Metallica ARE...Hardwired…To Self-Destruct

It says...here.

If I were Mustaine I'd sue them for copyright infringement via ellipsis.

Also, compare and contrast:

http://www.cdeuroxpress.com/images2/042288878810.jpg

https://up-1.cdn-fullscreendirect.com/production/photos/7549/original/20160818_193900_7549_939482.jpeg

The first track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBHL3v4d3I

whoa it's a double album?????

*a dreaminess enters his voice* ........LULU 2

Well, I wasn't expecting to like that, but I actually do.

that song feels like even more of a self-conscious thrash throwback than most of death magnetic. fun imo!

wow, so many musical echoes of the classic era, i guess they're finally giving the people what they want. 20 years (!) after 'Load' came out.

this is a really good track but that photo, jeez guys

I guess we'll have to wait for the making-of documentary to know for sure, but I'm calling it now: "ManUNkind" was Kirk's idea

from the author of my lifestyle determines my deathstyle

oh god that megadeth ellipses thread is all time

Looove the track. The more I listen to it the more I hear Overkill (the band, not the song) but I'm all for Metallica revisiting their thrashy side, and it's brilliantly executed.

That can't really be the final cover art...?

Sounds basically like a radio edit of "That Was Just Your Life" to me, albeit one that sticks mostly to the pogo beats. I hope it's not the best they can do after 8 years but it's not like I'm gonna actually buy the full length anyway.

As I just said on the C/D thread, the production is sounding the closest to what Metallica should sound like for 25 plus years.

yeah, i dont mind that track at all ..

It's essentially a retread of the faster Puppets tracks, but they've done a good job of it.

Though I can't really imagine sitting through both discs.

I'm calling it now: "ManUNkind" was Kirk's idea

Lol. Extra marks for capitalisation just in case people don't get it.

oh my gosh that cover art

also, I'll never understand why people do this:

Two discs, nearly 80 minutes of music is coming your way

Uhh...'nearly 80 minutes' fits on a single disc, dude.

I guess it's based on the vinyl. No one's gonna actually buy the CD are they?

I think Metallica fans definitely will buy this on CD

Maybe they feel like it needs to be broken up for creative reasons. Baroness's Yellow & Green was a 2CD set that only contained about 75 minutes of music, but the band wanted it to be split in half.

Yeah it does change how you experience an album, even if you've only got it digitally.

http://i.imgur.com/UhQ7FPz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/IR3JQf4.jpg

Of all the people who should know that 80 minutes of music fit on one CD, Metallica is near the top of the list.

http://i.imgur.com/8x85NEw.jpg

And that song is...actually pretty awesome

Worth noting this is almost the shortest song Metallica have ever recorded (on one of their primary albums, at any rate); it's 3:18, the only song in their catalog shorter than that is "Motorbreath," which is 3:08.

mentioned in the other thread, cannot stand the production on this. the song itself isn't bad but it's not much better than anything the 3,000 retro-thrash acts of 2016 are churning out. I'll wait to hear more tracks, but this one is kinda just 'alright' to me.

that said, the metalheads who are getting off on hyperbolic insults on this shit can fuck off, cos it's not incompetent or anything.

Heard it coming out of my car radio this morning and it sounded good. Of course, it was played in between a Shadows Fall cover of Ozzy's "Bark at the Moon" and some shitpile from Soilent Green, so almost anything would have sounded good by comparison, but still.

cos it's not incompetent or anything.

― Neanderthal, Friday, August 19, 2016 10:22 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

a ringing endorsement worthy of a hype sticker

love that they're going back to thrash, but i think the drums and vocals are too loud on this production. surprisingly energetic though. i dig.

also, it's hard to believe that Robert Trujillo has been in the band as long as Jason now.

i like the new song! listened side by side w/death magnetic and it sounds better, or at least less worse than death magnetic's production imo less thin

didn't expect a second song so soon. wow, this one is a huge improvement!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sajHcUV0F68&sns=fb

When did metal guys stop making those bug-eyed grimace clown faces into the camera in promo shots?

When they realised it looked crap?

No, when they were finished taking a crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iprubvCfdM

i like this!

wow yeah that's killer

bit of a Ride The Lightning-era throwback

gripe: they just had to put in that chain wallet-octane-rawk melodic chorus

praise: not embarrassing or anything

A few thoughts after one listen:

1) It sounds very much like 2 or 3 different Death Magnetic songs. Since I like that album a lot, and listen to it all the time, this makes me happy.
2) The first song released was 3 minutes long - this one is 6 minutes long. There must be a few really long ones on the album to make it even remotely necessary to split it across 2 CDs. I'm looking forward to finding out.
3) Lars Ulrich - current titleholder for Best Drum Faces? I think maybe.

kinda says smth about current music industry that this is the promo video the world's biggest metal act can afford?

nice song

I like this so much better than the first track. Its a damn song. It has a catchy hook! It doesnt try to recreate their past.

Like it

I like it, very Baroness/Mastodonish I think.

Another new song out today - "Atlas, Rise!" They all look really old in the video (except for Trujillo), and it's kinda hilarious, especially Lars's skullet. But the song fucking rips, so whatever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFAcOnhcpGA

the chorus is actually pretty great and doesn't feel like a retread of anything else they've done...best song so far, but i have reasonably high hopes for this album

also like the iron maiden harmony lead break around the 4:30 mark

Wait, how can they be playing and listening to themselves playing at the same time!? Rigged!

Also, do they rehearse in a Guitar Center?

Can't wait until they look truly ancient.

this is kinda more how I saw Metallica aging in an alternate reality world where they never went the TBA/Load route. the songs aren't really as progressive, the album less impactful in terms of metal's narrative, but high quality music.

can't help but feel James' cords are the only thing that holds this back. this is fucking INSPIRED. I mean, hats off to them for trying to branch out on Death Magnetic, but it was missing hooks, and they're all over here.

Also, do they rehearse in a Guitar Center?

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, October 31, 2016 2:51 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

since st anger i think they like to rent out a big space and set up a studio in it

No, man, they rehearse in Guitar Hero.

this also gives credence to what me and others likely meant when people were asking after Death Magnetic "well they're metal again now, wtf do you want, Master of Puppets 6?". Obviously this is a form of bay area thrash that isn't *that* far removed from what they did there, but they're not trying to recreate or plagiarize those works. they're just creating metal that works now.

my issue with DM was always that it felt so plodding to me at times, in a way their earlier, more adventurous material didn't (until some of the worst moments on AJFA). now I'm actually kind of more excited to hear some of their more adventurous stuff on this new alb too, if it sounds like they've regained their ear for catchy riffs and songs.

They certainly do!

https://youtu.be/LnnEPD6pg7A

(x-post)

the iron maiden harmony lead break around the 4:30 mark

The first chorus, at 1:30, feels Maiden-ish to me, too.

when did lars turn into richard simmons?

lars died in the bus crash that killed cliff burton
he was in the afterlife for 3:27 before he was revived
during that time richard simmon's soul transmigrated into his body

Funny you never see Richard Simmons and Lars doing lines of blow at the same time

dylan wrote a song about this

i like the nods to earlier styles. the intro is Dyers Eve-esque, and Lars is at his best when he's unexpectedly throwing fills into the middle of a phrase for no reason (seriously).

second listen and I like this even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxFFAx3H9NU
^^was this posted? they're in good shape!

Also, do they rehearse in a Guitar Center?

most of that video looks to have been recorded in the same place they recorded the live dvd that came with st. anger.
the same fan made flags etc.
i believe its their own rehearsal space/studio.
there is also reference to the place in the new mojo interview with lars.

:D

Kirk channeling 90s Bob Geldof in the Stern performance.
All signs point to a good album, fingers crossed!

whoa i loooove the new song

All signs point to a good album

Except for the length...

http://i.imgur.com/oXEZiCz.gif

Such a strange feeling to be anticipating a Metallica album.

is kirk stealing hair from lars?

are their heads slightly enlarged in this photo? or is it just the angle?

https://up-1.cdn-fullscreendirect.com/production/photos/7549/original/20160818_193900_7549_939482.jpeg

i can't stop looking at it. lars in particular.

super-wide lens has distorted the perspective, making their heads look fuckin weird and their bodies oddly truncated

also looks like they were shot separately at slightly different angles and composited together, which increases the uncanniness

lars looks like a foreshortened jack kirby drawing

Yeah, it's very phonied-up on purpose. I would say a) extreme angle and super-wide lens; b) heads probably slightly enlarged in Photoshop; c) individual shots composited together. And all those things were done in a deliberately crude manner.

it looks like they were going for the cartoonishly large head effect but didn't go all the way with it.
or, that at one point they had a photo sesh with the boys but all that really came out clearly were the heads, so later on they hired some body doubles to pose and then stuck the shots of the old heads on top.

That got me thinking about whether a Metallica Funko POP toy existed. Doesn't seem to, but I found this:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0552/1401/files/Metallica-Wampa_large.jpg?4264

not to harp on kirk's brave battle with male pattern baldness or anything but he looks noticeably more hirsute in the stern video than he does holding that action figure

are their heads slightly enlarged in this photo? or is it just the angle?

It's the Metallica edition of old-skool Nickelodeon show Weinerville.

I don't think Lars is a total shit drummer, but he always seems to be trying so hard, kind of like Joey Fatone or Lance Bass struggling to remember the moves in an N*Sync routine.

I don't think Lars is a total shit drummer, but he always seems to be trying so hard, kind of like Joey Fatone or Lance Bass struggling to remember the moves in an N*Sync routine.

I don't play the drums, but I am totally willing to accept that Metallica songs are difficult to play. That said, live he always seems to be having a blast.

why do his bass drum hits always have this dry, trebley "tk" to them? at least since ...and justice

His face always seems to be doing twice the work of his arms and feet.

There are technically better drummers in metal than Lars Ulrich and on the classic albums there's a lot of knitting together of takes and overdubbing... BUT, it's always been fun to watch drummers attempting to play 'Dyer's Eve' as it is on the album, which apparently is the hardest song to play drum-wise in the Metallica catalogue.

As for Lars' drum sound, at least on the studio albums it's down to whoever is engineering/producing as much as Lars himself.

okay listening on spotify now and woof man this sounds like compressed ass
but to be expected i guess

why do his bass drum hits always have this dry, trebley "tk" to them? at least since ...and justice

this is the production style for most metal these days, right? got to cut through those guitars, and make sure people hear every double-kick hit that you painstakingly played/triggered/programmed.

what made Lars great is his parts and choices imo, more the creative aspect and how his parts worked with the arrangement than the physical. he was my Ringo basically.

(and a good role model for a not-technically-blessed drummer like myself)

There's a great bit in 'Orion' where Lars accents the riff in a strange way, but it works really well.

the whole "lars is a terrible drummer" thing has been so overblown and is wrong imo, feel like at a certain point metal became so regimented with double bass/trigger machinedrum exactitude that his quirks are perceived as "weak"

slayer worship has a lot to do w/it and the idea of slayer as the "ultimate" metal band

otm. i like that even though i'm sure the performances on this album are many takes Pro-Tooled together (just like everything else, nbd), it feels like it's not to a click and has a certain looseness and character to it.

at live shows on the other hand he rushes like a maniac to the point where i don't know how the other members keep it together, but that is kinda charming too.

lars is a v rigid, inflexible, and unmusical drummer but also his limitations give him a very idiosyncratic style, dude's fills are v much his own. this is super apparently on lulu where he improvises a lot and it fuckin rules. also what he does seems v physically exhausting and he plays two hour shows, etc. i know people love to shit on lars but he's so inextricable from metallica's sound

this is super apparent*

slayer worship has a lot to do w/it and the idea of slayer as the "ultimate" metal band

Which is weird as hell since Lombardo is a super loose drummer, the way he drives the band is much more about groove than relentless machine-gun battery.

There's a lot of moments on ...And Justice For All where certain transitions between certain riffs would be far more jarring if it wasn't for Lars helping to glue it together.

i dunno. I mean, I think it's ok to admit Lars isn't a great drummer. it is true that metal is full of such robodrummers like Flo Mounier, Dave Lombardo, Proscriptor, Pete Sandoval, etc that the expectation do tend to be elevated for metal drummers, but I mean there's a reason that the early Sodom albums are revered despite the horrible drumming. nothing Lars does on disc is embarrassing and complements the music fine.

live, though, he *IS* quite sloppy, he speeds up at weird times, he omits beats. If you listen to a MOP-era bootleg, you could barely tell songs like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" from songs like "Damage Inc" because Lars would speed the songs up to where they sounded like a different animal (fortunately he got over those zips by the AJFA era).

They've always been kind of known for being sloppy live (the Cunning Stunts DVD is one of the worst recorded performances of the band I think you could find). They've definitely taken it more serious in recent years, because on listening to bootlegs from the last 5 years, I don't hear the same complacency that I heard say, when they were half-enthusiastically playing their classics during the Load years.

doesn't impact the enjoyment of their live sets any (I do think it's fair to expect bands to play well live for what you pay, but there's a huge diff between Metallica-esque sloppiness, and the outright DGAF attitude HR gives live in Bad Brains these days)...there are some metalheads that will be at concerts basically counting every gaffe and I feel like that's the wrong way to enjoy a metal show but ymmv

speaking of....I am kind of excited of being able to go to a Metallica show and looking forward to the new stuff. I haven't seen them since 1999 and judging for their 2009 Mexico performance (released on DVD a few years ago)....I'd really like to again.

Funnily enough, I was thinking about ,Cunning Stunts last night and how I haven't seen it (or any of the Live Shit stuff) for years... I don't really remember the quality of the performances sticking out, more moments like Newsted's bass solo and Hetfield's terrible acting during the "burning man" section, which surely must be the most unconvincing "what the fuck?" Hetfield has ever uttered.

In fact, does Hammett cock up the 'One' solo on Cunning Stunts or am I confusing it with a different show entirely? It's been a long time!

lol he butchers it badly. he falls about a measure and a half behind and you kind of see it register in his face and he tries to catch up.

the 'burning man' thing was funny. long before the days of social media, I learned of this gimmick via USENet, so I knew it was going to happen at my show. but most of the fans there were telling me "OMG IT WAS REAL, HE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL". so I kept asking them how it was possible that none of that was staged when the flaming man APPEARED IN THE PROMO VIDEO FOR THE TOUR and I was telling people hours before the show it was gonna happen (i was a dick that didn't care about spoilers).

they wree like "coincidence!"

in a way, I kinda hated that aspect of Metallica live. like, the Load tour show I saw was 2:30 - 2:45, and yet a good half hour of that was pointless Hammett guitar solos, pointless Newsted solos, playing fragments of a bunch of songs without actually *playing* them (I'm not talking the medleys, either - I mean they played the intro for "Sanitarium" and at least 2 other songs and just stopped 20 seconds in.

like, if you're going to put on a 2+ hour show, be Springsteen and keep the music going.

they seem to be doing that now though. I could do without the guitar solos tho. drum solos are fun live because of the athletic nature of them, but when I hear a 2-3 minute disembodied solo I'm kinda like "i'd rather be hearing a tune".

re: lar's drumming, whoever compared him to ringo upthread otm, of course there are better drummers than lars but the guy can swing, and it is not possible to swing when you are playing double bass blast beats the whole damn time

what made Lars great is his parts and choices imo, more the creative aspect and how his parts worked with the arrangement than the physical. he was my Ringo basically.

Yeah, he's not a great drummer, but he's a very good composer of drum parts.

i've never thought of ringo as sloppy or not a good drummer

Lars is weird in Metallica becuz he's actually the lead guitarist not the drummer.

people sometimes see simplicity and taste as negatives in a drummer, compared to flashier contemporaries.

They absolutely killed on Howard Stern recently, worth seeking out. Also I am my own best friend.

First live performance of the new song. Lars is keeping the beard, it seems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHOrR2XvEcU

everything about that -- including and/or especially hetfield's denim vest w/ patches -- just makes me want to search for vintage live clips of "battery."

i do think the new stuff i've heard is on an upward swing but sorta like how a bowlful of necco wafers is better than a bowlful of nails.

always thought lars' drumming on Lulu was spectacular because of his limitations, it's the sound of a drummer really struggling, you feel the weight of the beats and it fits the atmosphere and concept of the record nicely - the doomy/sludgy genre vibes too

one of the underrated things about Lulu is that they are working with Lou's guys so they actually sound pretty good instead of their usual active rock production

always thought lars' drumming on Lulu was spectacular because of his limitations, it's the sound of a drummer really struggling, you feel the weight of the beats and it fits the atmosphere and concept of the record nicely - the doomy/sludgy genre vibes too

exactly!

Just finished listening to this. (It leaked, so I torrented it - I've already paid for the 3CD deluxe edition.) As I suspected, they split it across two discs because they felt like that's how it worked best artistically, just like Baroness did with Yellow & Green. The total running time is just over 77 minutes - shorter than Load. Most of the songs are in the 6-7 minute range; the longest is 8:15 ("Halo on Fire," the last song on Disc 1).

There are some real surprises here; it's not all head-down thrash. "Dream No More" might be the slowest non-ballad Metallica have ever recorded; it's basically doom, and Hetfield delivers a vocal unlike anything I've ever heard from him, at the top of his range, almost keening. There are some Baroness-ish guitar harmonies on "Halo on Fire," and the bass and drums are kind of "Until It Sleeps"-ish. Lots of midtempo stuff on the second disc, with the exception of "Spit Out the Bone," a seven-minute thrash-blast that I think features Trujillo's first bass solo on record (fuzzed-out, loud as hell). It's definitely heavier and more knuckle-dragging than Death Magnetic, which retained some boogie elements from the Load/ReLoad era mixed with Black Album-style heaviness. This time, they're back to full-on metal-ness; no ballads, even though Hetfield is really singing a lot of the time, and sounding really good.

I'm gonna be listening to this all week, and reviewing it at length for Burning Ambulance. (An editor contacted me about possibly writing it up, but he was looking for a negative review and I couldn't promise him one - hadn't heard it yet - so I didn't get the assignment.)

i'm so excited

Only listened to the first half so far. Not really convinced my the slower material just yet.

he was looking for a negative review

Is this normal in music criticism?

but he was looking for a negative review and I couldn't promise him one - hadn't heard it yet - so I didn't get the assignment.)
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Saturday, November 12, 2016 4:04 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what the fuck is up with this shit

I'm not gonna reveal the name of the site, but it's very popular on ILX and a number of ILXors, in fact, write for it.

I've heard of things like that happening in the past, but I can't believe it's still happening.

fuck those sites/magazines who insist on negative (or positive) reviews. Why not just review something fairly?

i love this so far but i'm a huge metallica apologist and lulu fan so ymmv. it is way better than death magnetic

"Dream No More" might be the slowest non-ballad Metallica have ever recorded

i don't think this is true though. the tempo (and overall vibe) is v reload

it fuckin rocks though

After listening to "Dream No More" 2 or 3 more times, I think it's Sabbath-meets-"Sad But True," with more groove, because Trujillo is a more groove-oriented bassist than Newsted. He listens to a ton of jazz, worships Jaco Pastorius, was in Infectious Grooves...all that seeps into Metallica now. You can hear it on "Halo On Fire," too.

I will probably only ever listen to a 7/8 track edit (77 minutes is just way too long for what they do, I've never understood their fetish for long-ass albums) but this is pretty damn good. The opening 4-track run is very satisfying.

This album makes me so happy. There was about 20 minutes or so of filler on Death Magnetic, but for a 77 minute album (really, it's more like two LPs of 37 and 40 minute lengths) it's so taut. You can hear a renewed sense of fun in their music now that they've gone back to their metal roots, and there are some cool little experimental moments like Phil mentioned that work very well.

First Rush's Clockwork Angels, then Maiden's Book of Souls, now this one. It feels like my favourite bands have been rediscovering that old magic at the same time.

Honestly the other Metallica album that most comes to mind when listening to disc 1 is Kill Em All.

the stuff on disc two kinda runs together but i do really love "manUNkind" plus i'll never stop loling at the title

the stuff on disc two kinda runs together

Agreed; disc 1 is definitely the best stuff, but the last track is fucking massive.

I like "Spit out the Bone" but it could do with two or three fewer jam-out sections

Makes me glad that there's a song about Cthulhu on this.

After my second listen I am forced to conclude that there are good bits here and there, but overall this is mediocre.

After a while I just put on Ride the Lightning and all is forgotten.

Apparently Metallica have made videos for every track on the new album, which are premiering on a bunch of websites across the globe today and tomorrow. The clip for what I currently think is the best song on the album, "Now That We're Dead," will be on Pitchfork at 6 PM EST.

am i the only one bored silly w video albums? i just don't care. they're like the futon of the music world.

this song is so fuckin good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqIQvE5R1tU

Who's singing the lead vocals there? Clearly James on backup...

looking forward to the 'thrash only' edit of this album

holy shit, their new sound rules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXJifYl_byU

damn spit out the bone goes hard

"it is true that metal is full of such robodrummers like Flo Mounier, Dave Lombardo, Proscriptor, Pete Sandoval, etc"

dave is not a robodrummer! so much personality within the confines of the genre.

would also love to hear flo front a jazz big band. that would be awesome.

Proscriptor isnt robo either wtf

Flo Mounier is only as inhuman as his band requires.

i was so in love with the first grip inc. album this year. i played it a ton. so great.

also, there is nothing robo about something like this. extra-human maybe, but not robotic. there is so much shit he has to do in one song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDvaht9JnIM

Word!

So this Metallica album is pretty tepid. I'm starting to think St. Anger was the best career move they ever made because they can squirt out an album like this and people think its great. There are some good riffs here and there (I actually prefer the ones that sound like they're dipping back into pre-Metallica metal to the blatant fanservice chop-chop stuff), but it just feels like a pulled punch. And Voice Lesson Jaymz is not a dude I want to hear.

I mean it took four plus years to make this, I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's kind of lifeless.

video for spit out the bone is hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46Z0-HXySo

So this Metallica album is pretty tepid. I'm starting to think St. Anger was the best career move they ever made because they can squirt out an album like this and people think its great. There are some good riffs here and there (I actually prefer the ones that sound like they're dipping back into pre-Metallica metal to the blatant fanservice chop-chop stuff), but it just feels like a pulled punch. And Voice Lesson Jaymz is not a dude I want to hear.

If you don't like Metallica, you don't like Metallica, but I don't think we heard the same record. (I had some thoughts.)

Sorry, I'm not a brand loyalist. Hardwired is basically a bunch of rehashed bits of older records with very little that's new, which is fine, but it's also delivered with a calculation and lack of energy that I find off-putting.

It's fine, like a Deep Purple album from the 1990s, but ultimately insignificant, like a Deep Purple album from the 1990s.

Now That We're Grandads

I'm not a "brand loyalist" either - I've still never heard Load or ReLoad all the way through. And if you read my review, you'll see that I don't love this album unreservedly. But the good songs are really, really good. Better than the work bands half their age are doing.

better late than never, i guess. ten years after the thrash revival or whatever. it's what a lot of people have wanted them to do for decades. and if anyone knows how to do old metallica it would be them. but i disagree about those bands half their age. there are so many bands now who have taken what metallica did in the 80's to places that metallica aren't really capable of taking it. cuz they old. but they helped invent this shit so it's okay. that song on the stern show is a lovely bit of nostalgia. and way more satisfying than most back to their roots/return to form/reunion/fan ploys just because it is EXACTLY what old fans want to hear with nothing else added.

(i've only heard the songs posted here..)

(and not even now really. people have been improving on what they helped start since the 80's. and i'm not talking about just thrash or nu-thrash. all metal. they were very inspirational! but...time marches on...)

Lords of Summer is pretty hilarious

i got nothin' against old people though. i dig that new gorguts EP.

as far as 80's bands go, i was digging the new neurosis the other night. even though it sounds exactly like the last 15 years or so of neurosis and albini drums sometimes make me wanna cry. just because it dawns on me that i can never hear my fave neurosis era without that drum sound. unless i go see them live.

i disagree that this is strictly them trying to xerox the master of puppets era, it's calling back to that but this is definitely a record that happened post-black album, post load, etc....there's stylistic and melodic things that changed for them after those albums and even as thrash as this is there's still some of that groovy boogie element

if people don't dig it fine but i think they do thrash and meld it with very commercial modern/active rock on this album in a way that many of the younger bands don't do

it's not a masterpiece and has some fat, but i guess i care less about that now that i can quick make a spotify list that tightens it up a bit

also, this is one of the best locust star intros on youtube. you HAVE to watch this intro. it makes me laugh. i showed it to rufus last night and we both cracked up. it's so insane. start the video at 6:50. must see t.v.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llTESFYfnds&t=460s

did that vid not show up?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llTESFYfnds&t=587s

I've still never heard Load or ReLoad all the way through

given how much you like "now that we're dead," "dream no more," and "halo on fire" imo you owe it to yourself to at least hear an edit of both which whoa i made one a few years ago http://open.spotify.com/user/unbornwhiskey/playlist/0uwWqgH7Juacnd9A5Jbi8a

also ums otm. also the most interesting parts of this record i think are when the songs sound like hybrids of everything they've ever done (minus st. anger i guess). there's kind of a flatness and emptiness to the sound, and it's really the james/lars show throughout (lulu had me hoping kirk would contribute a lot to this record but lol i guess not because he lost his iphone full of riffs) but otherwise i like this wayyy more than expected for what it is. i'm not as huge on death magnetic as phil either

also i wish they pushed themselves harder and there were more moments like the bridge of "atlas rise"

video for spit out the bone is hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m46Z0-HXySo

― niels, Friday, November 18, 2016 4:28 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

amazing

"if people don't dig it fine but i think they do thrash and meld it with very commercial modern/active rock on this album in a way that many of the younger bands don't do"

except for tons of stoner metal/rock bands. who sound like thrash, kyuss, and alice in chains. and who will never make it big. but they do it anyway. even alice in chains do it.

That video reminds me of something I didn't talk about in my review, which is that the guitar and drum sounds on this record remind me of Psalm 69-era Ministry. It was especially noticeable when I was listening in my car yesterday.

i don't really have a problem with the music/sound of st. anger or the one after that but i honestly don't know how people listen to them with that voice and those lyrics on top. they are so in your face with their badness. and even the music is only remarkable because metallica made the music. those albums would be completely forgotten if they had been made my nobodies. in the hypothetical world. certainly not remarkable within the context of what was going on in heavy music when they were released. except maybe as a public interest story. sepultura's dante XXI album way better than st. anger by the way. similar in a way. sepultura's album a blessed 40 minutes long. it's also completely forgotten. came out a few years after.

i should just leave you guys to your fandom though. i don't want to bum out your good feels. i don't know what happened to those neurosis videos though. sorry about that. live at union transfer in 2015. go on youtube and watch that song. it will make your day. just that bulldozing start. so beautiful.

Neurosis are the most boring band in metal not named Katatonia.

I'm with ya Scott, what I've heard of this is as tedious and uninspiring as anything they've done after the 80s. As far as Neurosis go they haven't done anything creatively new recently but at least they've still got some fire and energy left in them.

is this where i show my pretty little face

no, no. life is categorically too short. enjoy your new meshuggah album

i was just listening to the new meshuggah on youtube.

not trying to sell anyone on neurosis in general. just that one moment where they all come in at the beginning of that song is kinda everything i love about heavy music encapsulated in one moment. so over the top and amazing. watch it! it made my week for sure.

I watched it and it's impressive but nothing tops that performance of Locust Star from Ozzfest(!) imo

That video reminds me of something I didn't talk about in my review, which is that the guitar and drum sounds on this record remind me of Psalm 69-era Ministry.

― ultros ultros-ghali, Friday, November 18, 2016 10:09 AM (twenty-three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is this where i show my pretty little face

― imago, Friday, November 18, 2016 10:18 AM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no, no. life is categorically too short. enjoy your new meshuggah album

― imago, Friday, November 18, 2016 10:19 AM (thirteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

go fuck a vacuum cleaner

whoa that is some aggressive stuff. it's almost like you've been listening to thrash metal

the midtempo songs aren't doing much for me, but the thrashier ones are genuinely thrilling, i like the way they break the riffs up into unpredictable little cells/phrases, AJFA-style.

sh@kedownUNkind

>:(

Lords of Summer has a weird mix of the sloppiest and tightest drumming out of all the songs I've heard. The kick pattern on the bridge sounds like it's veering out of time: https://youtu.be/zaZswCtNmEg?t=139

But the double kick sections are super mechanized, wouldn't be surprised if there was some digital assistance (which, who cares). If I was producing I would have fixed the half-time sections and left in some sloppy double kick though. Maybe it's Lars' little joke on all the fans who hassle him for not being a double bass monster.

i should just leave you guys to your fandom though. i don't want to bum out your good feels

you aren't! this is a v flawed record, i just find parts of it legitimately exciting and like focusing on those. def feel anyone who's like "why do i need this when i could just listen to justice"

but i generally root for metallica bc i think they're a v interesting band to think about

so ashamed i like this instead of all those way cooler underground bands

you should be, but you are probably just really old. so, it's okay. try the latest vektor album!

I did awhile back I like it

vektor, who of course do not at all recall any iconic first wave thrash bands starting with the letter "v"

damn i somehow missed out on last decade's thrash revival... i was scraping the barrel of 80s stuff at the time too (sanctuary, vio-lence,...)... guess being a poser does have its drawbacks.. i was aware of municipal waste

this is a cool album: https://www.discogs.com/Sabbat-History-Of-A-Time-To-Come/master/42892

i never said that good current underground bands are cooler than metallica - though most of them are - my point was kinda: metal has gone in sooooo many different directions over the years and done so many things and that was all done without metallica. they are a modern building block for sure, but nobody has needed them for guidance/inspiration in decades. so you can probably understand why the whole "hey, this doesn't suck so bad!" responses from long-time fans are always gonna be a little tedious to contemplate. when there is so much genuinely good and exciting stuff out there.

but, you know, the songs that i've heard don't suck so bad. and i know people like to root for old favorites.

"damn i somehow missed out on last decade's thrash revival."

literally hundreds of bands and very few of them were that memorable. but for people who just wanted endless amounts of that vintage sound they delivered.

and every band who ever made an album in the 80's went on the road again. every single one.

and, yes, the town i live in has their own resident thrash band that will probably still be playing shows when i'm 80. they're not bad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb0D0-aMhpY

Here's the thing: Metallica have been around for more than 30 years. (35 years since their first demo.) And yeah, there are good young bands now. There always are. I like Visigoth a lot. I like Vektor a lot. But Visigoth and Vektor are not gonna be here in 30 years. Visigoth and Vektor are not gonna be here in 5 years, I don't think. They're gonna disappear, just like the neo-retro-thrash bands from the mid-2000s that I liked (Fueled By Fire, Merciless Death) disappeared. Now, how much longer are Metallica gonna be around? I don't know. Maybe 5 more years, maybe 10. At their current rate of productivity, they've probably got one more album in 'em. But they exist in their own universe. They've sold more albums than any 100 other bands you can name, combined. And no metal band coming up now will ever out-sell them. So honestly, I don't really think of them in the context of "the metal scene." Just like I don't think of Iron Maiden in the context of "the metal scene." I think of Metallica and Iron Maiden (and Judas Priest and Ozzy) in the context of global culture. They're that big. Indeed, of those four, Metallica are the biggest. So when a new Metallica album comes out, I don't think, "Yeah, this is good, but it's not really pushing metal forward like Oranssi Pazuzu," or whoever the fuck. That's not Metallica's job. Their job is to make good Metallica records, and to sell out arenas.

and, at one point, be lou reed's backing band

I wouldn't mind if Vektor wasn't around in 5 years, but kinda doubt it. That's some overwrought, under actual-good-riffing shit. (not an endorsement of the Decibel list)

I don't really care about Metallica, but I can certainly understand if people are happy their new album doesn't suck. Just like I'm happy when there were a few decent songs on the last Beach Boys record. For bands like that, there's always going to be some happiness when they remind you why you like them in the first place (however thinly, or impossible to defend objectively)

wait, i'm not supposed to think about metallica within the context of metal? well okay then i won't. they are pop culture sensations with a new album out. got it.

i honestly really enjoy half of this, so basically one full regular length album

i think the faster ones are generally all good and i am not just jumping through all these mental hoops.

i was not a big fan of death magnetic their previous "return to form" album and had no expectations for a new metallica album in 2016.

but i appreciate understanding pat on the head from all of you with better taste than i.

wait, i'm not supposed to think about metallica within the context of metal? well okay then i won't. they are pop culture sensations with a new album out. got it.

I mean, they're obviously a metal band, but they're so much bigger than any other metal band that it's like comparing the Rolling Stones to some random act on Alligator or Blind Pig.

i like how expensive it sounds. 1%er metal.

Remember how I said a certain website wouldn't assign me a review of this album unless I promised to slam it? They found someone else.

Funny, I read that review and thought it seemed forced / contrived. Correct about the drum sound though.

Haven't heard it yet but I'm enjoying the hell out of new material from other 80s acts like Testament and Asphyx so why not Metallica?

TESTAMENT omg i had forgotten about testament

I haven't listened to the new Testament yet either. The first single is all about reptoid conspiracy theory, which I don't find as funny anymore since an Alex Jones-approved candidate became our next President, so I've been blowing it off.

"Haven't heard it yet but I'm enjoying the hell out of new material from other 80s acts like Testament and Asphyx so why not Metallica?"

the difference is those bands have never stopped doing what they have always done. there are lots of 80's people who still make good metal.

unless they are exodus.

actually i don't think i've ever heard an entire 21st century exodus album. so that's unfair. but i don't think i want to.

i love 21st century immolation though. though i didn't hear the last one. i will get to it eventually.

a lot of old bands still going are like The Coasters now or whatever. one original guy and young guys. but that's true of a lot of old bands. i was gonna go see wishbone ash but i think it's just one original guy and young guys. i liked the last Grave album a lot. that's a case like that.

Thats not really true, most 80s bands have spent years in the woods, and a good number of them have branched out into sylistically different stuff. I mean, maybe not as far out there a conceptual rock opera with Lou Reed, but still.

Testament should go back to their roots. record an album in a cave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJnDQngDZrY

well this has been educational

anyway i agree the 2nd half isn't really very good, I did an edit of this that basically takes the 1st half and grabs "Spit out the Bone" from the 2nd half, got it down to 44 minute run time, tweaked the order a bit to fit (in my mind) more old school vinyl sequencing like master had...

anyway it's way less of a slog and really boils it down to the strengths...would def stump for this as their best since the Black Album

oops

spotify:user:matthelgeson:playlist:4sciRNe3CPLDlOIPvxaECB

https://open.spotify.com/user/matthelgeson/playlist/4sciRNe3CPLDlOIPvxaECB

Interesting. I'd reverse the positions of "Moth Into Flame" and "Dream No More."

yeah yr right, just did

final tracklist:

Hardwired
Atlas, Rise!
Now That We're Dead
Halo of Fire
Moth into Flame
Dream No More
Spit Out the Bone

7 songs, 44 minutes

yeah changing moth into flame and dream no more really helps the 2nd "side" good call

Anyone silly enough to complain about the length of a Metallica album clearly has forgotten, or is to young, to realize that the shortest record by far is Ride the Lightning at 47 minutes. Met have always gone big, from day one.

Anyone silly enough to complain about the length of a Metallica album clearly has forgotten, or is to young, to realize that the shortest record by far is Ride the Lightning at 47 minutes. Met have always gone big, from day one.

― A. Begrand, Monday, November 21, 2016 1:48 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

kill em all 51 mins
ride the lightning 47
master of puppets 54
and justice for all 65
black album 62

first five albums not really that long as far as albums go.

subsequent albums

load 79
reload 76
st anger 76
death magnetic 74
hard wired ... to self destruct 77

First three albums were very long for the single LP era. 54 minutes is a lot of music to cram on on LP.

wow those are long albums -- spot checking all Maiden, Priest, Motorhead, Rush, Venom, Black Sabbath up to 1983, don't see even one 50-minute studio record, all usually in the 35-45 minute range.

they all came out originally on CD too. the original albums. though kill 'em all only came out on CD in the u.k.

Anyone silly enough to complain about the length of a Metallica album clearly has forgotten, or is to young, to realize that the shortest record by far is Ride the Lightning at 47 minutes. Met have always gone big, from day one.

― A. Begrand, Monday, November 21, 2016 3:48 PM (twenty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i was just trying to cut out the bad songs and get it down to closer to the original run than the 75-90 minute later stuff and also make something i wanted to listen if that's silly i guess, i bought the rtl and on on cassette so i'd think i was old enough

so much metalsplaining from Neil DeThrash Tysons itt

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15085673_1700964110217234_7051316989877563510_n.jpg?oh=4b79bb7ee5f67fa9d4459c37f31bfac5&oe=58CFF654

i always forget that upper mississippi is matt h. i remember him!

hi skot :)

i got to write my bad pun i was unduly proud of which is the important thing

personally, 50+ minutes of thrash is doing it wrong, but to each his own. If I was a Metallica fan, I would probably have made a shorter edit too (tho I would also say Metallica version of thrash included ballads, midtempo stuff, etc)

Neil DeThrash Tyson

I wouldn't cut "ManUNkind" despite the title. It's the most structurally interesting thing on the record.

kill em all 51 mins
ride the lightning 47
master of puppets 54
and justice for all 65
black album 62

first five albums not really that long as far as albums go.

No, those were long albums for their time! Ride The Lightning excepted.

I was surprised they crammed all of Master of Puppets onto one record, rather than releasing it as a double like they did with ...And Justice For All, for sound quality reasons more than anything else.

35-45 minutes is the optimal length for a vinyl LP. Even I know that, and I fucking hate vinyl.

so, has anyone picked up the 3cd edition with the 'Riff Origins' version ?

i mean, does that just mean random studio riff/jams - or are they actual songs in demo form ?

That idea was scrapped - the third disc is now a finalized version of "Lords of Summer" (the song they released as a demo a few months back, or maybe last year, I forget), some cover songs (a Ronnie James Dio/Rainbow medley, Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow," Deep Purple's "When a Blind Man Cries") and a bunch of live tracks (nine from a Record Store Day performance, and the first live performance of "Hardwired"). The third disc is almost as long as the first two put together, btw.

I was surprised they crammed all of Master of Puppets onto one record, rather than releasing it as a double like they did with...

When Elektra signed Metallica and reissued RTL in December '84, they were still considered an underground band. I don't think sales really took off until after MOP was released, so the label was probably unwilling to spend the $ on a double at that point. I read Circus, Creem and Hit Parader, but Metallica didn't get on my radar until I was at a Musicland in late summer '84 and I overheard a hesher asking the clerk, "dude, do you have any METALLICA?" They did not, and I couldn't find a copy until that Elektra reissue. I bought the cassette too :)

It seems weird that all these reviews are complaining about the drum sound. And praising the drum sound on the black album at the same time? To me they sound very similar, and the black album had a lot of high end attack on the kick drums too.

my edit would prob be something like:

1. hardwired
2. atlas, rise!
3. now that we're dead
4. manunkind
5. dream no more
6. moth into the flame
7. spit out the bone
8. halo on fire

shouts out to "am i savage" tho

lol that's the exact same tracklist I suggested on another board with a slightly different order

I can't get the chorus of Atlas, Rise out of my head, it's getting quite annoying.

i like this. solid B to B minus for me.

definitely think the first half is the best, but I do not dig "Dream No More" at all - seems to drag.

like it a lot better than Death Magnetic, even though a few spots aren't too far removed from it. songwriting is better, even if flawed due to having too much fat?

also re: robodrummer comments upthread, probably used the wrong word for it, I meant robo as in "these guys can play fuckin' anything" rather than "they're soulless technical machines with no personality".

also feel like James sings more and more like WEird Al on each album

also how did I not know there was a new Diamond Head album and that it's good?

Lords of Summer should have been on the record proper, it's a solid Kill 'Em All-type track. I guess it would have stood out, it's too much fun.

i didn't care for it, tbh.

I think the main prob with this album (if it's a problem at all) is that everybody wanted it to be this hilarious failure or this amazing success and it's neither. it's pretty good. which tbh is good enough for me at this point. i still have the classics when I want them but I like having newer material I can actually throw on/enjoy live from the boyz.

also the live tracks are fire on the bonus disc. love the version of "Helpless". James' voice is cracking like a motherfucker all over it tho, god love him. but they play the songs with serious attitude again.

ManUNkind

Not a D.R.I. cover?

Their job is to make good Metallica records, and to sell out arenas.

Was just trying to think of a "shit sandwich" approach to their performance review. "So, the good news is you guys are selling out arenas... now, with regards to making good Metallica records, here's where we've got some problems."

I'm not as enthusiastic now - burning out on this one quicker than I thought. still a solid B to B minus in my opinion but doesn't have the replay-ability I hoped.

psyched on this new interview with James

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6QPTawR14

xpost
i think that part of the burnout for me is how intensely terrible the tones and production

There's a Song Exploder episode on 'Moth Into Flame', pretty dope, I really enjoyed hearing Lars talk explicitly about structuring Metallica songs.

heh I kinda got into this album again after getting burnt out on it. it does hang around....

still stand by my B minus tho.

it was p cool hearing Lars' "fill-envy" re Mastodon

givin this another swing...how we still feelin about it

I still listen to it all the time. More often than I listen to Ride, Puppets or Justice (my favorite of theirs).

Ktulu Awaken!

I've enjoyed most of the tracks in isolation when they come up on shuffle etc, really couldn't be arsed to listen to it all in one go again. Definitey their catchiest songs since s/t though.

I still love it. The second disc has improved with repeated listens, but disc one is their best sequenced collection of tracks since Justice.

I know James sings in his Beatallica voice now but I'd be lyin if I said I wasn't stoked to see them again for the first time since I was 19. I realize I grew up too late to see the Metallica that conquered the US but this is good enough for me.

plus I'm not a poser anymore so I might not get beat up this time

I think the reason I never came around on "Dream No More" is cos Jaymz sings "soh-ooooo-ohhhhhhhl"

i will be honest, the song is winning me over a bit now

From my Facebook page last November:

Decided to watch all of the videos for the new Metallica album in sequence as on the album and here's what I came up with...

"Hardwired" - Damage, Inc. Hell yeah.

"Atlas, Rise!" - I love how the band is being ridiculous in the video. The song makes me think that Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets never existed and instead the band went right from NWOBHM worship of the debut directly into the bone-dry repeated riffs of And Justice For All. It goes on about a minute too long, but that's okay.

"Now That We're Dead" - Here the band seems to fall prey to the self-indulgence that marked the post-Black Album through St. Anger period with a major saving grace: They didn't forget the riff. And that's fucking important (and maybe the main reason that period is so forgettable).

The chunky guitar actually reminds me of shit-kicking Pepper Keenan-led Corrosion of Conformity.

Great Kirk Hammett solo.

"Moth Into Flame" - Kind of "Disposable Heroes" meets "Dyer's Eve" but slowed down about half the speed. Thin Lizzy vibe on the harmonized bridge, a very classic rock feel in general.

The chunky underneath rhythm really drives the song though in ways neither of those songs had though the structure remains. Possibly it's because the video director fixates on Robert Trujillo, relative to the other members, but I feel that he had a lot to do with this track's sound. It swings.

This sounds like what Rick Rubin wanted to get from the band on Death Magnetic, which while I remember thinking it was a return to form when I first got it, I haven't played it at all since.

Great chorus. It's stuck in my head since I first heard it.

"Dream No More" - Cthulhu returns, but promptly falls asleep, too bored to eat anyone. The dirgy plodder goes nowhere slow and I'm not fond of the video. Sad but true.

"Halo on Fire" - The band plays some "Fight Club" with an audience which is noticeably diverse in gender and race but lacks old people. The band spends the album trying to rekindle the days of yore but then ignores us geezers when it comes time to throw down! I guess we're us old farts aren't as pretty.

I spent a lot more time watching the storyline than I did listening to the track but that was as much for the fact it was the first real story video as it was the song was lamentably forgettable. I honestly don't recall a single thing about it, but I find myself pondering the meaning that the young woman was fighting all the same people she an into on the street.

Decent, thought-provoking video. I hope they don't do the song live.

"Confusion" - Twenty-five years ago (has it been that long?) "One" told the story of a male soldier sent off to war who came back with missing limbs. In today's modern time, the warrior is female and she has all her body parts intact, she's just losing her mind. And maybe that war is not on the battlefield but from the boardroom where she got groped one too many times at the copier.

It's a different time for sure.

The song has a really powerful video, easily the best so far. The song only goes on for 6:41 but it seems like one of those Justice-era tracks that go on forever. I'm not sure that's a good thing though the track doesn't suck, it just fails to match the intensity of the revived thrash of the album.

Sorry, but I have trouble being nostalgic for the moments when Metallica lost the plot and "Confusion" seems exactly like the late '80s Metallica where us old fans were still paying attention, but nervous.

Lars really takes control of this one with his unique, stilted style that so many cannot stand but I find refreshingly honest. Leave the double bass blast beats to the Dave Lombardo wannabes, he just throws out that tinny machine gun fill and ties together parts of songs that would seem a lot more clunky if someone who preferred technical ecstasy to feel was behind the kit.

"ManUNkind" - This has to be Kirk's baby, Aside from the fact that he is all over the track, flailing away, he seems to be the one member of the band who would push them in a direction that was simultaneously thought-provoking and yet also so simple.

He also seems the one guy in the band who might like black metal and I can identify with that. As someone hurtling towards fifty who grew up in a thrash underground, I think black metal is some of the most interesting shit around these days. Bands can be raw and primal or doomy and powerful or intricate and shoegazing all within the parameters of the genre, something thrash never could manage.

Metallica always wanted to escape the confines of thrash and even of metal itself, so I can imagine that they might feel some envy as the new generation of metal makers can ignore constraints (and also with a freedom that selling a bazillion albums actually makes tougher, which explains Load and Reload all too well) and actually gain appeal rather than lose it.

And it's cool to see a vintage Blasphemy shirt and Watain-like pigs head in a Metallica video, especially one that is quintessential Metallica in some ways, especially the way James Hetfield's voice harmonizes with the guitars when he sings "Quest to find" during the chorus.

"Here Comes Revenge" - If "Death Magnetic" was an older Metallica seeking out what inspired them to make "Kill 'Em All," this track is an even older Metallica seeking out what inspired them to do the Black Album.

I think the video is a way for James Hetfield to feel better about hunting.

"Am I Savage?" - Yes I am.

Here Metallica hark back to the ultimate metal influence upon all, Black Sabbath, and not just because of the Brontosaurian, slow-paced riffs, but also the lyrical side of the band, a modern-day "Paranoid" where after you're finished with your woman you're left all alone, selfish, and unsure of exactly who you are and what to do next.

My feminist wife (who, full disclosure, hates Metallica in all forms) saw something different in the video, the played-out tale of the misunderstood white dude whose personal battles with rage seem to profound to him while he votes for Trump and skates on privilege.

"Maybe I don't understand," she said dripping with sarcasm, "because I'm not savage."

Touche, honey.

"Murder One" - I miss Lemmy too.

"Spit Out the Bone" - The thrashing conclusion to the album envisions Dave Mustaine not getting kicked out of Metallica and instead staying with them and making an even more paranoid "Justice" by making it sound like "Countdown to Extinction."

This is especially evident with the way James Hetfield sings, pissed off spittle-laced anger at a world gone horribly wrong. This is actually indicative of the whole album. Hetfield's voice has led to a lot of people poking fun (check out the audio clips of nothing but several minutes of him saying "Yeah" spanning several decades for three minutes straight) and it is a bone of contention for us old fans who, frankly, find his vocal style to determine our shrug-style.

Not so much on this album and especially this album closer where he screams with righteous fury rather than calculatedly intoning the words. It's hard to describe, but he certainly was able to irritate the fuck out those of us who missed the way he sounded on "Ride The Lightning," and he's not pissing us off nearly as much this time around, and not at all here.

The video and song imagine a post-apocalyptic world where machine rules over man and spoiler alert: The machines win in the end.

In conclusion, Metallica has continued to be ambitious with "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct," only now that means allowing themselves to use their past as inspiration rather than something to run from.

It's not "Master Of Puppets." But that's okay, it's not "Reload" either. The band didn't rekindle time in the garage but at least tried to remember what it was like there and the result is a lot more genuine than "Death Magnetic," which in retrospect seems like the prototype for what the band wanted to do, they just weren't ready yet.

Now they are. And it's a pretty cool thing to witness, even if it's not as perfect as childhood memories.

they fucking played "Call of Ktulu" in Denmark earlier this year!

honestly this is the most jazzed I've been to hear new Metallica songs live since......ever? I never saw them in the heyday

Metallica were so goddamn sick tonight. First time seeing them since 1999. they played "Fight Fire with Fire"

Haha just finding out that 'Hardwired' album cover is real. What the fuck that is so awful. It's easily the worst Metallica album cover and probably one of the worst ones in the history of rock music.

they are great live

probably one of the worst ones in the history of rock music.

ahem

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Iron_Maiden-Dance_of_Death.jpg

now that we're dead my dee-uhhhhh

first disc of this kicks ass top to bottom

idk why I'm putting this here but anyway I'm watching Through the Never now because I'm off of work tomorrow and this is basically just a concert video with a silly subplot with Dane Dehaan tacked in.

like Metallica didn't think people would pack movie theaters to listen to their shit on its own merits, but like all they do is play music for 20 minutes and every so often you see Dane DeHaan's boss say something like "ok I need you to drive 713 blocks to get a ham sandwich with this obscure mustard for the boys do it or you're fired".

oh shit then DeHaan gets into the fakest looking car wreck I've ever seen omg lol. van rolls with no seatbelt on and then Metallica inexplicably goes into "Ride the Lightning"

James gets really angry at a malfunctioning microphone and throws it over. random roadie gets a dramatic cameo with a look of consternation.

van rolls with no seatbelt on

That hits a little too close to home!

haha!

James gets really angry at a malfunctioning microphone and throws it over. random roadie gets a dramatic cameo with a look of consternation.

they actually kept this malfunction for the audio release version.
it pisses me off each time i listen to the album.
maybe if i watch the film then maybe i will appreciate this key part of the storyline more ?

James should have gotten an oscar, total gravitas with that microphone