Day 3: Metallica – Death Magnetic

So, I tried to come into reviewing this album with a mentally clean slate – I tried hard.  However, the days following “Death Magnetic”s release, a question arose from the words of every review, and most people listening in general: does the new album have enough appeal to cater to old school and new school Metallica fans alike?

I don’t want to jump into that right away.  I’m more interested in something that I really haven’t heard from a whole lot of people – the fact that this seems to be more of a concept album than anything else I’ve ever heard from Metallica.  Not so much in that the entire album has a storyline, or anything that resembles a plot that you can follow from beginning to end.  It’s just that the entire album is “death” metal in the most literal sense of the term – every single song’s lyrics deal with/reference death or dying in one way or another.  Should I have been expecting that because of the title?  Probably.

Did Metallica name the album “Death Magnetic” because all these thoughts (turned into lyrics) about death just seemed to be drawn to them?  To be honest, the first time I heard the name – I thought it was a matter of Metallica trying to pick a name that sounded “metal”.  (Seriously, in my head, it played out like an episode of Metalocalypse – only starring the members of Metallica.)  After hearing the album 3-4 times though – I can’t imagine it being named anything else.  If death really is drawn to Metallica, the members know how to stare it in the face, and offer a challenge.

The tracks seemingly cover every aspect of death; the “life flashing before your eyes” (aptly named “That Was Just Your Life”), the act of dying itself (“The End Of The Line”), fighting death (“Broken, Beat & Scarred”), waiting for death (“The Day That Never Comes”), dreaming about death (“All Nightmare Long”), taking your own life (“Cyanide”), fear of being forgotten after death (“The Unforgiven III”), selling your soul/cheating death (“The Judas Kiss”), and bringing upon the death of everyone (“My Apocalypse”).  Has any other band/artist ever written an album so thoroughly on the subject of death?  Not that I’ve heard anytime recently.

So, does “death” help the album?  Overall, I think it does – the dark theme lends itself perfectly to the speed guitar and pounding rhythms that made Metallica popular way back in the pre-Napster era.  Extended guitar solos push every single song past the six and a half minute mark (with the exception of the final song, “My Apocalypse”, which clocks in at a second over five minutes).  The only time the album doesn’t seem to flow as one giant work is on the radio single, “The Day That Never Comes” – to me (and maybe it’s ’cause I’ve been working in radio for so long), the song sounds like it was written to be the single, and then fused with a guitar solo speed metal ending to make it “match” the rest of the album.

I really can’t answer the question of which Metallica fans the album will appeal to.  I think Metallica fans who liked the earlier albums (“And Justice For All” sticks out in my mind) will probably dig this one.  People who were more fans of The Black Album and Load/Reload – this is definitely a step away from that style, but for the better.  I can tell you that I personally like it a lot – and more than anything, it makes me want to go see Metallica live.  Too bad their shows are selling out faster than most (with a lot of them already sold out completely).

Check out the video for “The Day That Never Comes” here, and listen to the tracks “All Nightmare Long”, “The Judas Kiss” and “My Apocalypse” for free here.