For the first few seconds of Metallica’s new album, you can hear a slow and eerie heartbeat followed by a dark melody that slowly draws you in, almost like seeing a monstrous beast waking from its deep slumber, ready to tear and mangle anything in its path. The dark passage is followed by a crunching power chord and the slow but menacing pounding of drums in the background. The first minute seems almost like the score of a monster movie, and much like a sleeping giant, Metallica charge like a battering ram into rampage with the opening riff of “That Was Just Your Life”, the opening track to the band’s new opus: “Death Magnetic”.

Like a stormy sea under a thundering sky, Metallica pummels the listener with crushing waves of riffs, lightning fast drums and the low rumble of Robert Trujillo’s bass roar. Anything you ever thought about Metallica, especially after St. Anger (arguably the band’s worst album), is about to change. “Death Magnetic” is not just a thrash album, it’s not just a metal album, or just a Metallica album for that matter; it’s the collective effort of a musical power force that has been dormant for the last ten years and is now fully reawaken. If the first verses and chorus of the opening song don’t convince you that Metallica is back with a vengeance then wait until the songs reaches the 4:52 min mark and listen as Kirk Hammett busts out the door with a shredding guitar solo that is sure to make most guitar enthusiasts crap their pants. The album follows a slithery path where you will find riffs, grooves, solos, breakdowns and hooks in places where most bands wouldn’t even dream off doing. The speed burst of the opening track is followed the stomping rocker “The End of the Line”, the song starts with an interplay of slashing guitars and a rumbling bass line that give way to a sleazy Pantera-esque groove that will have everyone bobbing their head. And the song shows a new face in the shape of a thrashing riff pulled straight out of “Master of Puppets” (yeah, that’s how good this album is). The band members move from one great riff into another and it’s all kept on a tight leash by James Hetfield, the legendary front man who sounds like he’s found some inner fire that has gone from an ember and grown into an inferno. His lyrics are not only what you would expect from the man, he also sings them with a passion that hasn’t been heard from him in long time.

And the good stuff doesn’t end there; “Broken, Beat & Scarred” is the soon-to-be-fan-favorite song that will be an insane experience once it’s played live, with a mix of tight riffs and one of the best choruses ever to come out of Hetfield’s poetic mind. This cut is the one that best defines the album, as every single aspect that makes this a great record is present in this ugly behemoth of a song. The album continues with the first single “The Day That Never Comes”, a ballad in the same vein of “Fade to Black” where the melodic verses are complemented by a heavy chorus and half-way into the song the band moves into high gear with an ending the blows the roof out of the room. This is definitely an album that’s meant to be played loud, so be careful not to make the walls in your bedroom cave in on you. After the “ballady” song, the band gives us what could be considered the sequel to “Enter Sandman”, entitled “All Nightmare Long”. This is just a fast, no holds barred thrashing song that puts you in a chokehold from start to finish and never let’s go. Even as terrible and cheesy as the song and lyrics might sound; its Hetfield’s attitude that makes you believe in every single word he says, he could very well be singing the phone book that you will still raise your horns and beat your chest after listening to his manic voice.

Metallica has never been shy to experiment with their music, but those experiments can be the difference between making “Master of Puppets” or “St. Anger”. “Cyanide” is the first experiment found in “Death Magnetic”; a really grooving song that harkens back to the early days of metal, the song has little bits here and there that are reminiscent of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. After the grooves of “Cyanide” end, the bad gives us another power ballad aptly title “The Unforgiven III”; this song could be a train wreck right from the start, especially after the horrible “The Unforgiven II” in “ReLoad”. But surprisingly besides the title, the song bears no resemblance to the classic masterpiece from the black album. It has a symphonic arrangement and a piano intro that give the song lots of character. The verses and chorus shift between melodic and heavy but it’s really the end that makes this song stand out a little with amazing guitar playing from Kirk Hammett. He is without a doubt the man of the hour in this record, his lead work and soloing has never sound this incendiary, and in each song he finds just the precise moment to let loose and blast your ears with piercing guitar solos.

After giving metalheads one excellent song after another, Metallica unleashes hell with the highlight of the album “The Judas Kiss”. Hands down the best song in the album, this is what thrash metal should be all about. It’s a fast, intricate and in your face performance that leaves you breathless, (and possibly with some serious neck injuries). This song puts you literally between the hammer and the anvil. Going back to the old days, the band plays “Suicide & Redemption”, an instrumental track that brings back memories of “Call of Ktulu” and “Orion” from the band’s golden age. The song gives each band member a chance to shine, even the oft-hated Lars Ulrich will raise an eyebrow or two with his drum work at the end of the song. And to bring things to an end, what better way than to do it with a frenzied song like “My Apocalypse”, a blasting thrasher that reminds us of “Damage Inc.” but let’s get things straight, this album isn’t Metallica rehashing their old songs; it’s them doing what they do best, heavy metal played at warp speed and lyrics that’ll make you sing along as loud as possible.

Metallica has always captured the attention of the metal world, from their legions of fans to their army of haters. Many have accused them of selling out and others of simply not making good music anymore. “Death Magnetic” is an album that will not only silence most of the haters, it is sure to give their fans a rush that will be hard to forget. The album finds Metallica on a mission to prove something: that they can still deliver something new and groundbreaking in metal music and more important, they have given us the Metallica album we’ve been waiting to hear for so long.