice, Lightning, and put a small twist on them. Not that that's bad, just... I swear they are covering their own songs, at times.

James dropped most of the country voice he had in the past few albums, and Lars donated his exploding barrel to Far Cry 2 and picked up a real snare drum (though it sounds more like a sample to me, maybe he's switched to electronic drums now, I dunno).

Anyhow, there are songs on the radio, YouTube, and the full album will be on shelves soon... If you look around, you might find it now, even.

It's not as good as recent Megadeth or Iron Maiden, but it's good for Metallica.

[scoobydiesel]

Hmmm I might not be one of them die hard fans who think like half their shit sucks. But St Anger i didnt care for, if its better then that then I'm down for it. and will own it sooner or later.

[stubadub]

I haven't heard any Megadeth since Cryptic Writings, but I've been curious. It's not that I disliked A Matter of Life and Death, but I'm not that into it. I felt the same way about Brave New World and never heard the one inbetween. If I'm in the mood for Maiden I end up listening to something between The Number of the Beast and Fear of the Dark.

I've only heard The Day that Never Comes, which I thought was actually pretty good. I have high hope for the album, and I'm trying to restrain myself from hearing it until I buy it Tuesday after next. Keep in mind that I'm one of the few people I know that got into Metallica back in the Master of Puppets days that has actually liked the last three albums enough to still be listening to them. It is hard for me to tell what other people not as brainwashed as me will think of it.

[victor_c26]

I don't want to hype it up for you stub, but I'll just say this:

I've heard the whole album. And I think you will like it.

I'll leave it at that.

[rokov]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to check it out. Even if they're just rehashing their old stuff, it's gotta be better than anything from the black album onward.

EDIT: I just found "The Day That Never Comes" on Youtube. There are definite shades of "Fade to Black" but it's pretty good. (never thought I'd say that about Metallica again)

[ohhoe]

blechhhhchhhhdhashd

[dolson]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to check it out. Even if they're just rehashing their old stuff, it's gotta be better than anything from the black album onward.

EDIT: I just found "The Day That Never Comes" on Youtube. There are definite shades of "Fade to Black" but it's pretty good. (never thought I'd say that about Metallica again)

That's the ballad of the album.. Or whatever you wanna call it. I didn't mind it, but I think every, or almost every, other song on there is better.

[darknessgp]

I'll probably get around to listening to it. Heard one of their songs on the radio today, damn DJ didn't say the song title, but did say "That song was off of Metallica's Death Magnetic"... amazes me that they don't say the important things like song titles... in any case, I liked it.

[rokov]

This explains the sudden improvement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB7dRJDIH7g&

New songs:
Cyanide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyY3Gn9r054&

The Day That Never Comes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNO9KwWv7ic&

[cos2pi]

I find it funny when bands change there sound from cd to cd and then fans get all mad because their sounds has evolved. Then the same people also are quick to criticized when the band makes the same cd over and over again. I am not saying that Metallica's latest cds have been disappointing. They just don't have the same sound as Kill'em All.

[gglynn00]

I find it funny when bands change there sound from cd to cd and then fans get all mad because their sounds has evolved. Then the same people also are quick to criticized when the band makes the same cd over and over again. I am not saying that Metallica's latest cds have been disappointing. They just don't have the same sound as Kill'em All.

I agree, everyone wants to keep the band in a glass menagerie and never allow them to age or progress. I'm not their biggest fan, but I look forward to hearing if they still "got it." But to be honest, I've heard Cyanide (which is ok) and The Day That Never Comes (meh) and I"m a little skeptical.

[willijay]

Am I old school? I'm 35! Am I relevant to give my opinion? We'll see.

I like most of the 20+year old fans was very disappointed when Black Album came out. Did the album suck? Hell no... but it wasn't what we wanted.

Then there was Load and ReLoad. We sensed a trend and were not happy about it. Thankfully we had some other music to keep us happy (Sepultura anyone?). We waited longer and got St. Anger. I did not hate St. Anger but had big issues with the production quality and the weak lyrics.

Ok, by this time myself and I'm sure others are just starving for a good, heavy Metallica album. From what I've heard, I cannot wait until the 12th. Though the songs I've heard have a little "black" in them, its lightyears beyond anything they have released since the late 80s. I'm tying my arms down to not download the leak. I haven't been this excited about an album in a very long time.

[dolson]

I find it funny when bands change there sound from cd to cd and then fans get all mad because their sounds has evolved. Then the same people also are quick to criticized when the band makes the same cd over and over again. I am not saying that Metallica's latest cds have been disappointing. They just don't have the same sound as Kill'em All.

If you were an Iron Maiden fan, and they released a CD of hip hop, would you blindly drink it up because you consider yourself an Iron Maiden fan? I think not. So why should Metallica get some kind of special treatment when they go country and blues?

Their sound evolved hugely from Kill 'Em All to Justice, and nobody complained. Even the Black album was accepted, despite being very overproduced. But have you listened to Load and Reload? Or St. Anger?

I'm not saying they aren't allowed to experiment - they obviously did, and didn't care that their fans didn't like it. I'm saying that, as a fan, I'm allowed to not like their twangy garbage.

All that said, this new album is actually worth buying. It's been over a decade and a half since I bought a Metallica album I could say that about.

[siraim]

Their sound evolved hugely from Kill 'Em All to Justice, and nobody complained. Even the Black album was accepted, despite being very overproduced. But have you listened to Load and Reload? Or St. Anger?..All that said, this new album is actually worth buying. It's been over a decade and a half since I bought a Metallica album I could say that about.

I actually found some redeeming stuff on Load and Reload but couldn't find anything I liked on St. Anger. Maybe there were a few snippets of songs that piqued my interest, but most the record just bothered me.

I've bought the first two singles off iTunes and My Apocalypse is my favorite so far. I haven't heard Cyanide yet, but will head off to find it this afternoon when I get home. I have high hopes for the album and expect it will find a place in my rotation.

[dolson]

I actually found some redeeming stuff on Load and Reload but couldn't find anything I liked on St. Anger. Maybe there were a few snippets of songs that piqued my interest, but most the record just bothered me.

I've bought the first two singles off iTunes and My Apocalypse is my favorite so far. I haven't heard Cyanide yet, but will head off to find it this afternoon when I get home. I have high hopes for the album and expect it will find a place in my rotation.

There are a couple songs on all of those albums that I dig. Just isn't what Metallica fans expected, and not really what Metallica should have evolved to. It's like a totally different band.

I really did like Until It Sleeps and the actual song, St. Anger is good, I think (though the guitars are too quiet, snare too tinny, production too shitty.. It's actually really good, besides that).

In any case, I don't listen to those albums anymore, despite owning them.. I have listened to the new album several times, and I think I'm going to grab some clips of riffs and compare them to past stuff. There's just too much that I hear similar in there. If I compare side-by-side, it'll either confirm my ears or prove I'm going crazy. lol

BTW, there's a set of drum fills that I swear Lars copied from Bill Ward.. I'll grab the clip from the Black Sabbath song and compare once I find it again.

[evilbaby]

I swear they just took riffs from Puppets, Justice, Lightning, and put a small twist on them. Not that that's bad, just... I swear they are covering their own songs, at times.
Ahh yes. The Nickelback method. I actually own all the Nickelback albums....I still can't figure out why I like that music.

So is the album for sale on Itunes or just singles right now?

[rokov]

Am I old school? I'm 35! Am I relevant to give my opinion? We'll see.
I'm a year older and I've been giving my opinion, so don't worry about it.


I like most of the 20+year old fans was very disappointed when Black Album came out. Did the album suck? Hell no... but it wasn't what we wanted.

Then there was Load and ReLoad. We sensed a trend and were not happy about it. Thankfully we had some other music to keep us happy (Sepultura anyone?). We waited longer and got St. Anger. I did not hate St. Anger but had big issues with the production quality and the weak lyrics.

Ok, by this time myself and I'm sure others are just starving for a good, heavy Metallica album. From what I've heard, I cannot wait until the 12th. Though the songs I've heard have a little "black" in them, its lightyears beyond anything they have released since the late 80s. I'm tying my arms down to not download the leak. I haven't been this excited about an album in a very long time.

I completely agree.

[ike6116]

Anyone else here formerly a Metallica fan, looking for a reason to care about anything they do these days?

If so... Death Magnetic is actually a pretty giant step up from the last three albums, though I think they kinda cheated... I swear they just took riffs from Puppets, Justice, Lightning, and put a small twist on them. Not that that's bad, just... I swear they are covering their own songs, at times.

James dropped most of the country voice he had in the past few albums, and Lars donated his exploding barrel to Far Cry 2 and picked up a real snare drum (though it sounds more like a sample to me, maybe he's switched to electronic drums now, I dunno).

It's not as good as recent Megadeth or Iron Maiden, but it's good for Metallica.

Wow I couldn't disagree more.

This album sounds like pure butt rock, look for Nickelback to open for Metallica on this tour, jesus.

Giant step up from the last 3? Load and Reload were good albums and they should have stopped there, The black album was the peak, load and reload descended from there but at least it was still good music. Metallica will never be the Ride the lightning, Master of Puppets, And Justice for All Metallica ever again and they really shouldn't try to be that's not who they are anymore.

They really should have hung it up after Reload, played reunion tours and that's it.

St. Anger was embarrassing and Death Magnetic is just further tarnishing a career.

[dolson]

Load and Reload would have been great albums... For Garth Brooks.

[ryudo]

I really enjoyed Black Album but since then..nothing.

[dolson]

Here are some more tracks on YouTube, in case you haven't resorted to BitTorrent yet.

That Was Just Your Life
mk7TYWbEv-U
The End of the Line
IlgBX4cYQoA
The Judas Kiss
oK4w8_DoX1o
Broken, Beat, & Scarred
VLlRbEhnx7U
All Nightmare Long
PNf7NMbd6vc
Unforgiven III
JRMLZCQGtA4
My Apocalypse:
V_PInDT5asE

[tomanderson]

Been hearing really good things about this album, so I'm going to download it over the weekend for sure. I got quite a list of music that's come out over the last 2 months I gotta get, but it's definitely going to beef up my itunes.

[cos2pi]

[QUOTE=dolson;429874]If you were an Iron Maiden fan, and they released a CD of hip hop, would you blindly drink it up because you consider yourself an Iron Maiden fan? I think not. So why should Metallica get some kind of special treatment when they go country and blues?]

There is nothing wrong with a band evolving and changing their sound. Using the example of a heavy metal putting out a hip hop is a bit of a stretch. Metallica is not getting and special treatment for going country or blues. But that evolution makes from sense then from metal o hip hop. It all depends on what the bands influences are. If Metallica was influenced by blues and country then its not much of a stretch for them to evolve to blues for country sound.

The White Stripes may not be metal, but on some of their recent cds they have had songs that are more country or blues compared to their original sound.

[rokov]

Thanks for posting those, dolson. :D
Great stuff, they have definitely retuned to form. Although, as soon as I heard the heartbeat at the beginning of "That Was Just Your Life", Jonathan Coulton's "Creepy Doll" popped into my head (not a bad thing, just not quite fitting lol).
It feels weird to be excited about a Metallica album again, almost like I'm back in high school (but in a good way lol). Now if they'll just change their attitude about the internet, I just might have to buy it. Thank you, Rick Rubin!! :D

Here's the one song from from Death Magnetic that hasn't been posted yet.

Suicide & Redemption
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzeHAiteMU

[dougleach]

I am a St. Anger apologist. It's about the only album of their's I still listen to. But I'm a weird guy who likes imperfections in production. My only complaint, and I've gotten over it, is that some of the songs are too long for their own good. But the whole thing is just more punk than anything they've done, but I realize that most Metallica fans don't want them to do punk type stuff. They want Master of Puppets. Oh well.

[dolson]

There is nothing wrong with a band evolving and changing their sound. Using the example of a heavy metal putting out a hip hop is a bit of a stretch. Metallica is not getting and special treatment for going country or blues. But that evolution makes from sense then from metal o hip hop. It all depends on what the bands influences are. If Metallica was influenced by blues and country then its not much of a stretch for them to evolve to blues for country sound.

The White Stripes may not be metal, but on some of their recent cds they have had songs that are more country or blues compared to their original sound.

I guess it depends on how you, as a fan, look at a band and their music.

For me, personally, I won't follow a band down every path they choose to take. I am not a music fan loyal to a brand name - I like what sounds good to my ears, and that means that I don't spin Megaeth's Risk album very often, nor do I listen to Metallica's past three albums at all.

Whether the evolution of a band makes sense or not, doesn't mean that fans of the band's earlier music need follow that evolution. I fully expect there to be people who started listening to Metallica as a result of the stuff on the Load and Reload discs, and those people might not want to listen to Death Magnetic due to the change away from bluesier stuff, and back more to metal, and that's OK too.

But if a band changes styles drastically, it'd be better to just release the project under a different name. Bluesica or Countryica, maybe. Rapica if they ever go that route. Hip Hopica. You get the idea. Metal is in the name, Metallica.

Load and Reload though, seriously, their old catchphrase didn't apply anymore.. "Metal up your ass" more like "Twang up your bum."

Well, I've rambled enough. I'm liking the new album, going to buy it (see Metallica? Downloading gets you sales, as I wasn't going to buy this - wasn't expecting something good).

[farcyde25]

Musically I really want to like this album, but for a reason I can't quite pinpoint I'm just not feeling James' voice this time out. I don't know what it is. To me its seems almost forced and its missing some of the rawness that it use to have, but maybe its just me.

[damnedeyez]

Anyone...looking for a reason to care about anything they do these days?

Nope...I gave up on them and don't really care one way or the other if they make music or retire. It's possible I'd listen in the future if it were readily accessible, but not going out of my way.

[ashlad]

Well I've been a Metallica fan for a long time, did not really like the last album though.

I've heard the entire Death Magnetic and really lovin it.

Unforgiven III is amazing ;)

[stubadub]

Musically I really want to like this album, but for a reason I can't quite pinpoint I'm just not feeling James' voice this time out. I don't know what it is. To me its seems almost forced and its missing some of the rawness that it use to have, but maybe its just me.

His voice has been missing the rawness since he took singing lessons. Sure, he's a better singer than back in the day, but hearing classic Metallica songs performed live back in those days was much more impressive than hearing him sing the same things in the later 90s.

I'm getting pretty damn excited for this album.

[fieryfrog]

I just cant get past James' voice. The last couple albums, he has been using that new singing voice...and I cant get myself used to it. I have heard this entire "album". And all I can hear is another version of St. Anger. The music itself may be better, but the voice ruins it for me.

[dolson]

His voice has been missing the rawness since he took singing lessons. Sure, he's a better singer than back in the day, but hearing classic Metallica songs performed live back in those days was much more impressive than hearing him sing the same things in the later 90s.

I'm getting pretty damn excited for this album.

The wife (gf at the time) and I went and saw them back then, and they destroyed most of their classic songs. It was sad. They actually pulled out acoustic guitars and a second drum kit (not sure why), and they demolished Four Horsemen, I think Whiplash, and a few others... I didn't wanna hear Alan Jackson's rendition of Kill 'Em All.. But it was still cool to see them. We were far away though... The view wasn't as good as when we saw Maiden (much closer) or Megadeth (3rd row from the front, tough to beat) but at least we can say we saw them.. The sound quality was very good - loud, but clear.

I just cant get past James' voice. The last couple albums, he has been using that new singing voice...and I cant get myself used to it. I have heard this entire "album". And all I can hear is another version of St. Anger. The music itself may be better, but the voice ruins it for me.

Really? His vocals are as close as they're going to ever get again to the Justice/Black Album days, I think. He dropped most of the country twang from Load and Reload, and it's less... What's the word? Deep? Umm.. Hollow? I don't know.. It's not like St. Anger. Try listening to both albums again, and you'll see, there's a massive improvement, for the most part. It's not perfect, but it's definitely better (more like old Hetfield, that is).

I'd actually consider seeing them live again now. I had previously no intent or desire to go and see them twice, even if it were free.

[rokov]

It looks like they have changed their attitude toward the internets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7598617.stm
I guess I'll be buying this one. :D

[ryudo]

Better than st anger... yes.

Back to being who they were.
No.
They are still dead to me and Unforgiven III is freaking horrible.