Death gets magnetic for Metallica

I have to admit it took a lot of effort on my part. That is to take Yo-yo Ma’s Songs of Peace & Joy out of the player and change into Death Magnetic by Metallica. With Christmas decorations going up everywhere and the weather turning chilly, the thought of staying in a happy frame of mind was too inviting to resist.

But it had to be done because I felt that it is my duty to listen to Metallica’s new album. It felt like it is okay to ignore other rock bands but not this one. Metallica is one of the most influential groups in the history of rock music. It is the one that every head-banging, thrash-rocking, metal hound looks up to for whatever is dark, loud and angry. Megadeath, Anthrax, Slayer, Iron Maiden, etc. are all also-ran small fries when compared to Metallica, which is also one of the biggest selling acts of all time.

Metallica has been in business for over 20 years. That means members Lars Ulrich, drums; James Hetfield on vocals and rhythm guitar; Dave Mustaine on lead guitar; and Robert Trujillo, bass, are now in their forties. Time should have mellowed the music and allowed room for quiet, or because the word quiet is not in this band’s vocabulary, let me say, toned down introspection, but not Metallica.

From the throbbing first get-go of the opener That Was Just Your Life, Death Magnetic is uncompromising aggressive rock that recalls the old days of And Justice For All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. Epic is how I would describe the entire package with cuts clocking in at no less than five minutes with one, the instrumental, Suicide & Redemption extending as far as nine. Song structure was also thrown to the winds as these guys tuned in to their guts to create their songs instead of following prevalent song patterns.

The great thing about Metallica though is that despite what a lot of people may regard as merely noise, their works actually have discernible melodies. Hetfield must be the most powerful rock vocalist around. And these guys can really play. Okay, the bass often gets lost in the mayhem but the drums weld everybody to its forceful pace and those guitars riffing together must be how two Andres Segovias on acid would probably sound. I would have really liked to get more varied tones and some cuts could have really used some subtlety. But I am not the typical Metallica fan. As the cover art denotes, maybe being encased in a coffin of sound is what this experience is all about.

Death is theme of the album. But it is all in the lyrics and the titles, which are often lost in the music. Remove those and you get something spectacular, with complex harmonies and startling range. Broken Beat and Scarred is what would pass for commercial in the lot and All Nightmare Long is the trashiest of all. Other titles are The End of the Line, The Day That Never Comes, Cyanide, The Unforgiven III, The Judas Kiss and My Apocalypse.

Chart performance by Metallica these days is pretty remarkable. As per Billboard Magazine, the top rock CDs in the US as of this writing are Death Magnetic by Metallica; Appeal to Reason by Rise Against; Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis; The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale/Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006 by Bob Dylan; Rock N’ Roll Jesus by Kid Rock; Life is Not a Waiting Room by Senses Fall; One of The Boys by Katy Perry; We Sing We Dance We Steal Things by Jason Mraz; All Hope is Gone by Slipknot; and Only by the Night by Kings of Leon.

Death Magnetic is also No. 1 in the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, Top Modern Rock Alternatives and Top Hard Rock Albums lists. It debuted last month at No. 1 and is now ranked second in the Top 200 Albums list with Paper Trail by T.I.; Appeal to Reason by Rise Against; Jennifer Hudson by Jennifer Hudson; Dig Out Your Soul by Oasis; The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 by Bob Dylan; Rock N’ Roll Jesus by Kid Rock; Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo; Greatest Hits 3 by Tim McGraw; and Covers by James Taylor.