Review by Drew on November 14, 2008.

It has been a few years since Metallica has come out with a new release. Older fans and young fans alike have anticipated the release of "Death Magnetic" to see what Metallica will come out with. After waiting, it’s finally here.

Most everyone knows Metallica’s line-up, but, for the new people, the line-up goes: James Hetfield on vocals and guitar, Kirk Hammet on guitar, Lars Ulrich on drums, and, finally newcomer, Robert Trujillo on bass. This would be the first full album that Trujillo would work on since becoming a member of Metallica back in 2003.

When first throwing "Death Magnetic" in the CD player, the listener is greeted with the song, 'That Was Just Your Life', and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. It starts out rather mellow, making the listener believe that they have just bought a Metallica album that sounds like they have heard throughout their down years, which would be the mid-90’s, but, then, the song hits you like a 90 miles per hour car crash at full impact with no seatbelt on. The song actually reminded me of their "…And Justice For All" album with the mellow start and kicking in after a few seconds.

Each song on this album sounds like the Metallica that the true metal fans remember: fast, relentless, and the lyrics are sick. James Hetfield has never sounded better as it sounds like he has found the fountain of youth and kicked the clock back to the 80’s. It’s like Hetfield stared at himself in the mirror and didn’t like what he saw, so he shattered it with his fists and saw the pieces, punched it some more, bloodying his knuckles and feeling the pleasure of pain, then they started recording this album.

If there is one song on here that I would have to pick that is a downfall, it would have to be 'Unforgiven III', but it is still a pretty damn good song. It is by far the slowest song on "Death Magnetic", but don’t let this shy you away as the other songs make up for this with thrashing guitars and sick beats to please any metal fan.

It has also been a while since Metallica has released an instrumental. If you are a fan of Metallica’s lengthy instrumentals that put you in a trance and teleport you to a different dimension, Metallica has answered your longing with the song 'Suicide & Redemption'. Clocking in at just three seconds under the ten minute mark, the listener only hopes that the song is longer as you wouldn’t want it to end.

The shortest song on "Death Magnetic" is 'My Apocalypse', which is only five minutes long, while two measure over six minutes and seven clock in at over seven minutes long. As the whole album is great, some other notable songs to check out are: 'The End of the Line', 'Broken, Beat & Scarred', 'All Nightmare Long', and 'Cyanide'.

This is the Metallica that we have been waiting for to come back and they’re here! For all the fans who said Metallica sold out, or turned their backs on you, well, that’s what Metal is. Metallica is Metal and they said, “Fuck you,” to everybody and went off and did what they wanted. The true Metallica fans have stuck with them through thick and thin and I must say, it has certainly paid off with the release of "Death Magnetic". Metallica is back and they are on a mission to shove Metal up your ass once again!

Bottom Line: You will put this CD in your player and may not take it out for a while. Yes, it’s that good!


Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8
Originality: 9
Overall: 10

Rating: 9.4 out of 10