It’s been nearly a decade since Metallica’s last album Death Magnetic was released, and two and a half years since they released an album that has been received as positively as this one. After a quarter-century losing streak with Load, Reload, Garage Inc., S&M, St. Anger, and Death Magnetic, Metallica seems to be crawling back to the beaten path that popularized them; that’s true for some songs, anyway.
Take the opener and ender (of the first two discs, if you bought the deluxe edition): “Hardwired” and “Spit Out the Bone,” which gallop and thrash their way back to …and Justice for All’s “Blackened” and Master of Puppet’s “Battery.” It’s the blood rush that everyone came to expect of them after “Ride the Lightning.” That same rush can be found in the intro of “Moth Into Flame.” Other songs I found similarities between included “Confusion” and “Am I Savage?” The record seemed to be going in a certain direction, but veers off into a different sound, one which I found to be not-very “Metallica.”
Examples include “Atlas, Rise!” in which the chorus makes me curious if Iron Maiden hired James Hetfield as their new lead singer. Don’t get me wrong, “Atlas” is one of four best songs on the album. “ManUNkind” had the same problem, where the intro reminded me of Maiden’s “Still Life” or “To Tame a Land.” Yet that same song answers the question if Thin Lizzy took their swing into the metal genre.
It’s a good album nonetheless, and I enjoyed it for the most part. While I do think they could have cut at least a few songs, my choices being “Am I Savage?” “Murder One,” “Halo on Fire,” “Here Comes Revenge,” and “Dream No More,” the album stands on its own. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for variety in their metal, as it can range from Battery-like thrashing, to Black Sabbath doomy, to Maiden-esque rock and roll. (There’s a reason why the genre on iTunes states “Rock.”)
I definitely would not say it’s a great album, or even close to their best. While it is enjoyable if you trim the fat, it’s largely forgettable. Death Magnetic at least had “Cyanide,” which was a memorable song, and among Metallica’s coolest I’ve heard in a long time. Hardwired… however, did not live up to the standard. After hearing it multiple times, unlike classics like Metallica (nicknamed the Black Album), it gets dull really quick. Unfortunately, it will still peak #1 in most weekly charts and Billboard 200s due to the band’s fame alone. This has been true since Metallica, so there’s no surprise there.
From me, it gets a 6/10. Not great, far from terrible, a step up from the past 25 years of albums, but I think Metallica should stop here, and end on the highest note they’ve had for that time, and — I predict — that they will ever have from here on out.
