Metallica- Death Magnetic (*****)

Metallica have never been satisfied with being the band the public wanted them to be.

While their 1991 self-titled album made them into superstars, they spent a majority of the 90s trying to distance themselves from their 80s output.

1996’s Load and it’s sister album RELoad found the Four Horsemen flirting with bluesy overtones that sharply contrasted their thrash roots. In addition, they released a covers collection, had a live bout with the San Francisco Symphony, and attempted to cleanse their inner demons with 2003’s critically dismissed St. Anger.

So, what does one make of Death Magnetic, an album that was promised to be a return to their 80s roots as well as their first with bassist Robert Trujillo?

Well for one, it’s an album that is focused, lean, and incredibly baroque. While producer Rick Rubin encouraged the band to capture the energy they had during the making of 1986’s Master Puppets, Death Magnetic seems to draw more from their 1988 album …And Justice For All, with its progressive leanings and constantly shifting melodies.

Guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett trade off staccato and crunchy riffs that stutter and stop on a dime, infusing them with dual harmonies and frantic urgency. The album’s opening track “That Was Just Your Life” explodes with thick lumbering riffs and hard-hitting drums from Lars Ulrich, all capped by a blistering solo from Hammett.

For 40 year old men, they’re playing like they’re 20.

Death Magnetic revels in arrangements that average around the seven-minute mark, compositions that twist and turn with effortless ease and precision. Metallica throw in chugging breaking downs and rapid time changes that don’t feel rushed or pasted; as if they’ve rediscovered their love for the complex song craft that marked their earlier works.

And this newfound youthfulness can be attributed two key factors: the addition of Trujillo to the fold and Hetfield’s returned confidence.

Trujillo’s perhaps best known for his work with the Suicidal Tendencies, but he brings that punk energy to Death Magnetic in truckloads. Tracks like “The End Of The Line” successfully showcase Trujillo’s ear for dynamics as well as how powerful his mammoth bass is. He locks in, with a sense head-banging grooves and smooth delivery, adding fullness Metallica’s sound.

Elsewhere, Hetfield has begun to mine what made his 80s lyrics so powerful. After coming across as desperate and neurotic on St. Anger, Hetfield’s growl returns with anger and authority. While he’s always had one of the most dominate voices in heavy metal, he seems comfortable for the first time here since Metallica’s self-titled album, and that presence really ties these songs together.

Lyrically, Hetfield laments on death and decay on Death Magnetic and the images he conjures up are incredibly visceral, while avoiding macabre clichés. On “Cyanide,” Hetfield presents us with such striking images as, “A narrow freshly broken ground/A concrete angel laid right down/Upon the moon that swallows fast/It’s peace at last…”

It’s refreshing, after the communal lyrical input that marked St. Anger, that Hetfield has finally settled into a comfort zone with his writing.

“The Judas Kiss” expertly features Hetfield’s sinister swagger with lines such as, “Bow down!/Sell your soul to me!/I will set you free!/Pacify your demons!” Against an onslaught of Iron Maiden-inspired guitar lines and dissonant starts and stops, “The Judas Kiss” builds into an eerie blend of wah-soaked atmospherics and deep drumming.

And unlike the raw and caustic production on St. Anger, Rubin has kept things bone dry on Death Magnetic without sacrificing warmth. Trujillo’s bass rumbles. Hammett’s guitar sears, and Ulrich’s drums are commanding. The venomous “Cyanide” illustrates this best, with movements that effectively showcase clean guitar tones, but are juxtaposed with dirty riffs, booming bass, and rolling drum lines.

But for all this talk of returning to their roots, Metallica hasn’t forsaken what made their music compelling in the 90s. “The Day That Never Comes” revisits their exploration texture and dynamics with shimmering leads and a massive chorus, before it launches into a mess of punk riffing and fluid arpeggios.

The band also reexamines “The Unforgiven” with “The Unforgiven III,” channeling bludgeoning blues riffs alongside Ennio Morricone influenced strings. The result is something more than a mere sequel, but a track that evokes a sense isolation and self-reflection as it slowly culminates into fiery Hammett solo.

Yet this aspect of self-reflection is why Death Magnetic succeeds.

Metallica have finally begun to be comfortable with who they are as musicians as well as their legacy. These songs don’t just represent music that comes easily to them or a regression, but represents a synthesis of what they excelled at in the 80s as well as what they’ve learned from their experimentation in the 90s.

The album’s third track, “Broken, Beat & Scarred” exemplifies this philosophy for Metallica. A staggering six minutes and 26 seconds of fluid double bass drumming, snarling bass, and an avalanche of sharp guitar lines; it features Hetfield’s gruff vocals as he shouts, “You rise/You fall/You’re down and you rise again/What don’t kill ya/Make ya more strong!”

And with an album like Death Magnetic, it seems Metallica will be going strong for a very long time.

Sounds Like: Rust In Peace (Megadeth), …And Justice For All (Metallica), Core (Stone Temple Pilots)

Key Cuts: That Was Just Your Life, Broken Beat & Scarred, Cyanide

Click the artwork to sample some of Death Magnetic for yourself!

Author's Note: This review appears in a recent issue of the Sonoma State Star. As this is the author's own writing and this is his own blog, in addition to holding the position of A&E Editor for the Sonoma State Star, he posts it here with express consent of himself. Duh.