Thought Sausage

So, through the various interwebs, friends, things that are no longer valid etc etc ad nauseum...I got a hold of this today. For anybody who doesn't know...this is the new Metallica album that comes out next week (and for the record, yes, I'll still buy it...I'm not 'like that' Lars...don't worry). It's been heralded as "the return to the classic sound" and all that. If you're reading this and give a shit about Metallica, then you've already the new singles. Allz I gotta say is you pretty much have a feeling for how this thing is gonna sound. Those tunes pretty much cover what you're in for.

Since there's a ton of "track by track" reviews and typical journalistic bullshit, I'll save that and just get to my initial impressions after going through each song a few times. Specifically, the feel of the album and the mechanics in the production.

First off, it absolutely is fucking great. There's some serious ballsy tunes here. It's cool listening to these old dudes taking everyone to task. This is weird for a Metallica album to live up to hype. It's got everything it's been trumped up to have (which isn't always a good thing, which I'll get to). Riffs with serious balls, tigher than a nun's cunt and the arrangements totally feel like something from Puppets or Justice.

Unforgiven III in no way resembles Unforgiven or Unforgiven II whatsofucking ever. Lyrics or music. In fact the only similarity I caught was that the format is like is that the verses are heavy and the chorus are soft. IMHO this is the weak point on the album. It is "kind of" growing on me. One common thing throughout this album is that there are no backing vocals and this song really could have used them. His melodies just don't hold up by themselves. I'm assuming production decision was made that took precedence. What's the big fucking deal with shit like that with big bands these days? I don't understand how people will sacrifice the quality of a song for the sake of keeping things sounding 'raw' or 'live' or whatever the fuck Rick Rubin probably went for. And raw the album is. Kirks solos sound extremely dry, so the solos take on the same tone as Justice (minus the chorus/verb tone he had on Puppets or Justice).

The snare is mixed like almost everything Rubin has been involved with. So if you like how the drums on the System of a Down and Slipknot records sounded, you'll like these. Lars's drumming is actualy pretty intricate (for him at least) all around. The bass sounds really full on a system that reproduces it, but I suspect Rob was using fingers throughout (wow what a bizarre concept for metal nowadays!) so if you listen to it on laptop speakers or earbuds..basically anything that won't reproduce actual bass tones, it's going to sound pretty thin. But jesus fuck that bass rumbles on a real stereo. It's weird how much the mix of the album will vary based on what system it's on. Basically, it's squashed (go figure). Not as bad as Justice or anything, and maybe not as harsh as St. Anger, but definitely not as wide of a spectrum as Black Album, Load or Reload had.

I RLY wish they would have triple tracked the guitars like on Puppets (although the riffs here are way to intricate to keep that from being muddy). The phatness isn't here. It seems like they compromised the phat sound for a tight sound. So these guitars sit in the mix about like how Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction or United Abominations sounds. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not. I guess it is good in that you get to hear all the nuances in the strumming and open chords.

But beyond any production quirks, the songs still kick ass. Things are clearly not written around vocal hooks which could be good or bad I guess (save for All Nightmare Long which has a great chorus vocal melody). It certainly doesn't sound like a Justice/Puppets/Lightning wannabe album. The riffs are fresh. They take on a prog feel like Justice in parts, but I hear influences of Slipknot and System of a Down in there. So it won't be an album that doesnt' sit well along with what's going on now (as if I know fuck all about that).

There's an instrumental on here that kicks ass without treading old ground. That was impressive. Even has a Black Label Society feel to it...real grinding.

I've seen other reviews say it, and I'll echo, Broken Beat & Scarred is fucking killer. It'll be a live fav for sure. Killer riff. All Nightmare Long stood out right away, as did Judas Kiss.

Basically...if you are at all familiar with Metallica's canon..buy this fucker. You will dig. These guys are most definitely back to melting faces off with guitars just like circa 1987. there's NOTHING here that resembles St. Anger save for long songs. The arrangements are smart, the lyrics aren't cheese (save for a few parts), the drumming is definitely aggro and the guitar solos are great.

My one wish is that they incorporated the wide spectrum/EQ range they had with Black Album/Load and Reload along with the verb and granduer in the production of Puppets and Lightning. This has a super crisp tight sound which is great for a modern metal band...but it sort of misses the mark for the songs Metallica did here for me. Also, if they would have gone back and put some vocal harmonies where needed, it would have totally capapulted Unforgiven III into amazing levels.