Woohoo. I finally got my hands on Death Magnetic. And on first listen, this is what I have to say: "Holy crap they are back". I think what Lars Ulrich said was true. This is the best album that they could have made. It's no Master of Puppets, but who wants to here all those songs again. This is a mish mash of what Bay Area thrash is about. The crazy tempo changes, Lars' offbeat timing and Kirk's trademark soloing style. It's clearly a breath of fresh air. Here's a breakdown of the songs:
That Was Just Yor Life - Trademark Metallica opener. Fade in followed by insanely fast riffs. Reminded me a lot of Dyers Eve from ...And Justice For All
The End Of The Line - The speed is toned down a bit but still as heavy. Intro sounds a bit like Harvester of Sorrow.
Broken, Beat & Scarred - Sounds a bit like The Shortest Straw. Pretty much the first 3 songs of Death Magnetic sound very much like stuff from ...And Justice For All. In a good way though.
The Day That Never Comes - Their first single. This song is 2 part it seems. Like the way One was made. Starts out slow then midway there is a massive tempo change. Starts out like Fade To Black and finishes off like One. The harmonies also make it seem just epic.
All Nightmare Long - I like the intro with the bass which then switches into the heavy riffing. Possibly the longest intro they've done. WWE are using this song for No Mercy.
Cyanide - The intro sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it. The riffs on this one sound cool. And the arrangement is great. Slight tempo changes also make the song refreshing.
The Unforgiven III - I swear you can actually sing Unforgiven over the backing track of this one. One of the slower songs on the album. Also sounds a little like I Disappear.
The Judas Kiss - I like this song. It has that bluesy feel which is something that I always liked about Metallica, their blues influence. The chorus is one of the better ones on this album.
Suicide & Redemption - Instrumental song. I prefer the older instrumentals over this one as this one is just filled with riffs and not as technically profound as the older ones like Orion.
My Apocalypse - Sounds like Fuel. But only very remotely. It's something that my brain does after listening to a million and one riffs it is able to remember even the smallest riffs. This is a fast song with a couple of tempo changes. Good riffs in this one too.
My favourite songs so far are That Was Just Your Life, The Unforgiven III, Judas Kiss and The Day That Never Comes mainly 'cause they are the songs that hit me the most on first listen. I'm sure the other songs will grow on me as I listen to the album more.
