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It also marked the near end of one of the biggest and best-selling metal groups of all time.
If they broke up then, Metallicas story would still have been a triumph.
None of these projects have lost their power.
Metallica had every reason to quit then, but inMonsterthey figured it out.
And then they got weird.
Mid-life crisis weird.Snare-drumweird.Loudness Warsweird.
Who was Metallica writing music for anymore?
Their recent bright spots cant answer this question but the bright spots do exist.
This is the age of Metallica with nothing left to prove.
But where to begin?
And how does their new album72 Seasonscompare?
2008sDeath Magneticwas his first proper album with Metallica.
A brave artistic choice or the approach of an out-of-touch band?
Like most albums produced by Rick Rubin, its hard to tell.
(Andrew Scheps,Magnetics mixer,has no regrets.)
Still, the good riffs, like the one on All Nightmare Long, should be praised.
Its nice to hear the band acknowledge their past without trying too hard to recreate it note by note.
It also as a great reminder of Metallicas mastery of the power ballad.
Still, over a decade later, its hard to defend this record even as a contrarian.
(In one of the more forgiving initial reviews,Pitchforks 1.0 takedowndubbed it a frustratingly noble failure.
That single point was probably for Metallicas competence as a backing band.)
Brandenburg Gate is on this list because James Hetfield screams Small Town Girl!
at a confused Reed who sounds like Grandpa Simpsonlamenting the humiliations of loveless sex.
Its mostly bad,butits memorable.
Great riffs, too.
Its the albums most listenable song, and its most gentle and forgiving.
Unlike the rest of the record, it sounds like Reed and Metallica are in the same room.
If youre in the right mood, Junior Dad occasionally reaches the highs of Reeds Street Hassle.
Hardwired,Hardwired… to Self-Destruct
One of Metallicas strengths is sometimes a weakness: Long introductions.
Hardwired is an antidote to this criticism.
Itsunderthree-and-a-half minutes and gets straight to the point.
The one time you dont need to say, Good… for late-career Metallica.
All Within My Hands (Live),S&M2
This orchestral reimagining ofSt.
Angers, bitter closing track is a highlight of 2020sS&M2.
Not only does this gentler and more sprawling take redeem this and otherSt.
Angertunes, it drives home the long connection between metal and classical songwriting.
(The stripped-down acoustic cover fromHelping Hands … Live & Acoustic at the Masonicis also great.)
The one time you want an upright bass to have a wah-wah pedal.
This time, the sense of consistency and familiarity is a win.
Also, after a few hit-and-miss albums, Larss drums finally sound thrilling and vital across an entire LP.
Though its notably light on ballads, closer Inamorata is the one youll want to hear live.
Bonus points for having the same riff energy as Lenny Kravitzs Are You Gonna Go My Way.
