The End of The Line...The Slave Becomes The Master

Being a 25-year fan of Metallica, a nice surprise from a friend of mine showed up in my inbox this morning...a link to download a zip file of their new Death Magnetic album. After hearing the 1st single and knowing that metal messiah Rick Rubin worked with them on this record, I eagerly anticipated hearing the whole thing. Not wanting a causal listen, I waited until my drive home from the office. Never have I been so excited to sit in traffic on the 101. Volume knob up, sunroof open, sunglasses on and away we go.

Death Magnetic is a holy crusher of a record...from the get-go of That Was Just Your Life, I was quickly given a cranial lobotomy and wished I had open road to accelerate on. I broke out in a smile many times listening to this record as it means business like a record of theirs has not done in a long time. A sure sign of an experienced band with something to prove. And prove themselves they do with perhaps a career-defining statement and a forceful reminder that they are one of the biggest and best rock bands on the planet.

The riffs on this record are not only monstrous in aggression but also in their meaty production, care of Rubin's touch...almost as if Hetfield and Hammett are playing riffs soaked in the brutal ambiance of Slayer's Reign in Blood. There's a sonic passage during the song All Nightmare Long that sounds like it was lifted from that seminal metal classic.

DM stands tall with only 10 songs, spending no less than 5 minutes on each. Trujillo and Ulrich are monsters of rock on this opus and I can't stress enough how much the production kicks ass. The band does do a wee bit of plagiarizing themselves as parts of The End of The Line sound like Creeping Death re-formulated but in each instance that this occurs, the band adds a modern touch and a different dynamic. While it'll be hard to top Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets for best album it definitely stands shoulder to shoulder and is scary motherfucking good.

Watch their new video for The Day That Never Comes and be sure to turn it up before YOUR LUCK RUNS OUT!!