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Death Magnetic |  | Artist: Metallica
Label: Mercury Records
Category: Music
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £5.17
as of 22/11/2009 03:39 GMT details
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New (24) Used (12) Collectible (1) from £3.64
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Rating:  241 reviews
Sales Rank: 1257
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 602517737266
EAN: 0602517737266
ASIN: B001BWQ0N2
Release Date: September 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | That Was Just Your Life | | • | The End Of The Line | | • | Broken, Beat Scarred | | • | The Day That Never Comes | | • | All Nightmare Long | | • | Cyanide | | • | The Unforgiven III | | • | The Judas Kiss | | • | Suicide Redemption | | • | My Apocalypse |
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 241
 NORMAL SERVICE IS RESUMED.... September 19, 2008
Adam Jackson (Stoke On Trent , England)
49 out of 56 found this review helpful
A BIG return to form here! This album takes all the experimentation of the past (the groove of Load, the raw anger of St Anger the prog touches of And Justice For All) and successfully melds it with the thrashier elements of Lightning Puppets.
br /The problems of St Anger have been erased; the lyrics are far less self loathing and repetitive, the arrangements are more varied and technical, the drums sound like drums, the bass is once again the holding player in midfield and the solos are back in style. This album showcases Hammett's most emotive powerful lead work in over a decade! And there is also the small matter of some of the band's best riffs since 1986!
br /Hetfield is more 'in control' than on the 2003 misfire, and the production while not in the Black album sphere, is clear and powerful. Personally I would prefer a slightly fuller snare less clicky bass drum but the guitars and bass are really strong. Had my doubts over Trujillo - not as a player, but more if he was suitable, but I have to say I'm really impressed.
br /There is much for all here; from the symphonic orchestration on Unforgiven 3 (STUNNING lead break) to the all out Thrash Metal of My Apocalypse and the epic The Day That Never Comes (similiar to One but better. Really!).
br /That Was Just Your Life is a corker of an opener and is reminiscent of the St Anger days but with better quality.
br /Instrumental track Suicide Redemption has a real groove with some seriously crunchy riffs, and tasty leads. Not as good as Orion or the SM version of Call Of Ktulu but more engaging than the plodding To Live Is To Die from 1988's AJFA.
br /What strikes me here is how clear the influences shine through; the rhythm of Zeppelin, the riffs of Sabbath, the swagger of Motorhead. Even the odd hint of Maiden Priest. And yet this still sounds very modern.
br /I can't see how any Metallica, or Metal fan could fail to appreciate this. Please don't read too much into all this talk of a distorted sound -it's really not the case.
br /Here's to another good decade from the Masters....
br /And the second coming of Thrash gathers pace...
thank you thank you thank you thank you September 3, 2008
Scott MacGregor (Glasgow, Scotland)
34 out of 43 found this review helpful
Finally. After all these years of mild disappointments we have a new Metallica album worthy of the name.
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br /First impressions track by track (because I'm that sad)...
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br /"That was just your life" starts with a slow heartbeat then builds until by about 1 min 30 we're on our way. This could easily be off "Justice" its that good. 4m 52s and Kirks been thawed out of his deep freeze and ta da! we have serious solo action on a Metallica album again [large smile spreads across face]
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br /"The End of The Line" keeps it going. Could it be off "Puppets"? It even sounds a bit like "Puppets". Did he just sing "taste me you will see..." ok maybe not but he could have. Always knew these guys still had it in them.
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br /"Broken, Beat Scarred" starts with just a hint of "Harvester of Sorrow" and we're away again - 'what don't kill you will make you more strong' the man says and this is strong. This album just isn't letting up. No longer will you have to defend Metallica to your mates who think 'they used to be good but...' Practice looking smug in the mirror.
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br /"The Day That Never Comes" the single. Sounds better as part of the album . In the good old days this would be one of those last song on side one type of tracks like "Sanitarium".
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br /"All Nightmare Long" some more serious heavy riffing - According to James 'luck runs out' not ours it hasn't. Killer solo again and James's voice sounds better than it has in years while Lars wears out some more pedals.
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br /"Cyanide" you might have heard this live - the studio version is just as good as you'd hoped. Brilliant bassline. Brilliant track.
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br /"The Unforgiven III" as you probably guessed its Black album time again. Piano and cello intro. Nice ballad which picks up in the last couple of minutes with another top solo.
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br /"The Judas Kiss" sounds like it could be straight off "Justice" again. With another fierce solo - how amazing is this album?
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br /"Suicide and Redemption" instrumental. Fade-in to killer bassline/heavy riffing. Slower tempo but heavy. Nice Calpton impression from Kirk about 4 mins in then approaching 6 mins its take off time with another big solo. Lars crazy on those drums too.
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br /"My Apocalypse" last song on a Metallica album can only mean one thing - crank up the pace to meltdown. So close to breaking into "Damage Inc." at times. Awesome.
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br /Overall impression? Buy this album. Right now. And you might as well shell out the £70 for the coffin version its that good
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Denial - over! September 24, 2008
Ratnaz (Cambridge)
13 out of 17 found this review helpful
After getting used to this album (which takes a while; it's too complex to be an easy listen) I reflected that this was what should have been the follow-up to Justice. Then I thought, "Hell no, 20 years of mediocrity make this one all the more appreciated."
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br /I suppose I can understand why Metallica (or at least the forces that dominate them - say hi Mr Hetfield) got sick of doing dry, complicated, relatively inaccessible material and wanted to try something a bit more middle-of-the road (i.e. actual sing-along SONGS). But the fact is that (a) there are about 90000000 other bands out there that do this sort of thing and (b) Metallica are absolutely no good at it anyway.
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br /This album is a welcome return from a 20-year denial period; Metallica are back to doing what they do best, in fact the only thing they are really, phenomenally good at. I actually wouldn't have thought anyone could still write original thrash metal but they've done it. The only hints of their 90s style are in Unforgiven III and Longest Day, but these just add welcome variety to the sound. Riffs are complicated, entrancing, and combine with Hetfield's inspired vocal lines to brutal effect. Hammett's solos are back, thank God, and it sounds as if he's been practising.
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br /I'm raising a beer to at least another future album with Metallica in sensible mode. It sounds like they've got it in them.
Death Fantastic... September 15, 2008
Dafydd Jones (Aberystwyth, Ceredigion United Kingdom)
19 out of 26 found this review helpful
It finally arrived through my letterbox after days of frustration. But now that it's here, I have to say that it might well be the best Metallica album since '...And Justice For All'. I think it's better than the Black Album, if only marginally.
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br /The opener, 'That Was Just Your Life', is classic 'Justice' era-Metallica, and has riffs you wouldn't find out of place on that magnificent album of 20 odd years ago.
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br /Some of the riffs sincerely blew my mind, and the tightness of this four-piece unit is beyond belief. Rob Trujillo has become part of the furniture here, and James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett's twin-guitaring is in complete harmony. It is very 'Justice', and very impressive. 10/10.
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br /The second track starts with a sample of a preview track we heard a few months ago in 'The New Song', which was played in a key lower than we find on the album. Except for this time, we open into a more high-tempo track of Thrash Metal. This one's called 'The End of the Line', and while it is brilliant, it isn't the best track on the album. 9/10.
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br /Track three is called 'Broken, Beat Scarred', and has a catchiness you wouldn't find out of place on 'The Black Album'. 'Through dark days, through dark nights, through pitch black insights!' Hetfield sings. All three tracks so far have a strong feel of thrash-metal through the proverbial veins of the songs. This feels less structured than the previous two songs, but that doesn't mean it's worse off. It's catchy and has riffs that throw you sideways and back again. It really is a remarkable album. 9/10.
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br /Track four is the first single to be taken off 'Death Magnetic', and it's called 'The Day That Never Comes'. Four minutes of a ballad, a minute of a breakdown, and a glorious three minutes of thrash metal, mean that this song is roughly somewhere between 'Fade To Black' and 'One'. The riffs are astonishing and while James's voice isn't quite what it was, it isn't far off. Hammett's guitaring is the best in years as is James's rhythm playing and Lars Ulrich has dramatically been revitalised in his drumming since Load/Reload and St. Anger. 10/10.
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br /Track five is the eight minute epic, 'All Nightmare Long', and in my opinion, a bit like a modern-day 'Enter Sandman' with a twist of 'Disposable Heroes' as well as 'Wherever I May Roam'. The beginning has an eerie feel to it with Trujillo's bass guitar prominent. James's speed-picking comes in along with Lars's excellent drumming. The chorus is infectious as it could have come off 'The Black Album'. In my opinion this, as well as the opener and 'The Day That Never Comes', is the best track on the album so far. 10/10.
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br /Track six is 'Cyanide', a track which debuted at Ozzfest this year, and on first impression, I wasn't too keen on it. Having heard the studio version however, I changed my mind as I thought it was an excellent track. I think this, along with 'The Unforgiven III' have some of the best lyrics found on the album (except for the 'suicide, I've already died' bit). But otherwise, a solid track. 9/10.
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br /Track seven is 'The Unforgiven III'. I really didn't know what to expect when I saw this on the tracklisting but I thought Metallica had ruined it by making a third. How wrong I was. It is a great song and it is almost as good as 'The Unforgiven', and streets ahead of the second instalment. It is more poignant and has more feeling to it. 9/10.
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br /Track eight is perhaps the messiest track on the album. It is called 'The Judas Kiss' and it is eight minutes flat. There are so many riffs here that it is difficult to know where to start. It is progressive to say the least, and Hammett has a monster solo on this one. I love the chorus, I think it is fantastic. 9.5/10.
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br /Track nine is the drawn-out instrumental, 'Suicide and Redemption'. Ten minutes long, it would be easy to say that is it too long and boring. While I take into consideration the last instrumental, 'The Call of the Ktulu', it is nowhere near that, or 'Orion' for that matter either, but it isn't too shabby and fills a good ten minutes with plenty of riffs and solos. 8.5/10.
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br /The final track is brilliant. It's called 'My Apocalypse' and is the shortest track on the album by some distance. Clocking in at 5 minutes flat, it is an all-out thrash/speed metal frenzy. Outstanding. The fastest thing they've done since 'Battery', and quite possibly the best since then as well. 10/10.
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br /So overall, it is an imperious album, and Metallica have returned with a bang. They've blown the cobwebs of St. Anger away, and if their next album is as good as this one, I think we could be witnessing the beginning of something quite spectacular.
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br /Best tracks are: 'That Was Just Your Life'; 'Broken, Beat Scarred'; 'The Day That Never Comes'; 'All Nightmare Long'; 'The Unforgiven III'; 'The Judas Kiss'; and 'My Apocalypse'.
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br /Seventy five minutes of music has never been such good value for money. Buy it if you haven't already. 9.5/10.
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A great return to form! September 14, 2008
C. Lee (Manchester UK)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I thought that I would give this album a few listens before I sat down to review it. I'm glad I did because I honestly think it is a grower and requires two or three complete listens to really size it up. When I first heard it I thought it wasn't what I expected. Having heard it was like Ride The Lightning I was thinking along those lines. In reality is far more of a mix of all their various styles over the years. The biggest influences in terms of their past that I could see were Ride and Metallica. The areas which are the least obvious are Justice and Puppets. The really epic songs with loads and loads of key changes, tempo changes, etc are not here. So if you're looking for another Puppets forget it!
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br /Probably the best thing to do is to throw away your preconceptions and forget your favourite period of Metallica, listen to this as if to a new band. If you do you can't fail to see it as pure quality. The song-writing acumen is of the highest order, with numerous ambitious and complex riffs per song. The soloing is inventive and not simply of the 'how fast can I go' variety. For me Ulrich is a top-notch drummer, his drum parts are always bang in keeping with the music, nothing too fancy but aggressive and pounding. I don't want a metal drummer to do solos and noodle about, especially in a thrash band I want a ferocious and battering assault. Hetfield still retains a quality voice and he is probably among the most talented rhythm guitarists to pick up an axe. Reviewers can slate him all they like but how many could do what he does, any guitarist knows his a consumate ability to play and sing together.
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br /The songs are varied and punchy. They are long but not in the sort of symphonic, epic way of say Justice. They are long because they contain many parts, several riffs, shifts of tempo and sub-structures. The structures are more Ride than anything else, although a lot of the riffs are Metallica and onwards. My favourite is All Nightmare Long, which I think is a great battering ram of a song, with tinges of St Anger, but importantly the melodics and solo to make it a proper song. In my mind this album hangs together as an album. When I heard 'the Day That Never Comes' in isolation I was not impressed but it sits well within the album as a whole, the overall progression and ordering of the songs is well thought out.
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br /For those knocking this album consider this: how many bands can have weathered the woeful misdirection that began on Metallica and climaxed with the awful Load and Reload. St Anger was a brave, but misguided attempt to dig a way out of pop music and back to aggression. This is not Puppets, but its 20-odd years since then and Cliff Burton is sadly long gone. They can't write that stuff now. They have moved on, matured and like it or not they write different stuff. For my money this is a really gut-busting effort by them, they have poured everything into it and done their best.
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br /For what it's worth, perhaps my hearing isn't up to much but I didn't notice a terrible production. It sounds like all Metallica albums (drums too high and bass too low), but I always think they aim for a wall of sound with the rhythm section melding into the lead instrument. They lack separation but they always have, the sound is as always. My son asked if there was a bass and I had to try to explain to him that the layering was such that it was not possible to pick out most of the individual instruments, to listen to the whole effect instead.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 241
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