So, Metallica's new album is here, and what would you expect from this album? Thrash, Traditional Metal, Load-era Rock? Why, yes! All of the above. Is it good. Well, that's up to you, but IMO, it's Metallica's best album since Load, or even the Black Album. In this review, I'm going to do a song-by-song review of each track on Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, but first, let's get into the personnel:
James Hetfield: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar - What more do you need to say about him? He's the driving force behind Metallica. Songwriter, Vocalist, Guitarist, All-round musician, etc. He's vocal performance on this album is stellar, his guitar playing is awesome as usual. His lyrics are quite interesting. Standout Moments: Hardwired, Moth Into Flame, Dream No More, Halo on Fire, Confuson, Spit Out the Bone.
Kirk Hammett: Lead Guitar - Ok, we all know what happened prior to this album; he lost his iPhone that had all his riffs and solos that were not backed up. On this album, he's improvises his guitar solos and some of them are good and others are not. He doesn't really play anything on this album except the guitar solos. Standout Moments: Hardwired, Now That We're Dead, Halo on Fire, Murder One, Spit Out the Bone
Rob Trujillo: Bass Guitar - Rob is the rhythmic backbone of this album. He does a solid job on this album, nothing standout except for a couple moments. He's more heard throughout this album than Death Magnetic. They should utilize him more on their albums. Standout moments: Dream No More, Confusion, ManUNkind, Spit Out the Bone.
Lars Ulrich - Drums, Percussion - Look, we all know he's not the drummer he was 20 years ago, but I feel on this album, he's really into it, an feels like he's having a great time playing drums again. He's drumming is both simplistic and technical. He adds a lot of flavor, variety, texture, groove, in his drumming. He adds a lot, maybe too many snare fills here. We might never get old Lars back, but that doesn't mean he's terrible here. Not to mention, this is the best drum sound on any Metallica record since the Black album. Standout Moments: Now That We're Dead, Dream No More, Confusion, ManUNkind, Here Comes Revenge, Spit Out the Bone.
Now to the songs:
Hardwired: A great opening song for the album. This song is one of my favorites from the album. This song has a Kill 'Em All vibe to it because it's thrash, it's short, it's punk influenced, it's straight to point. It's the shortest song on the album clocking in at a little over 3 minutes. James sounds fantastic here, Lars' drumming is really good here. 5/5
Atlas, Rise!: Good song, very reminiscent of ...And Justice for All. The verses are amazing. The riffs are stellar, especially that one after the second chorus before the guitar solo. This song also has an Iron Maiden feel to it because of the dual harmonizing guitar parts that are reminiscent of Hallowed By thy Name. At First, when i listened to track I wasn't into it, but the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it more. 4/5
Now That We're Dead: This song is.. wow! This song is on a whole other level, I hear influences of Enter Sandman here. I love the intro a lot, especially Lars' drumming here. He does some cool drum fills here with the toms that really stand out. This song is very catchy, the verses, choruses, everything. James' vocals and guitar riffing here are awesome here, Kirk's solo is amazing, Rob does a solid job here. I also really love that jam section in the middle song. 5/5
Moth Into Flame: Another killer track from the album. Wow, there's a lot of energy in here. Has a very old school '80s Metallica vibe in this song. The lyrics are some of the best on the whole album, the verses are great, the choruses are really catchy. Amazing. 4.5/5
Dream No More: This song is my favorite from the album. Really heavy, very groovy, it's like Sad But True, The House That Jack Built, and Devils Dance mixed into one with lyrical influences of The Thing That Should Not Be. Amazing. Verses adds a scary mood to it, the pre-chorus is very energetic, the chorus is is killer, the vibe of this song is very Load-ish with a Black Album chrunch to it. 5/5
Halo on Fire: The "ballad" of the album. This song reminds me a lot like Fade to Black mixed in with that black album vibe. I dig it. The whole song is catchy. I love the ending of this song, very emotional. 4.5/5
Confusion: A rockin track with elements of Am I Evil?, Don't Thread on Me, and Frayed Ends of Sanity. Starts off with a military marching beat, then going into a cool riff. I love the PTSD themed lyrics in this one, reminds me of The Day That Never Comes from the Death Magnetic album. The chorus is very deep, and really amazing. 5/5
ManUNkind: An average track. I really love the ode to Cliff Burton in the intro, which kind of reminds me a lot like something from Iron Maiden's last album, The Book of Souls, which is played and written by Rob Trujillo (it's also the only writing credit from Rob Trujillo). Then it goes into full metal mode, then starting with a cool, jumpy, groovy riff. The lyrics aren't exactly great. The verses has some unusual patterns here, the choruses is again, like a lot of the songs on this album, really catchy. Then after the second chorus, it goes into some really strange but awesome breakdown with some odd, experimental, simplistic yet complex drumming from Lars Ulrich. The verses in that breakdown has a very Black Sabbath esque feel to it. 4/5
Here Comes Revenge: A very dark, doomy number reminiscent of Thorn Within And Of Wolf and Man. Like the previous track, it's average. The intro of this song adds a cool siren effect with the guitar. Then it goes into an energetic riff, then to another dark section with the verses. Then goes onto a pretty cool chorus. 4/5
Am I Savage?: Now we enter my least favorite song of the album. The title is a spinoff of Am I Evil?, and no it does not sound like the song. Thats Confuson, which is really confusing (pun intended). But anyways, back to the song, it opens up with a bluesy intro going into a groovy Load-era riff. The lyrics of this song is kinda meh. I love the pre chorus of this song, it sounds really cool. It also has a cool Gojira-esque sort of breakdown before going into the solo which is rad. 3.8/5
Murder One: The tribute song to Lemmy, named after his favorite Bass amp. Starts off with a clean guitar ballad like riff a lĂ* Sanitarium, then goes into a kick ass groove metal riff. The lyrics are great tribute to Lemmy. The whole song is amazing. The guitar solo is probably the best solo on the whole goddamn album. It also has the best music video too. 5/5
Spit Out the Bone: OMG! This, is like, wow! Mind blowing, old school on steroids lol. It's an epic thrasher. Has a lot of cool riffs, solos, lyrics, drumming, and a cool wah bass solo in the middle of the song by Rob Trujillo. Amazing. Reminds me of the Master of Puppets album. It's also very Progressive too. What a fantastic way to close off the album. 5/5
All in all, it's a kickass album from Metallica. I'd give it a 4/5. It has good, some bad.
Pros:
-Killer guitar work from James
-Rob Trujillo is more heard throughout this album
-Songwrting is consistent
-Has a lot of variety, by touching on everything Metallica's done in their career, ranging from thrash, to heavy metal, to blues
-Production is very crisp, clean, and fresh sounding
-Lars' drumming is very energetic for the first time in a long time, despite it being not like the old school Metallica
Cons:
-A few lyrics in some songs are not that great
-Some songs are a tad bit too long
-Some of Kirks solos are not that good
-Lars does too many snare rolls sometimes
