When I heard the lyric "We're so f**ked, sh*t outta luck", I kept thinking "This sounds like the Presidential election!" Damn. How did they know?
HARDWIRED..To Self-Destruct sees Metallica continuing their move back to the heavy thrash sound they had before The Black Album (and some are relieved) and that had started with Death Magnetic. Admittedly I liked Death Magnetic, but I didn't love it. I like it mainly because it was a huge improvement over the therapy soup that was Some Kind Of Monster...and THAT it was. I was so happy that they had cleaned up the sound and returned with better riffs! I'd really love to throw that CD away but I paid money for it...maybe it'll see renewed life as a coaster... Anyhow, if Death Magnetic was a step back into the heavy, HARDWIRED is definitely part of the journey toward the crunch we all love.
Oh and BTW, the album topped charts worldwide. All the fans and Fifth Members agree: This sh*t's f**king awesome.
One thing that they're doing differently is that they are releasing actual music videos for ALL of the tracks, as well as Making of's for the videos and for the songwriting process in-studio. Me, I personally LOVE the in-studio stuff, like when you see the Presidio studio with all the fan-made flags and banners...that's awesome. But what really gets me going is the song/riff writing process - Lars is much more the arrangement dude than I imagined. And of course the god-like James Hetfield with the mighty voice and growling ESP Snakebite...so bad-ass! The music videos are interesting, with some being animated, some performance, some where they're not the band that's playing the song and montage stuff. Interesting, but not as good as the in-studio stuff. I live for that stuff! As of this writing, more behind-the-scenes material has been released for "Confusion", "Here Comes Revenge" and "Dream No More". Keep 'em coming!
Getting to the music, there are some that are really good and some that are just so-so IMHO. My jam will always be "Moth Into Flame". The riffage going on in that track is just what I like to hear. It's got a little bit of euro-metal mixed in there but it works. "Now That We're Dead" and "Atlas, Rise!" are 2 more faves but I am slowing liking more and more of the album. "Hardwired' is a throwback to the "Kill/Ride" days and I was ecstatic to hear the riffs of yore abound...
That being said, some of the songs have these long repeating intros that, on the one hand we love the riffage, but on the other hand - when is the singing going to start? I think some of these anthemic trudging passages could've been shortened just a bit. Streamlined, if you will. It's no wonder the album stretches across 2 CDs (3, if you bought the deluxe version) for 10 songs. I look at it as Metallica getting back to those 8 minute themes from the Master of Puppets/...And Justice For All days, I just hope them realize that although it sounds good, some of it just plods along. There are instances of the "Load/ReLoad" era as well as just a smidgen of Iron Maiden's signature gallops.
So even if the some songs are just a bit too long, the overall sound is tight and spot-on.Just wish it didn't take EIGHT YEARS for it to be released!
I bought the Deluxe version with the 3rd CD 'cuz I had to hear their Ronnie James Dio tribute "Ronnie Rising medley" and the vinyl Deluxe version with three different colored records for each CD.
I would recommend this to those who want to hear more of the Death Magnetic-style sound.
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