The few songs I've heard off the album were unimpressive, but I'll give the whole thing a spin later. I've never really had much affection for Metallica, but boy is Ride the Lightning a great album.

I wonder who else really liked The Unforgiven III? I especially liked the piano intro. Also Suicide and Redemption is a pretty good instrumental too.

Can't wait to pick DM up tomorrow...

At first I wasn't sure about this song.... but then it grew on me. It took more than one listen to get into the song.

Dull and, dare a say it? Duller.

DM was a horrible album, terrible production (which is a shame, since rubin has impressed me in the past.) rehashed crap that neither impresses or is any way different than past crap spewed out by 'tallica in the past 10 years.
i have to agree with pitchfork on this one, DM is basically St Anger with better riffs.

10 minute trash instrumentals can not be pulled off successfully.

Maybe, but it's better than 90% of the rest of the modern-day "music" out there IMO.

I think I'd like to wait until I actually purchase the CD and give it a few listen-throughs before I actually gave a full opinion on the album.

This track and for that matter the entire new album is obviously far from their best. No Metallica release will ever be good enough to hold up to MOP and Kill Em All etc but then again thats not something I'm ever expecting so I'm never gonna be disappointed by this. The new album sounds like 40+ year olds playing thrash metal so it was always going to lack in some ways and it was never going to be mindblowing.

With that said and out the way I'm thrilled that the band are most definitely taking a step back in the right direction with this record. This is new Metallica the way I want it to sound and pisses all over St. Anger. Not that thats hard mind you.

Love the track, like the album a lot.

I've been listening to this for a while now, and I'm impressed.

The two last tracks feel like a rather weak finish considering everything that comes before it, but it's a decent album at least. Really disappointed in the production though. I'm not usually someone who pays too much attention to the production ("if it sounds decent enough, it's fine") but this is really blatantly too loud. Drums especially. I don't think I've ever heard drums distort like this before.

If I had to take a guess some of the peaks are above 0.0 which causes it to get a bit fuzzy. If you burn off a high quality rip and play it in a cd player with your settings (volume included) the same as you would any other album does it sound noticably louder?

ignorance.

I bought this album today (while it's still $10), and I'm giving it a good, unbiased first listen. I'm currently at "Suicide and Redemption", almost through with the cd. I'm thrilled that it's a big improvement from St. Anger - but it also has a lot of the same issues said album has. Some of the lyrics are downright embarrassing, production is sh*t, and there's a great deal of aimlessness and lack of flow between the songs. I also don't know why Unforgiven III was necessary. Overall, it's a nice effort and Hetfield's voice improved-ahh!

Highlight tracks: "The Judas Kiss", "All Nightmare Long", and "That Was Just Your Life".

Yup, the lyrics are bullshit.
Well, i got more or less what i expected - An Improvement from St. Anger but nothing great either. Definitely listenable for a month or two, but It'll fade off after that.

Okaaaay.... :rolleyes:

i loved it
best i've seen in a while

the ignorance post was me telling him he was ignorant for thinking dm was better than 90% of music out there today, implying that he thinks modern music sucks, which is ignorant.

are you blind?

the way he puts lil quotation marks on "music"?

seriously?

Opinions on a new Metallica album were always gonna be split. St. Anger had a few supporters and one hell of a backlash. DM was either going to continue in the same trend or it was going to turn St. Anger on its head, maybe go back to their thrash roots a little and start to win some of their fans back. They would have even satisfied some of their fans if they had made another Reload. As it turns out I think a large proportion of the initial opinions are positive but of course there are going to be some negative opinions too. You cant help that. It's the same with any band, any record etc.

While some of the negative opinions I've read/heard since the album was released have been perfectly understandable and theres been some good points raised I believe this thread, in places, just highlights what we already know and that is that a large number of people wrote it off before it came out and were always going to. DM is no masterpiece and it was never going to be an album you could hold up to the likes of MoP and Kill Em All but I would expect the Metallica haters to all be able to agree on ONE thing provided they had kept an open mind and gave this album a listen and that is, even if you think its ****, its NOTHING like St. Anger....

Will it fade to black? ;)

I was referring to all the mainstream rap, pop, hip-hop, etc. I've heard (that so many in the MTV crowd seem to adore) with those quotes around music. The 90% was just a round generalization relating to those types. That's how good I think DM was.

Besides, what do my musical preferences and tastes have to do with ignorance? You, not having a CLUE what other music I am in to and have heard recently, nor knowing what exactly I was referring to with the quotes, is what's ignorant.

But anyway, back on topic, my favorite band has been Metallica for the past six years so perhaps I'm biased to a degree, but I honestly enjoy listening to DM, and am really getting into it. Wayfayer hit the nail right on the head, DM was the one album that impacted me the most, recently. It grew on me the more and more I listened to it.

I ended up paying way too much for the thing, but I was impatient. I expected better quality on the actual cd itself, than on the rips I got. I still give the CD about an 8/10. Definately the best thing they've done since 91, and metalwise, since the late 80's. I can honestly thank Rick Rubin for pushing them in the right direction on this one. But I can also honestly say, I don't think Rubin had a thing to do with the production on this album. The mixing is mediocre at best. Alot of elements are probably near peak levels, the drums are slightly high in many of the songs, and the vocals are nearly buried in alot of tracks. The high audio level in some elements, may have added to the almost "muddy" sound on the album......probably wouldn't have hurt to bring the gain down on those instruments.

The bass is certainly alot better than in recent albums, but it's still a tad low in the mix. Overall, it seems like it could use some of Rock's infamous "polished" sound. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have some more highs in the overall mix. I love the album, but the production takes alot away from it.... I'm not that picky either, so if I notice production faults without even looking for them, it's saying something on my part.
The album is definately worth listening to a few hundred times, so go pick it up.
But it definately lacks in the production area.

Meh.

was definately listening to the solo when i read this post. thats what make this special.

although, i haven't taken a liking to My Apocalypse, it probably has to do with me not listening to it as much as their other songs on the album. I mean the first part of the song just doesn't seem to fit into my liking. Maybe i'll give it more of a listen and see if i like it.

people are crazy.

Cyanide isn't too bad either.

I think the drums take up too much of the mix.

I'd like to hear Hammet a bit louder on his solos.

But, no real problems, it's a good album by a legendary band. Period.

After reading your posts I have to say I think it's you that may be crazy bud...

I have been a fan of Metallica since I first was given a copy of the "No Life Till Leather" demo way back when, and saw them live in support of RTL before anyone in the mainstream really knew or cared about them. I also got to interview them in 1986 (Lars and James) for a Fanzine I wrote called "Soldiers of Metal" and they were great, very forthcoming and cool, especially considering I was a 16 year old kid at the time. Anyway, I have seen them live countless times, listened to their albums through and through, played some of their music in my band, etc, etc. My point is I feel that I am fairly qualified to speak about them.

Now, just like many hardcore fans from the Megaforce days,I was saddened by the direction they took with Bob Rock and felt they were overproduced and certainly with Load/Reload they just became uninspired and almost a parody of themselves (as played by some lunatic 60 year old pseudo country band or something!). However, I didn't "hate" the band, I just chose not to follow them in the direction they were going. However, when St. Anger came out, like all the previous albums, I gave it an honest couple listens and at least appreciated the raw nature of the CD, though overall it was not great. So, when I heard Rick Rubin would be working with them, and that they had commented on making some attempts to "recapture some of the old magic", I was pretty psyched and looked forward to the finished product.

So now I have listened to DM 5-6 times all the way through, and the verdict is in: It's a GREAT CD from one of the top thrash/speed/power metal bands. I would personally give it an A-/B+ for the following reasons:

- Metallica are NOT going to write/record Kill Em All 2 or another RTL, it's just not going to happen at this stage in their career. They are older, more mature, less influenced/immersed in metal music day to day and quite simply I am sure their tastes are just far more broad than they were in their early 20's. That being said, this CD is an exceptional attempt by guys 18 years past their last A rated CD(in my opinion).
-The songs are well crafted, riff heavy, interesting (for the most part), the solos are brisk and well peppered throughout the disk.
- This is by far the best writing the band has done since AJFA, though not perfect, but come on and be fair here, it's an album MANY of you, and other Metallica fans worldwide never thought they'd pull off at this point in their career.
-The band has endured many struggles and challenges and this has certainly not made it easy to remain friends and writing partners but amidst all this they still managed to put out a kick ass CD 25+ years deep into their career. I know of very few bands who are still writing good new material that far along in their history (Iron Maiden, Bruce Springsteen are some others).

The Internet makes it easy for people to "bash" and act like they have all the answers and know the real deal on everything but I would bet my left nut that 99.99999% of those ripping on this new CD are either too stubborn to admit that the band put out a really good product or simply just enjoy bashing people/bands with the security of the internet in front of them. Meaning, if Lars/James showed up at their house for a listening party I am sure these same haters would be sucking their a** hard!

Listen to the CD a few times, compare it to last 15+ years of material and tell me honestly it's not a great effort by these legends of metal. If you were ever a real fan of Metallica it's virtually impossible to not like this CD unless you're just being a chump.

My roomate is a huge metallica fan and i can see it in him that he knows that the album is crap but he doesn't want to admit it because that's his favorite band... i find it quite humorous

as for my opinion... they should have retired years ago, i'm not a fan by any means but i've heard more than my share of songs from them and you can hear when a band has lost its touch

If he's truly a Metallica fan, and not just a KEA/RTL/MOP/AJFA fan then there's no way he thinks the album is "crap", unless he's deaf. Is it as good as early efforts? No, not quite, but it's far from crap and to say otherwise is just simply bullsh*t, especially if they're supposedly a fan. If it's a Jay Z fan and they hate the album, well, that I understand.

It's become sport to bash Metallica post-Napster and even if they put out the greatest metal album in history you'd still have retards on here saying "they shoulda retired years ago" and the the album sucks, etc etc...pretty pathetic.

You have made the error of comparing it to just Metallica albums. By that standard yeah there 4 and a half good albums ever, and like 20 really horrible ones, and this is somewhere above those but not quite to those 4.5 good ones so by that set of standards it seems decent. However, if you look at it for what it is, a thrash album, it is just bad. Even while being a decent album by Metallica standards this is still the bottom rung of thrash and barely listenable.

whats nwobhm one more time?

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal which was a huge influence on Lars. Diamond Head specifically.

"Barely listenable" is pathetic, and totally unjust, even if you choose to put it in the category of simply "Thrash metal". However, I would ask you, for what other bands do you do that? Meaning, when I listen to a new disk from Bruce Springsteen, am I comparing it to all other Arena Rock/Folk/Classic Rock/Singer Songwriter CD's or am I simply grading it based on what I think of Bruce S. and his overall talent? I would say, as I think many would, the latter is true.

With Iron Maiden's last release (which was great), do I have to compare it against all other British Metal bands, or Power Metal bands or NWOBHM bands or whatever category you want to put them in or can I just say that it's a great f**king CD for Iron Maiden? See I think a lot of these so called "Metallica Fans" are probably not really real fans in the sense that if they were, they would judge DM based on what Metallica has been able to pull off with this vs. past recordings and not lumping it into all current/modern Thrash Metal, which obviously Metallica are not fairly categorized as this point as they are more than just that style alone. I also would venture a guess that 90% of those bashing Death Magnetic are under the age of 30, or even 25, are are much more likely biased towards more modern metal bands like Shadows Fall, COB, Soulfly, Lamb of God, Arch Enemy etc etc. Therefore, Metallica is going to be unjustly judged simply by being "old". Deny this if you like but I have already heard them be dissed for that reason in these forums and by other younger musicians I hang with from time to time. Simply being older guys does not in any way diminish the quality of the band and/or this most recent CD and to suggest so is just purely retarded.

Of course 'Barely Listenable' is not pathetic. Whether I personally agree or not, opinions are valid for everyone. I am in my mid 30's and have seen Metallica many times too but if a release is shit, I will say it is.

Using the criteria of a bands longevity is a weak argument. My favourite band is Pink Floyd but 'The Wall' sucks for me and I have no compunction saying otherwise. If people don't like 'Death Magnetic' then so be it. Trying to change an already made up mind is usually a fruitless excersise.

greatest troll ever.

Well yes it is actually pathetic and I'll be glad to explain why...

"Barely Listenable" is something that say a woman in her 70 who enjoys Classical might say about Metallica, but when a supposed Metallica fan says the same about DM it's just plain odd is what it is. You don't like it, you don't think it's that strong, not as good as expected, not heavy enough, OK gotcha and those are all valid. Barely listenable is just unjust and unfair honestly, considering how much better DM is than anything they have done in close to 20 years. Saying it's s**t means you either haven't really listened to it or just currently subscribe to the "all things Metallica suck" school of thought; there is a difference between not liking something and saying it's worthless, crap, etc. I am not a fan of Figure Skating, it bores the f**k out of me, but it's not "crap".

As for The Wall, which I find almost unimaginable that a supposed fan doesn't like, that's an opinion, as I didn't hear you cal lit unlistenable or s**t. You are very likely in the minority with that opinion but hey, that's cool. Saying it's weak or not a good piece of music would be insane, however. I think Animals and The Final Cut are two of the greatest Pink Floyd, if not CD's in general, releases to come in the last 35 years but some people don't like either album and ONLY like The Wall. Those are opinions and I get it.

What are the chances that you're under 25 and live in your parent's basement?

I would also guess that you own and regularly use/play:

-Guitar Hero
-Madden 2008
-Oxy 5000
-Shamwow

The latter is still bad. You should compare the album with what it is trying to be and compete with. Death Magnetic is Metallica trying to go back to their roots, and thus it would be fair to judge it on that criteria. When compared to other thrash bands and heavy metal bands Death Magnetic just doesn't cut it.

If it helps fellate your ego a bit I'm 21 but...
I don't agree with this at all. Of these bands Arch Enemy had some good stuff in the 90s, thats about it. Age also doesn't matter. I don't presume I'll like something or not based on era. I'd still call Cirith Ungol one of the better metal bands to ever exist. Also, not metal related, I'd still consider Chick Webb to be among my favorite drummers.

I fully agree. Being older doesn't make them bad musicians. In fact, I'd say both Curse Of The Hidden Mirror and Heaven Forbid were good albums and Blue Oyster Cult were old as **** at that point.

actually ironically, those are old riffs.

squizz at xm talked to the metal militia and they said what they were doing with this album was pulling out every old recording they ever made including all the riffs and drum lines and potential songs clear back from the start of metallica that they had saved and locked away somewere.

as far as my apocalypse, i cant say a best or wersed song yet i want to listen to the album more first that in my opinion isn`t the best though.

lars and that damn snair i swear man,:drummer:

kirk did good i feel especially around 2:30 but he always does good.

something i noticed about this album in comparisom to ..umm how bout the black album, something i noticed was it sounded like james is "trying" to sing in some of it versus songs like through the never or enter sandman he just did it. but hey just my 0.02$ -Dave

what the hell are those last two.

i happen to have only one game system, that happens to be an N64.

I live with my parents yes, but only because i am not yet old enough to move out.

Exactly just how old are you gramps?

LOL...what a shocker. You are soooo qualified to be speaking about Metallica and their history/relevance. Why don't you go back to Pokemon and the Jonas brothers kid...

If he's listened to the album he's qualified to an opinion, you don't need to have been there 'since the old days' or whatever elitists cling on to.
And quit with the generalisations.

I have mixed reactions from this album. A couple songs have grown on me. But they sound like they are trying to hard sometimes over the course of the album to get back to there "roots" unsuccesfully. i am a huge metallica fan. have been since 13. but i think its time to throw in the towel. And lars needs to go away and take some drum lessons. he plays the same **** over and over. he has like 3 different fills that are uninspired and uses them over and over. its like a broken record with him.