Metallica

This release is, if nothing else, interesting. It has received a lot of criticism so far, and this criticism seems to be primarily directed at Lou Reed's vocals. I can kind of follow that, as Lou Reed definitely is an acquired taste (I mean, his first lines in 'Pumping Blood' should be enough to turn any power-vocals-loving metal fan off). I am not a Lou Reed fan, but I kind of like how his spoken word-ish vocals are laid on top of the heavy music. Yes, it is a bit arty-farty, and, yes, when he tries to sing, he's off-key and all that. But the tension between the spoken-word, poetry-slam-like vocals and Metallica's heavy music works quite well, in my opinion. Tracks like 'The View' and 'Frustration' are actually quite cool. They are heavy and sort of groovy with a couple of uptempo sloppy passages every now and then, and I quite like Lou Reed's spoken word-ish vocals that are overlaid on top of the music - and then there is, of course, James Hetfield's new slogan "I am the table!" in 'The View'. And the following track 'Pumping Blood' with its ventures into both alt rock, thrash metal, noise rock and more traditional metal is another interesting track I think where Lou Reed's bizarre vocals go well with the music. The dark and acoustic 'Little Dog' also comes across quite okay, which also applies to 'Dragon' where the intensity of Reed's vocals actually follow the rises and falls of intensity in the music (something which some of the other tunes on the album lack). Of course, not everything is swell and dandy, and the opening track 'Brandenburg Gate' is a bit too sloppy for my tastes, while the fierce repetitive primitive thrash riff that constitutes the majority of the musical ... -> show full review

THE most important thrash metal album ever!! While the following album is definitely better, I highly recommend this!!!

Metallica's best and most progressive album!

Back to the Roots, Metallica play fast and heavy like in the old days. Most songs are long and songwriting based around riffs. James (singer/rhythm guitar) is at his top form, bass and lead guitars are quite good too, and the drummer sounds like crap. Luckily, all songs are at least decent with the instrumental being probably the weakest one.

Ah... they're back. This album contains elements that are reminiscent of "Master of Puppets" and "...and Justice for All", such as long songs and more musical complexity thant what Metallica have offered since the black album, and added to this is some of the raw energy of "St. Anger".

"Death Magnetic" is a very varied album with some songs veing almost Slayer-like while others are groovy and others again very melodic, and others again contain riffs that remind me of the Exodus of the 80s. Best of all, Kirk's shreddy solos are back, which I've certainly missed for many years. "Death Magnetic" certainly is the best Metallica since "...and Justice for All".

Undoubtedly, a classic of the genre. A must have for any Thrash metal fan.

While all of Metallicas first four albums were really good, they were all pretty different. If you ask me, this is the one that stands out the most, as the production is much different and the material is even more different than what Metallica fans might be used to. First of all, as you can see on the track length on all of the songs, Metallica kind of "progged" it all up a bit. And if you ask me, this is a very good thing. I feel that the songs on this albums are much stronger than the songs on the previous Metallica albums.

To begin with, Blackened might be one of the strongest songs Metallica has written to date. The intro to the opener was typical for Metallica, they wanted to open up the album quitely as usual. (It's the same with the openers on Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. All quiet intoductions to the album.) However, once the song get's going, you're in for a joyful proggy thrash ride. The album continues with various strong numbers, including the famous One which is my favourite song from Metallica.

The titletrack is probably the progiest and most interesting song on here, but Metallica weren't skilled enough in those areas of songwriting to make the song as good as it could have been, so it may seem slightly disappointing. And after the marvelous One the albums two weaker tracks ... -> show full review

There must be something wrong with me, because I actually like this album. I was blown away when I heard it the first time and immediately bought it. The production is terrible, to be sure, and it is perhaps a bit strange that Metallica jump the Nu Metal wave years after it had died out. But apart from the lack of soloes and the terrible production, the music itself is very energetic and explosive... pure anger.

It's an essential release in the sense that Metallica are returning to the aggression of the pre-Black Album Days, thus the first step away from the tired-old-man-biker-rock style of the Load and Reload albums.

I wlaways praise "...And Justice for All" and "Master of Puppets", but I tend to forget this one, and shame on me, because "Ride the Lightning" is one killer album which, like the two others, stands the test of time. Certainly up there as one of the best thrash metal releases.

One of the finest thrash releases ever. Stands the test of time.

One of the most poorly produced albums I've ever heard. After releasing 3 albums called "Garage Days"... they finally released an album that sounds like it was recorded in a garage!

I don't know where to start about this album..It's absolutely unique..Never has a symbiosis between a symphony orchestra and a Metal band been created that really worked, but here it does! Thanks to the genious of Michael Kamen, the director of the San Francisco Philharmonic, who did a titan's job writing all the arrangements for band and orchestra, this is the first example of successfully combining Metal and Symphony Orchestra. Forget Deep Purple and the London Philharmonic, where the band and the orchestra just play different tracks. Forget other attempts where the orchestra just acts as "sweetener" for the music. Here the band and orchestra play an equal part, filling eachother with beautiful contrapoint, and layer upon layer of magnificent music. One of my all-time favorite albums!

If you're looking for the progressive moments, focus on the Battery intro & structure, the title track, The Thing that Should Not Be, Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and of course, the fantastic Orion.