Not sure why I’d not done so before, but now is the time to periodically review new full length album releases and what better way to start out with than arguably the biggest metal release of the year (maybe IN years) in Metallica’s Hardwired…  To Self-Destruct.  I’m sure many of you out there were wondering the same thing as I was when you first heard that a new mighty Met platter was on the horizon…  will this thrash like there’s no tomorrow or will it be a “Load” of crap?  What will the sound quality be like?  Will we get “Unforgiven IV”?  Will James sound like old school Jaymz? Will we hear the bass?  Well…  the answers are a mix of “yes”, “no”, and “kinda”.

Back in October we were treated to title cut “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” and on first impression the results were somewhat mixed.  In my eyes I was excited but somewhat worried for fear that the well had run dry and they were starting to recycle riffs (“Damage Inc.”, anyone?), plus the lyrics seemed a bit juvenile on first listen.  But…  BUT!  I’ll be damned after a couple of listens that my spirits were up mighty high for two specific reasons…  James Hetfield’s vocal was FANTASTIC (as it is throughout the album), all piss n vinegar and a nice healthy bark full of conviction with some melodic touches; and… THAT RIFF!  Even though it was reminiscent of earlier material there were enough twists and turns where it wasn’t a dead on copy, PLUS it was a sign that we may be in for a much different album than recent history would have us believe.  Just how different?  Read on…

Slowly but surely additional songs were rolled out before the release dropped on us in mid-November, but we’ll skip all that and dive right into overall thoughts on the album:  IMHO, this may be the best thing they’ve put out since 1988’s …And Justice For All.  Does it hearken back to past greats?  Absolutely.  Are there songs reminiscent of their Bob Rock produced (and gazillion seller) era, where the band was riding high in the charts and selling out stadiums and coliseums?  Yep.  Are they treading new ground?  Yeah, somewhat.  But most importantly the band hasn’t sounded this fiery and (dare I say) menacing in years.  Cross Justice with the Black Album with a dash of Kill ‘Em All and a hint of Load/Reload and you’re in the ballpark.

So what about the songs?  I’d say out of the twelve on the two main discs (we’ll skip the deluxe edition for now), there are a solid six or seven that fit that “no skip” category-  each of these run the gamut of their hookiest, hard rock material to dead on old school headbanging thrash and a couple which mix both styles.  Out of these, clear winners are “Atlas Rise” and “Moth Into Flame” with both mixing heads down no nonsense riffing and a sense of melody from that middle period; “Now That We’re Dead” and “Here Comes Revenge” mix a bit of steely Judas Priest metal in their straightforward and extremely effective tunefulness; and the aforementioned “Hardwired” and supercharged “Spit Out The Bone” that hearken back to their glory days as leaders in the mid to late ’80s thrash movement.

So what about the others?  “Dream No More” and “Confusion” straddle that line of the middle period as “Dream” mixes the heft and chunk of a “Sad But True”-style riff and “Confusion” kicks off like the son of “Am I Evil?” before hitting another Black-era riff and tempo akin to “Wherever I May Roam”.  Both songs are good but ride that middle rail of hefty riff rock with some slower moments, whereas the better cuts on the album are a bit weightier with more solid tempo changes to keep things exciting.  That said, these are still two winners that throw a bit of shade against those heavier moments.

Unfortunately, there are a handful of songs that haven’t grown on me as of yet.  “Halo On Fire” is a bit of a charming oddball, coming off a bit like a Blue Oyster Cult creepy classic but one that doesn’t live up to the sum of its parts.  James is in crooner mode here making for an oddly unsettling Dracula bite but the song drags on a bit too long as it moves and slithers into a handful of other riffs that don’t quite gel.  Thumbs up for getting a bit adventurous and treading new ground as some of the melody lines on the guitars are pretty sweet but ultimately it falls a bit flat for me.

That leaves us with “ManUNkind”, “Am I Savage?”, and “Murder One”, all decent songs but none which are standout tracks.  The former actually runs with a decent chunky funk riff but would have worked a bit better with a drummer with a jazzier touch and tastier fills instead of Lars Ulrich’s heavier thump.  I love Lars but the odd timing is deserving of something other than the militaristic march he’s rolling out here.  As for the latter two cuts,  decent ideas but musically reminiscent of the weaker material on the Black Album or Load/Reload.  Major points though for the Lemmy tribute but if you’re gonna do that it’s got to be a thrasher!

As a whole though, this thing is SOLID:  Hetfield hasn’t sounded this good in years and the riffing is much fresher than it’s been for a long while.  Sound quality is much better than than previous album Death Magnetic and avoids the Bob Rock sonics (especially on the bottom end as Rob Trujillo is low in the mix) in favor of more older school guitar tones, although Lars’ kick drum is mixed higher on some songs making for the occasional odd listen.  As for Kirk Hammet’s leads… yeah he’s the king of the wah wah pedal but he’s got some fresh ideas, especially the tasty moments in “Now That We’re Dead” and the runs in “Spit Out The Bone”.  Too bad he doesn’t have a writing credit but based on the strength of the Hetfield/Ulrich material we can wait for the next album.

Those of you that haven’t picked this up yet, I highly recommend the deluxe edition.  Non-album cut “Lords Of Summer” is really good and I would have put it on the album over some of the weaker cuts, plus the previously released covers are well worth the money as is the live set from Record Store Day earlier this year.  Toss in a live version of “Hardwired” and you’ve put a nice little bow on this hefty package.

On a scale of one to ten I give this a solid 8 due to some of the weaker numbers but leaning 8.5 due to the overall strength of the better material and performances within.  Welcome back guys…  you’ve been missed 🙂