'Death' and rebirth

Clint Eastwood's character in Unforgiven. Batman in The Dark Knight Returns. And now Metallica on Death Magnetic.

The greatest, storied and long-M.I.A. badass is back, missing a step or two from his old self but displaying the toughness, attitude and individuality that earned him the reverence of millions. Metallica have been in rehab and in therapy, out of favor and the public eye, and now they're going to "hunt you down without mercy, hunt you down all nightmare long." This is not an offer, it's a vow.

Starting with the distant rhythm of a pulsating heartbeat, Death Magnetic sounds alive before the instruments even kick in. When they do, on the furious, restless "That Was Just Your Life," they sound violently out of control, attacking any chances of radio success by abruptly changing meter and embedding an arena-ready chorus in a seven-minute monster of punk aggression and death metal structure. "There it went, almost like your life," barks James Hetfield over Lars Ulrich's blast beats in the chorus, addressing album's prevalent mortality theme.

Having conquered the metal world, the rock world and now the entertainment industry, Hetfield confronts midlife turmoil on "The End of the Line" and "Broken, Beat and Scarred." Repeating Nietszche's most overused mantra in the latter, Hetfield isn't preaching or giving lessons, but repeating self-empowering idioms to himself to keep from going over the edge. Liberated from the asphyxiating, solo-less St. Anger, Kirk Hammett unleashes some of the most fluid guitar work in Metallica's history. His fretboard stunts on Death Magnetic leak out in short bursts, epic measures and wah-wah pedal magic that make up many of the album's best moments.



Hammett's level of musicianship is one that the whole band strives for. Having been advised by producer Rick Rubin to attempt to revisit their Master of Puppets mindset, the forward-thinking band does so by finding the mentality of Master's follow-up, ...And Justice for All. As with Justice, Magnetic finds the band obliterating conventional standards for metal composition and musicianship, particularly in the 10-minute, hard-grinding instrume(n)tal "Suicide & Redemption" and the throbbing, thoroughly terrific "All Nightmare Long," propelled by a Robert Trujillo bassline and Hetfield's continually underrated rhythm antics into a progressive thrash keeper that Mastodon would've been happy to release. When Metallica takes a breather with the relaxed, empathetic "The Day that Never Comes," the album's first (and most plausible) single, they're only gearing up to release hell in the song's frenetic second movement.

As with any old legend coming back to reclaim his territory, Metallica are imperfect on Death Magnetic. Fans have vocally complained about the album's poor mixing, but even when the sound isn't there, the songs are, and the turned-up drums can't overwhelm the potency of "All Nightmare Long" or the bullet-paced, mouth-foaming closer "My Apocalypse." More lamentable is the album's length. Magnetic doesn't hold any clunkers, but ten songs spread over 75 minutes is a task for anyone, even the greatest bands. Death Magnetic would be a better listen if it were trimmed two or three songs. Still, all I can nominate for removal is "Unforgiven III," a not-bad, piano-laden chantey that feels incongruous and (oddly) bears no resemblance to the earlier Unforgivens.

Death Magnetic doesn't top any of Metallica's first five albums, and they're not the best metal band currently making music again. But it trumps their previous few albums, and more importantly, it marks the greatest metal band in history's return to the ring. For the first time in years, the word on new Metallica music isn't "I hope it doesn't suck" but "I can't wait to hear what's next." Gene Hackman and the Joker better watch out.



Buy it.