New album “Death Magnetic” bounces Metallica back to the days before Bob Rock allowed them to start sharing their feelings by embracing their more suitable blend of angst and terror, as if it should have been the record to follow “…And Justice for All”. Such a deliberate revival of glory days can be tricky, possibly making the group seem stuck in the past–or unable to get the essential elements right. But songs like “All Nightmare Long” revel in Metallica’s greatest asset–that nobody else makes noise in the same way as they can.

by Mark Emge

Call “Death Magnetic” Kirk Hammett’s revenge. Browbeaten into accepting drummer Lars Ulrich and producer Bob Rock’s dictum that guitar solos were “dated” and thereby verboten for 2003’s “St. Anger”–a fraught recording chronicled on the rockumentary “Some Kind Of Monster”– Metallica’s shredder dominates this return-to-form. Producer Rick Rubin (Slayer, Johnny Cash) steers the band back to basics on “Broken, Beat & Scarred”. Admittedly those basics are pretty complex: intertwined guitar riffs, frenetic solos, and thunderous double-bass drums stitched together into an intricate six-minute suite.

by Mark Emge

This is one of America’s most renowned heavy metal rock bands. Metallica has been rocking for over 15 years. The band came together when drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper. Since then, the band has had to replace Cliff Burton who was lost in a tragic bus accident. That’s when Jason Newsted came in. Newsted left the band in 2001 and the guys inducted Robert Trujillo to the stage in 2003. “Cyanide” is the first singe off of their 2008 album “Happy Death Magnetic Day”, which was produced by the legendary Rick Rubin. Front man James Hetfield said the title of the album was an observation on how some people are drawn to death like a magnet, and others are afraid and push it away. The band’s website is www.metallica.com.

by Victor Caballero

Although more well-known recently for creating career-defining discs for Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, Rick Rubin has produced more Slayer albums than any other client, so Metallica fans had to be happy to hear the bearded one was replacing radio-metal guru Bob Rock behind the boards for the first time since the Black Album (especially the 20,000 who posted an online petition to the band to dump Rock, ouch!). After the “Some Kind Of Monster” group-hug disaster something had to give, and regression seems to be the new therapy as “Death Magnetic” takes the speed-metal kings back to the thrashing days of “Ride The Lightning” with 74 minutes of six-string punishment. “My Apocalyse” is the album’s closing song.

by Mark Emge

Metallica is getting ready for the 12 September release of their new album, “Death Magnetic”, by releasing their song “The Day That Never Comes”. Although singer James Hetfield has been clean and sober for 12 years, he says he still finds it hard to not drink. He admitted: “The temptation to drink is with me forever. When you’ve done something a certain way for so long, doing it a different way is difficult. You start to doubt yourself. I’ll never be cured. It’s one of those things that I’ll have to deal with all my life.” Hetfield says it will be hardest in the next few months, while the band is on tour. For the group’s dates, visit www.metallica.com.

by Martín Wagmaister