I'm actually surprised that there has been little reviews or opinions on this blog about the newest album, Death Magnetic. Among my peers, some of whom are but casual Metallica fans, there was much discussion and debate as to the merits, if any, of the disc and was I certain that on a blog dedicated solely to discussion of the Metal Gods, there would much more than what I am finding here. It is good to see that of late there has been an upswing in information and news about the band, but still, no meaty discussion regarding the actual album.
So here it is, my humble review of Death Magnetic:
Imagine if you will, that there are nexus points at key moments in the space/time continuum allowing for alternate time lines and realities to be scattered throughout it. Some say that if a person were to actually time travel in an attempt to change the time line, the paradoxical nature of such things were merely create a break in the time line creating an alternate rather than reforming the line itself. So lets say that all of this is true and that we had the ability to travel through the continuum changing things as we'd like and seeing where it took us. While there are certainly much more important issues throughout the scope of History worth tackling, what if we went back to the morning of September 27, 1986? Metallica fans should know this date well for it is the date that original bassist Cliff Burton perished in a bus crash in the Swedish countryside.
I avoided any press or leaked recordings of Death Magnetic like the plague. After the debacle that was St Anger and watching the once untouchable Gods of metal squabble like spoiled children in Some Kind Of Monster, I was more than done with the group. However, there were tidbits of information that I could not help but absorb that put little glimmers of hope in my heart, in particular the appointment of Rick Rubin to be producer. Rubin had been quite well known for revitalizing careers and I was quite interested as to how he would beat savagery back into the band. Singles were released and reviews poured out, but I did not listen. I hardly cared anymore but even so, if I did happen to get the albums, I wanted to hear it with virgin ears and no further preconceptions. Soon they day came and Death Magnetic was loaded on to my iPod, bellowing through the ear buds.
This is Metallica as they should have been, as they could have been. This is the Metallica I wanted after Master of Puppets. I may be in the minority on this particular point, but . . . And Justice For All bores me incredibly and while I do not dislike the Black Album by any stretch, Metallica as a speed metal band was all but done when Burton passed away. This album is a triumphant return to form, so much so that I am willing to forgive the one and a half songs that should have been thrown in the trash. (The first half of "The Day That Never Comes" and "The Unforgiven III" for those who are keeping score.) It is fast and complicated, jumping without care for segues from riff to riff. And dare I say its even kind of sloppy? Yes it is and that is a good thing, believe it or not. In our age of digital recording, its so nice to hear a band powering through a song and leaving the imperfections and timing inconsistencies in place. The energy of the song; that is what matters most, not if every note is hit exactly. Lars is the perfect example of this, as he does not always make every hit like he should, but he is playing with a fire and a speed that I thought had long left him. And this is true for everyone. They are all playing at levels unheard of for the past 15 some odd years, and my word, Kirk even plays some guitar solos without a wah pedal, which I thought he was systematically unable to do.
In the end I will say this: Robert Trujillo is no Cliff Burton, and possibly not even a Jason Newsted for that matter, but it doesn't matter. The spirit of Cliff Burton is alive and well and making our ears bleed from beyond the grave on Death Magnetic and Metallica fans should rejoice at such a gift.