Metallica – Death Magnetic

2008

Vertigo

On September 12 2008, Metallica released their ninth studio album titled Death Magnetic to generally favorable reviews. Anticipation amongst fans was high due to the some five years between the new record’s release and 2003’s immensely flawed St. Anger which had left a bitter taste in most longtime fans mouths. There had been some rumors that the new album would be a return to the thrash metal roots once so synonymous with the Bay Area outfit but which had been entirely devoid since the early nineties. Soundings from the band were also promising with guitarist Kirk Hammett stating in an 2007 interview with Metal Hammer that the new record was different to St. Anger and that is was “a lot more riffy, more like traditional Metallica”. Audible signs too were hopeful at least with the performance of scrappy so so versions of some material which would then go on to form parts of songs found on Death Magnetic on the band’s 2006 Escape From The Studio tour run which indicated, if nothing else, a more old school Metallica sound of sorts and upon the albums release Hetfield himself stated bluntly of the new record that; “The theme of our new record is that we’re all gona die sometime, just like the poles of a magnet some people are drawn to death and others are repulsed by it but we all have to deal with it… started as a kind of tribute to Layne Staley and all those who’ve martyred themselves in the name of rock and roll but it evolved from there”. However, as always the proof would be in the listening of the final product and Death Magnetic would do more right than wrong without ever really being truly spectacular as we shall investigate later. Writing for the new record was sporadic in between bouts of touring and other band commitments with material being written as far back as 2004 on the Madly In Anger With The World tour. The actual recording process was also quite sporadic with production held in three different studios; Sound City studios in Van Nuys, Shangri La studios in Malibu and Metallica’s own HQ all in California. Production duties would be handled for the first time in some fifteen years, not by longtime producer Bob Rock but by the ever hirsute couch surfer dude Mr. Rick Ruben.

Death Magnetic kicks off with “That Was Just Your Life” beginning with an ominous heartbeat overdub before a sinister guitar riff from singer/guitarist James Hetfield joined in unison by bassist Rob Trujillo and then the band proper before launching into the songs main riff; a slithery snakey thrashy riff more reminiscent of material found on…And Justice For All. Sadly however, Hetfield’s vocal delivery is a little too rushed with too many words shoehorned into the short verses which now, in retrospect, give the verse sections an almost comical feel. The track then segues into an almost groovy pre chorus section with the chorus suitably speedy complete with thrash drumming which this time don’t sound like trash cans. This track also features something which was lacking on St. Anger; a guitar solo and it’s a satisfying frantic (sorry) one to boot, with the track then featuring the dual guitar harmonies of old before the song comes to its exhausting shuddering conclusion. Quite the opener and a lot to take in on the first listen. Most fans were pretty pleased, however listening back to this track today, it almost feels as if the band were determined to shoe horn every little facet of the bands earlier heyday into just one track. “That Was Just Your Life” is a good Metallica tune, perhaps a little overblown but so far so good.

Next up is “The End Of The Line” beginning with marauding guitar and drums, the track then transitions into a groovy verse section which feels a little out of place when juxtaposed with the more standard tempo of the second verse sections. This is one of DM’s biggest problems; on the classic 80’s records the band deployed various tempos but in a much more refined way. On this record virtually anything goes tempo wise. Not that the arrangements on this track or others on DM are bad, it’s just that on certain tracks such as this track the songs can feel like a collection of various good ideas bolted together. The chorus section of the song as a result almost feels like something of an after thought but that is not really point here with “The End Of The Line”; the track is here to showcase that Metallica can still write complex music and at 7′ 52” if you want the catchy radio singles go back and listen to Metallica or the Loads. After what feels like forever the track gradually slows down into an excellent atmospheric melodic middle section with an almost spoken word vocal from Hetfield before everything revs up once again in a syncopated demented fashion until we reach the end of the track. Phew.

“Broken, Beat & Scarred” is next, beginning with a snappy guitar riff backed by syncopated drums before leading into a glorious …And Justice For All esque rolling drum pattern before transitioning into yet more metal grooves and it is at this point in the record where the listener has to wonder did the inclusion of Trujillo, most famous for his time in Suicidal Tendencies, have a hand in the writing of these more groovy aspects of the new material. The verse sections featuring Hetfield’s defiant bellowing of “What doesn’t kill ya , make ya more strong” is memorable complete with an intriguing sounding main riff before transitioning into the chorus section of double bass and choppy guitar riffs with a final call of “But we die hard”. This track got a lot of play live and it’s easy to see why, it is the atypical Metallica call to arms that every record had up until Metalllca and the song is further fleshed out by another welcome guitar solo from Hammett almost in a dive bomb construct before returning to the main riff and motif of the track ending out with the refrain of ” we die hard, we die hard”. It’s brilliant stuff, totally fun and one of the best tracks the band had written in years.

Next up is the albums lead single “The Day That Never Comes”, the records token ‘epic’ ballad. Beginning with pensive guitar which is slightly ruined by Lars’ bashing of his snare and floor tom and joined in union by a bluesy riff from Hammett the song then launches into a mid tempo fairly maudlin tune with suitable tension built up throughout the track. It is, however the second part of this song which is most interesting; a dual guitar attack featuring Hetfield’s cry of admitably awful lyrics; “Love is a four letter word and never spoken here” the track takes off in a kind of guitar riff battle between Hetfield and Hammett which essentially doesn’t let up until the songs conclusion. Naff lyrics aside, “The Day That Never Comes” is a decent Metallica ballad which is still played live by the band today. “All Nightmare Long” follows and to this reviewers ears it is a strange sounding track. Beginning with dissonant guitars with vibrant bass from Trujillo the track then transcends into a slightly moody section then a trash section and then a mid tempo verse section. For me, the chorus section sounds far too ‘happy’ for a Metallica track and frankly the song doesn’t quite know what it wants to be; thrash or doom. It’s not a bad track per se, (Hammett’s extended solo is excellent) but as mentioned earlier, it is one of the tracks on DM that suffers from not being that structurally refined. Had a trippy music video too.

Similarly “Cyanide” suffers from the same issue. Easily the weakest track so far on Death Magnetic, “Cyanide” is a fairly throw away track beginning with a weird washed out guitar effect with a scrappy mid tempo riff leading into a fairly thrashy pre chorus. The track features an interesting middle section which is somewhat reminiscent of “Through The Never”s more proggy aspects, however in all truth the track is pretty redundant, despite being played live quite a few times before and during the albums release. The awful “Unforgiven III” is next beginning with wistful piano before that songs series motif kicks in and the song proper. Apparently Hetfield had to fight for the tracks’ inclusion on the record and maybe it should have been left off it altogether, easily the weaker of the three Unforgivens and only baring a passing resemblance to its predecessors. Lyrically it’s nothing we haven’t heard before on the Loads and even St.Anger. Composition wise it’s fine, it’s just that’s its overwrought, overblown and utterly throwaway.

Much better is “The Judas Kiss” a huge sounding frenzied heavy rocker like something you would hear being played in your local dive bar. Lyrically is it an excellent play on the betrayal of humans and greed aka the kiss of Judas. The guitars are weighty the drums snappy and Hetfield spits out his lyrics with suitable scorn. The track feature yet another slow middle section were Hetfield gleefully extols the price of betrayal; for a record that has not been Jame’s high point in terms of lyrics this track it a worthy addition to the record. The reflective, knowing “Suicide & Redemption is next the bands first instrumental on a studio record since 1988. Although not as innovative as, say, The Call of Ktulu or more so “Orion” it is still nice to hear Metallica flex their compositional muscles again and it is a worthy instrumental in its own right. Death Magnetic ends with “My Apocalypse” an outright thrasher which, similar to “All Nightmare Long” sounds too damn happy for this reviewer, although that could be attributed to the fact it is played in a major key. It’s good to hear Metallica finish with a thrasher and although it’s no Dyers Eve is a fun track nonetheless with sinister rhythmic riff leading into James’s gleeful scream of “SPIT IT OUT!” which then leads into a furious solo from Hammett complete with a tritone outtro. Not a bad way to finish an album which is an overall return to form.

And a return to form the record was. By the time Death Magnetic was released Metallica’s stock in the metal world had fallen dramatically; the 2004 release of the bands documentary Some Kind of Monster, though fascinating in parts, had done much to diminish the bands status as serious recording artists. Death Magnetic and the successful World Magnetic tour went a long way in re establishing the band as a serious force to be reckoned with again, even if the new record was inferior to the records of the 80’s. Some critics and fans at the time criticized the record for being too ‘Metallica by-the-numbers’ and some of this criticism does hold even today; it can be argued that Metallica in their desperation to prove they could still write fast and complex music overdid it in places, but at the end of the day the band gave the fans what they wanted after the paucity of St.Anger, just maybe a little too much spice! Overall, I personally much prefer Death Magnetic to 2016’s Hardwired…To Self Destruct. Whilst conversely that record is much more refined, I think as a whole Death Magnetic is a more complete work. If you didn’t get a chance to check out the album back in the day give it a listen, it has aged pretty well (although like many records of the time it suffers from loudness war syndrome, if you can seek out the superior Guitar Hero mix do so) and while there is no real biting social commentary here, the songs are fun and even better kicking back with a few cold beers. And it has an actual snare!!

Works cited:

Tolanski, Brad., (2008, November) Interview, James Hetfild discusses Metallica’s ‘Death Magnetic’, Guitar World.

Lawson, Dom.,( 2007 April) Interview, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Metal Hammer.