Metallica United States
"This release is, if nothing else, interesting. It has received a lot of criticism so far, and this criticism seems to be primarily directed at Lou Reed's vocals. I can kind of follow that, as Lou Reed definitely is an acquired taste (I mean, his first lines in 'Pumping Blood' should be enough to turn any power-vocals-loving metal fan off). I am not a Lou Reed fan, but I kind of like how his spoken word-ish vocals are laid on top of the heavy music. Yes, it is a bit arty-farty, and, yes, when he tries to sing, he's off-key and all that. But the tension between the spoken-word, poetry-slam-like vocals and Metallica's heavy music works quite well, in my opinion. Tracks like 'The View' and 'Frustration' are actually quite cool. They are heavy and sort of groovy with a couple of uptempo sloppy passages every now and then, and I quite like Lou Reed's spoken word-ish vocals that are overlaid on top of the music - and then there is, of course, James Hetfield's new slogan "I am the table!" in 'The View'. And the following track 'Pumping Blood' with its ventures into both alt rock, thrash metal, noise rock and more traditional metal is another interesting track I think where Lou Reed's bizarre vocals go well with the music. The dark and acoustic 'Little Dog' also comes across quite okay, which also applies to 'Dragon' where the intensity of Reed's vocals actually follow the rises and falls of intensity in the music (something which some of the other tunes on the album lack). Of course, not everything is swell and dandy, and the opening track 'Brandenburg Gate' is a bit too sloppy for my tastes, while the fierce repetitive primitive thrash riff that constitutes the majority of the musical make-up of the tune does not go especially well with Reed's moaning vocals here (well, to be fair, it's Reed's vocal that don't go well with the music), and the atmospheric noise in the background ends up being sort of annoying. Also, while otherwise a cool track, the "spermless like a girl" breakdown of 'Frustration' sort of falls flat and comes across as unintentionally funny. I think that the one track where it all comes together the best is 'Iced Honey' - probably because it sounds like a more typical Lou Reed song which has just been added distorted guitars. It comes across as a melancholic and repetitive hard rock song whose sloppiness goes well together with the Lou Reed aspect of this release. So, yes, I think this is an interesting release and I am glad that I have not just rejected it before listening to it, because I found it enjoyable, and, while it will never be a 'Kill 'em All', 'Ride the Lightning', 'Master of Puppets', '...And Justice for All', 'Metallica', 'Death Magnetic' or even 'St. Anger' - not by a long shot - I do enjoy this release much more than 'Load' and 'Reload'. Also, if one ignores the vocals and lyrics and focuses on the music itself, one will find that it is actually not that bad - apart from 'Junior Dad' which I think is too long, and boring, for its own good. And, detractors, take comfort in the fact that this is not a 'real' Metallica album, but more of an experimental project (had this been a proper Metallica album, it would have been unforgivable... even to me). Let's hope that their next album proper will more in line with "Death Magnetic" and in the meantime accept this release for what it is. (review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"
"Back to the Roots, Metallica play fast and heavy like in the old days. Most songs are long and songwriting based around riffs. James (singer/rhythm guitar) is at his top form, bass and lead guitars are quite good too, and the drummer sounds like crap. Luckily, all songs are at least decent with the instrumental being probably the weakest one."
"Ah... they're back. This album contains elements that are reminiscent of "Master of Puppets" and "...and Justice for All", such as long songs and more musical complexity thant what Metallica have offered since the black album, and added to this is some of the raw energy of "St. Anger".
"Death Magnetic" is a very varied album with some songs veing almost Slayer-like while others are groovy and others again very melodic, and others again contain riffs that remind me of the Exodus of the 80s. Best of all, Kirk's shreddy solos are back, which I've certainly missed for many years. "Death Magnetic" certainly is the best Metallica since "...and Justice for All"."
"While all of Metallicas first four albums were really good, they were all pretty different. If you ask me, this is the one that stands out the most, as the production is much different and the material is even more different than what Metallica fans might be used to. First of all, as you can see on the track length on all of the songs, Metallica kind of "progged" it all up a bit. And if you ask me, this is a very good thing. I feel that the songs on this albums are much stronger than the songs on the previous Metallica albums.
To begin with, Blackened might be one of the strongest songs Metallica has written to date. The intro to the opener was typical for Metallica, they wanted to open up the album quitely as usual. (It's the same with the openers on Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. All quiet intoductions to the album.) However, once the song get's going, you're in for a joyful proggy thrash ride. The album continues with various strong numbers, including the famous One which is my favourite song from Metallica.
The titletrack is probably the progiest and most interesting song on here, but Metallica weren't skilled enough in those areas of songwriting to make the song as good as it could have been, so it may seem slightly disappointing. And after the marvelous One the albums two weaker tracks follows.
The Shortest Straw is an average metal song following in the veins of Trapped Under Ice or one of the weaker tracks from Kill 'em All. However it is still an ok tune. Harvester of Sorrow is without doubt the only really disappointing song here. It seems very out of place and pretty much showcases how much worse Metallica would sound in the future.
Then we get three more great lengthy numbers. Dyers Eve is a fast thrashy song and kind of the only real headbanging material on this album. I've heard they can't play it live because Lars can't drum it.
So overall, what are the pros of this album? There are many of them. Metallica plays more complex here than ever and it sounds great. The songwriting was definitely on top here, and most of the songs are stunningly good.
And the flaws? Unfortunately, while this meets many of the criterias for a masterpiece, it also has many flaws. For one, the production. This album lacks the great production on Master of Puppets. The listener longs for clearer bass. And even though most of the numbers are lengthy and good all the way through, some of them are very repetitive, such as To Live Is to Die which is actually a great song, it should just have been shorter.
This is my favourite Metallica album. I just can't bring myself to give it a better rating because it could have been better. It was still a bold album though, and the songwriting is on top so four stars it is, an excellent album."
"There must be something wrong with me, because I actually like this album. I was blown away when I heard it the first time and immediately bought it. The production is terrible, to be sure, and it is perhaps a bit strange that Metallica jump the Nu Metal wave years after it had died out. But apart from the lack of soloes and the terrible production, the music itself is very energetic and explosive... pure anger.
It's an essential release in the sense that Metallica are returning to the aggression of the pre-Black Album Days, thus the first step away from the tired-old-man-biker-rock style of the Load and Reload albums."
"I wlaways praise "...And Justice for All" and "Master of Puppets", but I tend to forget this one, and shame on me, because "Ride the Lightning" is one killer album which, like the two others, stands the test of time. Certainly up there as one of the best thrash metal releases."
"I don't know where to start about this album..It's absolutely unique..Never has a symbiosis between a symphony orchestra and a Metal band been created that really worked, but here it does! Thanks to the genious of Michael Kamen, the director of the San Francisco Philharmonic, who did a titan's job writing all the arrangements for band and orchestra, this is the first example of successfully combining Metal and Symphony Orchestra. Forget Deep Purple and the London Philharmonic, where the band and the orchestra just play different tracks. Forget other attempts where the orchestra just acts as "sweetener" for the music. Here the band and orchestra play an equal part, filling eachother with beautiful contrapoint, and layer upon layer of magnificent music. One of my all-time favorite albums!"
