Hardwired...to Self-Destruct by Metallica.

[The Natural]

I posted in the banging the head that does not bang thread when I found out about Metallica's new album. I think METALLICA deserve a separate topic plus Metallica's my favourite band ever.

The singles so far:

 

 

I like all three but the standout for me is Moth Into Flame.

Feel free to talk about Metallica's past albums/songs, rankings of them etc as well.

[NikoBaltimore]

I'm a hardcore Metallica fan as well, and yes I even liked St. Anger to a degree.  The singles so far sounds really awesome.  I like Moth Into Flame, though the others you posted I like a bit more (excellent for cardio)  I saw the songs were leaked online and Youtube has a bunch of them.  I'm tempted to hear them, but I'd rather wait until I get the album.

[Curt McGirt]

Thanx Natural! Have fun over here guys.

[badfish69]

Rolling Stone on Twitter today has the video for Dream No More.  Haven't seen it up on YouTube yet but they do have the guitar track.

 

[Brian Fowler]

And suddenly videos everywhere. Looks like nearly every song got an official video dropped today at different online outlets.

[Phantom Lord]

They're adding video's by the hour. Here is Metallica's tribute to Lemmy. "NOT COCAINE"

 

 

[NikoBaltimore]

9 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

And suddenly videos everywhere. Looks like nearly every song got an official video dropped today at different online outlets.

I decided it's best for me to hear the album when I get it tomorrow first, then check out the videos.  But it is strange that a band so concerned about copyright has videos out where you can easily rip the audio off of the music video.

[Brian Fowler]

They've always maintained the Napster thing was more about an unfinished demo they didn't want released surfacing than copyright. Not sure how honest that is, but hey

[southofheavy]

Hmmm. From what I've heard, this is the most honest batch of tunes Metallica's done since The Black Album. They're not trying to get back to the first four albums, they're not trying to get current/revealing their plot loss like St. Anger, or being a shitty mainstream rock band like the Load albums. So far, this is coming across like "Hey, let's have fun and write the best songs we can at this point." And it's working.

[Curt McGirt]

I have zero interest in this album but that video for "Murder One" is AMAZING. 

[Phantom Lord]

I guess they were going for a visual album of sorts. Though if that's the case it sucks they didn't do an honest video for Atlas,Rise!

11 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

I have zero interest in this album but that video for "Murder One" is AMAZING. 

You should watch this one. This is probably the fastest and best song they've done in years.

 

[Curt McGirt]

I'm listening to the track but it pares down to this to me, personally. 

Some people are Beatles people and some people are Stones people. It doesn't mean the two are mutually exclusive, but there's a disconnect between the two. 

The same goes for Metallica people and Slayer people. I'm a Slayer guy. 

And really, if this is the best they've got... sorry, I hope you all enjoy everything. The videos are awesome!

EDIT: And yes I realize I titled the metal thread with a Metallica quote. Like I said, not mutually exclusive haha

[NikoBaltimore]

I got the album and so far this is like a huge shot of caffeine.  Heard up to Moth into the Flame, and while I heard 3 of the first 4 so far they're so, so damn good.  Can't wait to hear the rest.

But a part of me can't help but wonder if there was a different voice on vocals how that would sound.  It's unfortunate Hetfield can't do what he did on earlier albums, and this really highlights that.  From Load on he's not really had that sound to him and in a way you do end up used to it.  But this album really brings that more to the forefront and it's kind of hard not wonder what could have been.

[Curt McGirt]

Really don't mean to be Debbie Downer over here but someone made this with the Metallica logo image creator (you can probably find it easy enough if you wanna mess with it yourself; my own band's names came out pretty good) but someone online made this with it. 

Spoiler

http://metallica.alwaysdata.net/1479492107_699137587

Well that didn't work, it just takes you to the link but he typed in "MOVE ON". Hey, you get the link anyway!

EDIT: Oh man people are going wild with this on Facebook. Somebody put in "GIMME FUE GIMME FAI GIMME DABAJABAZA" hahaha

[badfish69]

So far loving the album.  Got up to Here Comes Revenge, which might be my favorite so far.  Is it a coincidence that since Trujillo joined the band they have been bringing the metal again?

[Brian Fowler]

Things I don't understand:

Hardwired... To Self Destruct on digital at Amazon: $11.98

Hardwired... To Self Destruct on CD at Amazon with free digital download: $9.99

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Full disclosure: Metallica is my absolute favorite band on the planet. Halo on Fire, Spit Out The Bone, and Dream No More are legitimate all time instant classics. Some of this seems a little "same-y" but it's pretty damn good if I do say so. Not quite as stiff as DM, definitely has some of that Black Album/Load swing/groove to it. Production is definitely the best since Garage, Inc. Drum sound is nice and warm but I do wish the guitars were a slightly more chunky. I also wish Kirk's solos were a little more memorable, but certain licks during say Halo or Moth Into Flame show some flashes of brilliance. Rob's bass is absolutely crushing. When I heard the Ronnie Rising Medley for the first time, I said I sure hope the next Metallica album sounds like this production-wise, and that is EXACTLY what we got. Even the tracks I'm not really in love with are growing on me the more I hear them, like Confusion or ManUNkind (what a title). Lars said they went into this with no mission statement or meetings about direction, they just started combing through James' riff tapes and started playing, and it definitely shows. There's a looseness here, but it's not frenetic like St. Anger, it's definitely got that writing-Load-in-Lars'-dungeon kind of energy.

[Brian Fowler]

It's a lot like Death Magnetic. And I liked Death Magnetic. They both generally got back to what the band used to do better than anyone else in the world (though they'll never be that young, hungry, and angry again) and both generally work, but both have some obvious clunkers.

But thus far nothing has grabbed me as an essential song the way Cyanide did off DM. That's legit a borderline top five Metallica song in my book, definitely top ten. 

I certainly don't regret the ten bucks, and I fully intend to get the vinyl deluxe boxset version when I have the spare cash, but I'm not feeling the "best Metallica album in 25 years" thing. Partially because I'm not convinced Self-titled is actually better than Load, but I know that's a minority opinion. But Hardwired definitely isn't as good as Load and I'm not sure it's as good as Death Magnetic.

Which is an awfully negative way to address an album I like.

(Also, the double album thing is bullshit. It's a minute and a half shorter than Load.)

[NikoBaltimore]

You might be the only person I know of that thinks this is not as good as Load.  That's not an insult, because I loved that and ReLoad a ton (oh, did I enjoy that in my teenage years)  It's been a while since I heard either album, but I would need to re-listen those two before deciding if your argument holds up.  As far as their self-title not being as good as Load, man that album was king-sized for them with instantly memorable tunes.  I respectfully disagree on that part.

Still need to hear the last couple songs off Hardwired... but so far I really liked it.  There's a couple memorable ones but some just don't really click with me.  I'm hoping after a re-listen or two I'll appreciate those more, but overall I'm pleased with it.

[Brian Fowler]

Oh, I like Load more than just about everybody. 

Reload was fucking terrible though.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Reload has some good shit on it though. Memory Remains has some great Sabbath flavor. Devils Dance is a stomper. I'm one of 4 people on earth who love Unforgiven II. Fixxxer is a hidden classic, as is Prince charming. Low Mans Lyric is a little whatever, but the demo version (look up Mine Eyes on Youtube) is pretty interesting.

I like everything on Load except the steel on Mama Said. That and the Ja Rule thing are just indefensible-- perhaps even more than Lulu or St. Anger.

In the pantheon of post Black album Metallica, this album to me is probably better than Reload or St. Anger, slightly better than Load, but slightly less enjoyable than DM. I was just so much more excited for DM and despite the shitty mix, I was really blown away by the liveliness of the album. Fast songs, standard tuning, two great ballads, classic instrumental, killer opener, killer finisher... it has everything. Although I really like Hardwired it's just not grabbing me in the same way outside of maybe 5 or 6 of the songs. 

[username]

10 hours ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

I'm one of 4 people on earth who love Unforgiven II.

The song itself isn't terrible but the line "Or are you unforgiven too?" may be the worst the band has ever written and that covers a lot of ground.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

8 hours ago, username said:

The song itself isn't terrible but the line "Or are you unforgiven too?" may be the worst the band has ever written and that covers a lot of ground.

Maybe pre-St. Anger but it's pretty pedestrian compared to "My lifestyle determines my death style" or "She holds the pen that spells the end/She traces me and draws me in"

[JohnnyJ]

Unforgiven II is not a bad song but it came out around a time when Metallica was still getting tons of mainstream press because of their popularity but were decidedly uncool.You want to come out with a sequel to a song for your diehards that's fine. Do not make it  a single. I recall it being a frequent subject of mockery.

 

[Curt McGirt]

There's always "I am the table" but Lou Reed probably wrote that one