Here are my thoughts, track by track :
1. That Was Just Your Life : This tune is UNREAL. It starts off with the sound of a heartbeat, and opens with a minor chord, clean picked intro. Kinda strange for Metallica, almost Alice in Chains-y. When the heavier guitars kick in, it sounds like it could have been lifted off of "...And Justice For All". By the time the verses start, and the song kicks into a faster gear, my jaw's on the floor. The stutter-step pre-chorus is a cool touch, and the chorus is a full-on "Blackened"-esque assault. Completely awesome. It leads to a great mid-tempo bridge section with tons of speed bag riffs and sideways guitar runs, which go into Kirk Hammett's best solo since 1988. I don't know where he's been hiding since then, but I'm glad he's back. Great tune, a kick in the face from a band that I wasn't entirely sure could do it again.
2. The End of the Line : The intro was lifted from "The New Song" that the band played live during shows in 07, only this time, it's played in standard tuning and faster, and sounds infinitely better. The riff it bursts into is a great, jammy, almost Deep Purple-y riff that's catchy as all hell. From there, we get verses that don't sound too far apart from "Creeping Death" or the bridge section of "The Four Horsemen". Back into the catchy riff and another great verse. When the chorus hits, it's just HUGE. It's big, it's catchy, and I'm getting chills thinking about 10,000+ people singing along. VERY cool tune. The bridge has some great harmonized guitars, but the solo leaves a bit to be desired. The chunky post-solo guitars give way to a great mellow mid-section, which explodes into a great last verse and end section.
3. Broken, Beat & Scarred : A thick, chunky riff opens this one, and goes into a lead part not unlike a cross between "enter sandman" and "Wherever I May Roam" from The Black Album. From there, we get a funky, stutter-stepping first riff and a nice, groove-laden, head-bobbin' beat. This is another "can't wait" moment, just thinking about 10,000+ screaming "SHOW! YOUR! SCARS!" at the top of their lungs in unison. The middle section of the verses, with their harmonized power chords anthemic vocals are a great addition to the straight ahead attack of the rest of the verse. Man, Lars Ulrich really stepped up his drumming on this record. Gone are the simple 4/4 AC/DC-esque beats of The Black Album, and, in their place are beats that use said influence as a base, but utilize the fills and off-time cymbal crashes that he became known for on classic records like "master of puppets". By the time the double time bridge and the solo hits, this tune has cemented itself as a keeper. The post solo riff is great, just straight up, early 80's Bay Area thrash. People that wrote this band off may have to reevaluate themselves after listening to this one.
4. The Day That Never Comes : I already reviewed this one when I first heard it (a few posts up). After a pile of listens it still holds up, and it's grown on me more and more. In the context of the album, the front, ballad-y half works as a "breather" after 3 long, thrash-y onslaughts. Still not sure if it was the best pick for the first single, and I recently saw, and HATED, the video, so that's all strange to me. Anywho, that's neither here nor there, the song is great, end of story.
5. All Nightmare Long : More of that weird "Wherever I May Roam" middle-eastern-y guitar work opens this one. Around the 1 minute mark, a full-on, tremolo palm muted riff that wouldn't sound out-of-place on a Slayer record hits you in the fact and you realize that the fun's about to start. This one is a headbanger straight out of 1989, with some modern metal elements through in between the verses. It opens with an ominous "Luck....Runs...Out!", and go into an oddly open (but still heavy) verse. The chorus of this one is HUGE, loving it. The way the vocal melody and the guitar riff interlock is great. This is really Metallica treading some new water, really combining the best elements of their 80's thrash heydays and the big, riff-y hard rock of their 90's material. When the overly wahed out solo comes it, it, once again, wouldn't sound entirely out of place on a Slayer record (the beginning is very reminiscent of the main riff of "Raining Blood"). The second section of the solo, however, is vintage Hammett, and is great. The ultra-thrashy harmonized guitars in between the solos may be my favorite thing about this one (that or the last half of the solo anyway). The break post-solo(s) is another cannibalized piece from the aforementioned "New Song" of '07. Once again, it works better here as well. Despite it's cheesy title, this one is one of the stronger tunes on the record. It even has an instant of "Sad But True" styled "Heavy Silence", which I'm always a sucker for.
6. Cyanide : This one was played live before the release of the first single in Dallas at Ozzfest. the live version seemed a little ragged, but THIS version is head and shoulders better. This one is probably the most "Black Album/Load" sounding tune on this record. It's a mid-tempo, catchy, groove-driven song that seems tailor made. The chorus, with it's marching beat and vocal line/guitar line attack are infectious and get stuck in your head straight away. This may be the bounciest, most danceable Metallica tune ever written. The breakdown/bridge section before the solo is cool, with some clean guitars and James Hetfield sounding better than he's sounded since 91. The only issue I have with this one is that it's a little repetitive, especially after the riff-fests that precede it. Solid tune none-the-less, though.
7. Unforgiven III : Man, I was worried about this one. It just seemed like a cop-out and I was prepared for the worst. Happily, I was VERY wrong. It opens up with a piano lead orchestra playing a piece of music not unlike an Ennio Morricone score. This orchestration continues throughout the tune, underlying the main guitar parts until the heavier guitars kick in during the verse. The lyrics this time deal with a Sailor that leaves his life behind to go out to sea because he feels he has nothing to live for. The old "Heavy verse/light chorus" structure of "The Unforgiven" is used here, and used well. This one is a great tune, and a great respite from the heavier tunes while still having some substance and staying heavy. The solo is especially good, very much note-worthy. One of my favorite Hammet solos of the past 20 years, hands down. It's nice to see Metallica playing with the dynamics of old again on this record.
8. The Judas Kiss : Starting off with a heavy, kick-drum lead marching beat, and leading into some ominous harmonized guitars this one is a bruiser. The main riff after the intro is amazing. Fast palm-muted chugs at a break neck pace. The verses have an odd time signature that took me a listen or 2 to really lock into. Now, however, I LOVE it. It just gives it a more aggressive feel, and works really well. the Chorus, again, is unreal. When it comes around with the "Bow Down! Sell Your Soul to Me!" bit, I smile ear-to-ear every time. There's just something about this one that really clicks with me, that I get excited when it comes around each time I check out the record. After the 2nd chorus, we get more harmonized guitars, and more ominous marching/chugging. The solo here is another noteworthy one. When the song kicks in and starts going double-time mid solo and Hammett just lets it go, it's great. After a short, spoken word (more like "Barking Word") break, hammet give us another solo, but this one a little jazzier, more wah-laden, more like something from the "Load" records. Here, though, it just WORKS. After some more spoken words stuff, we build back into that huge chorus and a short outro. This one is just great.
9. Suicide and Redemption : This is Metallica's first Instrumental since "To Live is To Die" from "...And Justice For All". The first bit is a bit odd to me. It sounds like a loose jam, with some "Load" era guitar pieces over a simple drum beat that gets a little repetitive and, honestly a little boring. It's would make a great riff in a song, as a middle section here or there, but doesn't really hold its own as an instrumental piece. The solo work (which i believe was all played by James Hetfield in the studio) is interesting, but the next sections is where things get interesting. A mellow interlude kicks in, with one of the catchiest lead-lines I've heard in awhile. This section makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time I listen to it, which is always a plus. The harmonized guitars at the end of that bit are AMAZING. THAT is the sound, the sound of the band that really got me into music, the sound of the band that I listened to endlessly while reading comic books and drawing in my closet-sized bedroom as a Jr. High kid. That sound that I've missed for so long. But i digress. The next bit is interesting, a bit more aggressive than what's come before it, and then kicks into a faster section with a great solo (once again, I believe supplied by Hetfield). The middle section of that solo, with it's dueling guitars, is really great. The riff following the solo (and the wah-ed lead line on top of it) is a solid, snake-y riff that stays with you. After all of that, it goes back into the first, jam-y section, and fades out. Over-all, pretty good, not my favorite track on the record, but the middle section alone makes it's COMPLETELY worth it.
10. My Apocalypse : This tune is unreal. This is the "Dyer's Eve" or "Damage, Inc." of this record, no doubt about it. Unbelievably fast, aggressive, and in your face. The "Harvester of Sorrow" style mid-tempo intro goes straight into a galloping thrash attack that many felt the band didn't have left in them. The chorus, once again, is huge, half-speed, and open, and it's great. The third verse is a stand-out, as the snakey-riff changes up, speeds up, and Hetfield delivers a rapid fire vocal delivery faster than he in decades. Completely great. This one was described as "the song" by the band, because it's the shortest on the record. i wouldn't call it a song, I'd call it a band TAKING NOTICE and telling all of the young cats in the game today NOT to count out these old dogs just quite yet. The post-solo bridge is cool, with it's single note, speed bag chugging, leading into the last verse. During that last verse, when Hetfield Screams "Fear thy Name as Hell Awakens!" over screaming guitars, I think it's really THE stamp on this record. The "Battery"-esque ending bit is great, and the band go out on an out-ringing live jam. The perfect way to end it.
Ok, so, final thoughts : Is this record as good as "Ride the Lightning", "Master of Puppets", or "...And Justice for All"? No. Is this a great record? ABSOLUTELY. I've heard this described as the "lost" middle step between "Justice" and The Black Album, and I can't say I totally disagree. I'd say that this may be THE new definitive Metallica record, though, simply because it has the best elements of all of their records involved. It's as if the band took all of those elements, cut the fat, threw them in a blender, and hit purée. On top of that mix, they then added a bit of the style of the new school of Metal kids that took their inspiration from Metallica, and got a great record.
This is easily the best thing they've released, IMO, in the last 20 years. I know some guys that REALLY dug the groove-oriented style that the band fell into on The Black Album and stripped down ever farther on the "Load" records that will probably be turned off be this. That said, the 11 year old kid inside of me that wore out his cassette of "...And Justice for All" from playing it endlessly everyday approves.
