Metallica - Death Magnetic

Well, there's no way to review this without an intro, so here it is: I hate reviews that have little to nothing to do with the album itself and, instead, recants the history of a band you already know and love and have your opinions on. All you care about is the album, not what some nerd knows are cares about the band. But, really, it's METALLICA. Your stuck with me saying things like "Best in 20 years" and "Better than St. Anger". Or, in this case we're going to pretend the last 20 years never happened.

Death Magnetic is Metallica's latest album. Starting off with the incredible "That Was Just Your Life", a song that rips and tears like the last 20 years never happened! Kirk dominates the entire album, and really, other than that, there isn't much to say, the album does all the talking. You have band that had a mission: Go back to the days of Master of Puppets and ...And Justice For All and TRY to recapture the magic, try to find the drive that made Metalllica METALLICA!

The result is the only thing you can expect; FUCK YOU!

Metallica went into the studio a wounded band and came out screaming and tearing at anything in it's way! Yes, they went back to that time, but they're a different band now (and, yes, I felt cheesy and fucking lame for writing that.. I need a shower) and the old drive isn't there. But, fuck, that's life! You take your tools and make something great with it! And, damn it, that's what
we have here!

This is the culmination, the end result of mixing the epic levels of songwriting and endurance that they wanted with "...And Justice For All" and mixed it with the more melodic and to the point writing of "Metallica". It is dynamic, raw, but also polished and melodic at times.

"The Day That Never Comes" is, without a doubt, THE best song on this album and the best example of everything I've said. Combining the same senses we saw on "Load" and "Re-Load", but the second-half of the song is dominated by Kirk's incredible guitar solos and a return to, dare I say it, "Ride The Lighting"-style Metallica.

The band has come a long way this decade and, yes, the metal kings have returned.

The ONLY rants and problems have are as follows: "Cyanide", while good, just dies by the 3rd Chorus. The song ends at a really good point... and then goes on to the third chorus. Kills it, just kills it! Also, the production... Man, it's bad at times! "The Day That Never Comes" is almost hurt because the distortion on the entire album just saturates everything.

All and all... 9 out of 10.

Metallica - Creeping Death-Jump In The Fire CD EP

Metallica - Creeping Death-Jump In The Fire CD EP

OK, this is a bit of a cheat: This isn't an album, it's 2 singles, and it's officially released as the "Creeping Death" single that happens to include the "Jump in the Fire" single. But for the sake of argument, we'll call it the "Creeping Death EP".

That said, I'm not only lucky to have this, but I'm glad I listened to it.

The average metal fan most likely owns every single Metallica album. Or, at the very least, all the one's they did up to The Black Album. We tend to take them for granted, giving them a listen once in a blue moon. It may have been the starting point for most of us, but it doesn't mean we listen to them every single day.

This EP basically reminds you why Metallica is considered legends; Because they know how to write damn good songs!

A quick listen to the opener, "Creeping Death", is refreshing; There is a warmth to the EP that you won't find on the album, one that I can't truly describe. But within the CD format of this EP, the song takes on a new life! The furious guitar intro, the venous tongue of Jame Hetfield, Lars Drums, Cliff Burton's Bass, Kirk's insane solo... They're all the hallmarks of this song.

Following up are the covers of "Am I Evil?" by Diamond Head and "Blitzkrieg" by Blitzkrieg. The recording levels of both songs differ, with the later being louder than the former. It's interesting to hear them on the EP for no other reason then to reflect upon how people 20 years ago must have felt when they heard this when it first came out. But the intensity, the skilled playing... all of it is there.

The main feeling of the entire EP is just a nice warm feeling that you wouldn't normally find on a CD. It isn't something that can be described easily; it boils down to what people must feel when they compare the sound of vinyl to CD. But this was made in a wonderful time, before when even CD's made today had the high-gloss digital-sheen. The feeling of Vinyl can be found here, and it is beautiful. By the time "Jump in the Fire" comes on, it feels like 1983 again!

The last two tracks, "Seek & Destroy" and "Phantom Lord", were alternative studio takes over-dubbed with a crowd, but they sound incredible! It's about as close to hearing a hi-fi version of them playing live in 1983 as you may get.

All in all, great EP!

4.5 out of 5!

Metallica - St. Anger

Metallica - St. Anger

Dear Metallica:

I remember how excited I was when this album was about to come out in June of 2003, and how excited I was when it was released early and I was able to buy a copy 3 days before it's release and immediately put it on. This album has always had a special place in my heart for the time it came out and various times since. When it came out, I was angry and fruious because art school wasn't working out the way I thought it should, I was stuck in a job I hated, and I wasn't happy with my life overall. I had started working out and the album was my workout tape.

In 2004, my mom went into the hospital for a brain anyersum, and I now had to face and deal with emotions and feelings I never had before. This album became theraputic for me at times, namely the last song on the album, "All Within My Hands". There is no greater, for better or worst, feeling than to know that someone's life is within your hands. That in a mere instant you can choose if they live or die. It's the type of power that you don't give a 19-year-old, at least not by choice, especially if they have little or no support from their immediate family. I remember one time coming home from school and the song came on shortly before my stop. The feeling I had, I can only describe it as one of intense pain and sorrow over what I had to choose. That my mom's life was within my hands. That, with nothing more than a phone call, I could call the hospital so she could gently pass on.

When she did, and not without me, it was a painful feeling.

For untold months since then, the song has had a double-meaning for me. There are times I get incredibly angry, but at it's worst, it's when I try or begin to take it out on my very good friend. This same friend came to me and shared more with me than anyone else, especially at the time, a year later, after my mom had passed. Today, I yelled at her. I told her to get out, to go away. I wasn't angry at her; I was angry at myself. All this anger and rage went through me after I appologized because I was so angry with myself. And then... then I looked at my hands. Whenever I get angry at someone I love, the words "All Within My Hands" or "Somekind of Monster" will echo through me. Whenever they do, I think.

There I stood, in the kitchen, only a few feet away from her. I looked at my hands, at how they were covered and calicuses, of how the skin was peeling off, and how beat-up they were. I looked at them, and thought about what I felt. What happened next was all within my hands, and I knew it. I walked over to my CD collection and took out St. Anger. I appologized and told her that I needed to hear a song really quick.

As the opening notes of "All Within My Hands" began to play, she had walked away and came back as soon as the first lines came on. She sat back in her chair, and just watched me sit in a chair in the next room with my head in my hands. I walked over to her, and started to tell her what the song meant to me... about what it had to do with mom... about how it feels that I could do something stupid when I get angry... about how all of it is within my hands.

And then I fell to the floor and started sobbing uncontrolably. I couldn't hold it back anymore. For the first time, the very first time in a year, I was actually crying about mom. It was the "Unnamed Feeling" that I had constantly tried to repress. It took me away from myself and made me reflect. She understood and gave me a hug.

James, Lars, Kirk, and Rob, thank you for releasing this album. I love "Dirty Window" because it reminds me of me, and how I simply dismiss all the people who look at me weird and how foolish it is. I love "Frantic" because, well, it kicks-ass! Today, I heard "St. Anger" and actually felt a way to express my anger in a healthy way and to keep it under control. And I heard how I became "Some Kind of Monster" because of myself.

I won't lie and say it's one of my favorite albums from you, but I sincerly want to say it's the most lyrically honest album I heard since anything by Devin Townsend. Trust me, when I say that, I'm saying the world of you guys.

Again, thank you for everything and may the new album rock!
-Larry West

For all you readers out there, I give this album this note: This album is therapy for both Metallica and you, the listener. If you are in a place similar to myself or the band, then the album, for that moment, will be the best thing in the world. IF you at listening to it and find that it is inferior to their other albums, I will agree with you musically. But lyrically, it's the single best thing they have ever done because they did something no artist in their position do; They're honest about how they feel.

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