Death MagneticReviews: Death Magnetic
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0093624986188 Label: Warner Bros. Manufacturer: Warner Bros. MPN: 508732 Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Warner Bros. Release Date: September 12, 2008 Studio: Warner Bros. Rating:  - Why Death?.................Up with life! Mother and I are sadly confused that many youngsters are attracted to this sort of negativity. We suggest songs that celebrate wholesome values such as the following: 1. Education Magnet 2. I Wanna Hold Your Bookbag 3. September Grades 4. By the Time I Get to Phoenix, I'll Have Read A Good Book 5. Welcome to the Joy of Reading 6. Reader, Reader 7. Good Manners for Young Men 8. Modesty for Young Ladies 9. I Want to Help My Mother Rating:  - Metal album of the yearTurn the dial back to 1991 for a minute. That's the year Metallica's hit "Enter Sandman" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" both stormed on to the charts. It was a turning point for rock music. The former track marked the high point of popularity for a band that had dominated the metal scene for much of the previous decade with epic albums shot through with equal measure of dark lyrics and face-melting musicianship. The latter song defined a just-budding decade and launched a million garage bands who hoped that a surplus of angst and flannel would make up for their meager repertoire of guitar chords. Within one year, Cobain's catchy hooks and stripped-down act seemed to make the brooding extravagance of Metallica and other metal bands irrelevant. The rest of the decade saw Metallica struggle to define itself and its direction. Although "St. Anger" was released in 2003, the album shared more in common with its lackluster predecessors from the 90s, "Load" and "Reload". The musical malaise of the 90s had carried over into the new millennium. Fast forward to 2008. "Death Magnetic" hits shelves in September and the cosmos are set right again. Under the mystic direction of production druid Rick Rubin, the band has crafted 10 songs that harken back to their glory days, when fans threw the horns to epic tracks like "And Justic For All", "Master of Puppets" and "Blackened". This is also one of those rare cases of an album not having any bad songs. None. Even "Unforgiven III", dismissed by many critics as "unnecessary", would more than hold its own as a standout hit track on a lesser album. There are, of course, genuine standouts, starting with the opening trio of songs -- "That Was Just Your Life", "The End of the Line" and "Broken, Beat and Scarred" -- that form an intro that must surely rank as one of the best ever. Other tracks of note include "The Day That Never Comes", "All Nightmare Long", "Cyanide" and "Judas Kiss". It's clear that Rubin succeeded in drawing out the best in each band member. Singer/guitarist James Hetfield's urgent snarl is in full force; Kirk Hammett's intricate noodling proves he's still one of the finest lead guitarists out there; Lars Ulrich's dual bass drums are like twin howitzers blasting away at your eardrums; and Robert Trujillo proves his mettle by serving up meaty basslines that bind the songs like steel bands. One of my favorite one-sentence summaries of the album was given by a DJ on Seattle's KISW: "It's an album that punches you in the face repeatedly, and I mean that in a good way." This is an amazing album that instantly revives old-school Metallica and proves Tenacious D's memorable adage: You can't kill the metal! Rating: - Death Magnetic FTWOk the title is a bit silly since I don't tend to use FTW at all but having been an on again off again Metallica fan I have to say I would have paid full peice for this set of songs. Really enjoyed the range thay showed on this and I will probably go an pick up again my favorites from the past ...... I'm glad my girlfriend told me it was getting good press....and the fact it was 5 dollars at the time made it hard to pass up - price of a coffee and croissant cant beat that.... Really good worth it id you ever like the band Rating:  - Metallica Tries to Find Themselves AgainMetallica shows a good amount of progress toward getting back to their roots in this album with good rhythms and decent build ups to the energy they offer but this is still a long way from the true heart of Metallica which exists in the first three albums: Kill `em All, Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets; all thrash classics. The first song, "That Was Just Your Life", is the closest this album comes to the original "real" Metallica. The rest of the songs are all just ok. I offer that with some reservation as I do like most of the rhythms but the biggest problem I had with this album is that Kirk is so disconnected from the songs in every lead. Most leads could be recreated by taping a few picks to a mini fan, throwing your fingers across the board in the blues scale and goin' crazy on the wah pedal. I haven't been much of a fan of Kirk's work since he started his constant overuse of the wah and the leads have gotten progressively worse over time. The wah can be a good effect if used in moderation but when overused it's a cover up for a poor connection to the song your creating the lead for. There were probably about 30-45 seconds total between all the songs where there seemed to be a connection between the rhythm and the lead. I would definitely agree with another reviewer that of all the Metallica albums, "St. Anger" is a definite "no buy", hands-down worst album ever. Metallica has done a lot to sell themselves over the years and they've lost the true thrash band that once was through the process. I keep hoping to find the album that will be the return of that band but I don't see it happening. Another sore point was the lyrics; less entertaining and more dark than in the past. The rhythms showed a good amount of energy but if the lyrics bring you down, the song loses some of that energy. My message to Metallica: return to more energetic and/or entertaining lyrics and Kirk needs to take a moment to connect with each song he puts a lead into. The rhythms are ok but a little more energy could be worked into them as well. I'm almost certain none of the newer fans would agree with it but this message comes from someone who grew up with Metallica. The true die hard Metallica fans will appreciate this album to some extent. The newer fans will appreciate it more so with songs more related to the Black album with Load and Reload being stepping stones. In comparison, this one has less energy than those three but still a strong album. Rating: - Worth a listenThis album is a cornucopia of musical ideas. Many of the riffs sound pleasantly reminiscent of great Metallica albums from the past. There are, however, moments that sound a bit disconnected. Something like listening to a Metallica 'best of' collection where the songs themselves are sliced up and rearranged to form new songs. Sometimes it works well, and sometimes not so much. The lyrics are mostly unspectacular. I suppose I have been spoiled by previous Metallica albums. At times the lyrics and delivery made me think someone let Dave Mustaine back into the band. Overall, a good album, and definitely worth a listen. Death Magnetic ReviewsMore reviews:Buy Death Magnetic Sale Reviews Deals
Death Magnetic
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