Metal Reviews

There are three short tracks on MissionMetallica site called "A Taste of Death" They are each thirteen seconds long. They sound pretty good. Its definitely thrash. But of course pretty modern sounding. Just how modern sounding it is? well, i was switching back and forth from listening to those riffs and recent Testament. I was trying to get an idea of how well Metallica's new stuff would hold up against other recent modern outings by other old area bay thrashers. I think Death Magnetic will beat down United Abominations but no so much against the Formation of Damnation. The gutar tones for DM sound similair to FOD. Except that FOD has this huge wall of sound, while DM is a bit more stripped down.
The big opening for the first single "The Day that Never Comes" is thursday aug 21 at 11 am eastern... i can't wait.

I just heard the three "Taste Of Death" samples on Youtube. Wow, I must say I'm actually impressed! This does sound like real thrash metal. Although more like classic Testament or classic Exodus than classic Metallica. Nonetheless, it has a definite bay area thrash sound. Metallica, for better or for worse, also went back to using standard E tuning.

Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-dt5Sx_IoQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx0XvrqO ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KVscWorSvs

Those actually sound like they could be off one of the original four?!

Wow... I'm trying to not listen to anything off this album before it comes out so as to have no expectations, but I couldn't resist for those three clips... And they actually sounded quite good!

The first single will be released online tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xle32T8rRc

You can hear bits there (when Lars is listening on the headphones and at the end), and the song has some heavy parts. Not sure they'd release a really fast, heavy song to radio, but who knows. We'll find out tomorrow.

The album's first single, "The Day That Never Comes", is described as the most downbeat track on the album, and is said to be reminiscent of their 1990 Grammy-winning epic breakthrough single "One;" Rock Sound has also compared it to the likes of Thin Lizzy (source: Wikipedia)

By the way, I avoided all the Mission: Metallica snipets... I finally watch some of it on youtube and, if it is any indication of what the album is going to sound like, I think Metallica IS making a comeback... Add to it that Rick Rubin usually manages to get the better of the bands he produces.
I can't wait for the album!!!

after listening to the solo a couple of times, I started to get a feeling of deja-vu, like i heard that solo somewhere before. So i went through all the solos of each song from lightning to justice. Just listen to the end part of Orion. The part where it goes all fast and crazy. The solos sound very similiar to each other. The way the drums are being played during the solo for Orion is exactly the same the drums are being played during the solo for Cyanide. You must be high to think that this solo is bad. You obviously don't really like Metallica. It seems like Metallica kept their word when they said that they were going to lookback at the first four albums for inspiration.

Clips #1 and #3 definitely have a "Justice" feel to them. I'm not letting myself get too excited though, the St Anger snippets they released ahead of the album felt good too.

Actually, quite glad you brought up Orion in comparison to Cyanide, and I think it might help make my point a little clearer. Let's look at the two solos, now let's say I concede that the solos are similar, how are they used in either song? In Orion there's a huge build up, the song goes through several extreme tempo changes, the whole song feels like it tells a story. When it comes to the end solo there's been a huge build up throughout the song, then suddenly the song speeds back up again, and out pops a solo which has been, musically, in the making for the entire song. It fits right in. This solo actually goes somewhere and serves some kind of function. Not only that, even if we say that Cyanide's solo takes from this solo, I'd still say that Orion's final solo actually does sound a little more complex in its general making. In fact, there is a portion of the solo that I'd say is taken right out of a song from the black album. Honestly, I don't have Metallica's entire repertoire in my head as I'm not a huge fan, but I am pretty much 100% sure a portion of it is.

The point is, whether the solo from Cyanide was "inspired" by Orion or not, it is pretty much pointless as a solo. Unlike many of their older songs, this solo has very little build up, and really leads nowhere. Solos, particularly in a fast paced song, often have the effect of jacking up the audience, either being the result of a build up or function as an adrenaline pumping build up. Cyanide solo just doesn't do that...it's just there for the sake of being a solo, and for the sake of Metallica being able to say that they're making a shift backward. To me, the song is just another radio friendly rock (I'd give it borderline metal for this one) song from the "new" Metallica.

Edit, oh and as for the drumming, honestly I think we all know Lars has never been the best drummer on earth. To see the same drum patterns pop up throughout Metallica's work isn't really surprising, nor a testament as to how good they may or may not be.


@Afro Lint,

not even worth posting a new post.

Your words:



My previous post:

What? you would rather Metallica not have a solo? So Whats going foward? Metallica doing St. Anger 2? Is that metallica going foward? So what if it sounds radio friendly. its extrmely well made song. its a good mid-paced song in my opinion.

I think you're missing my point. To me it has to do with composition and song structure. Good songs usually have a logical structure, and by this I don't mean negating odd time signatures, or experimentation, or trying something different. Solos are often used as a climax of sorts, or lead to a climax. This song has no real definable climax. In fact, it's quite repetitive, which works with some songs, but those songs rarely have solos, and when they do, those solos rarely work. This solo goes nowhere, and serves no logical purpose in the song. When I listen to this song, I don't hear a song that was well thought out, I don't hear a song that has any real purpose other than to be a catchy next hit. So what if it sounds radio friendly? Well, history tends to show that "radio friendly" often means the music won't dare go beyond a certain limit. It's usually something more accessible to the mainstream, that is not so "progressive" as the band members and media make it out to be. Rather, at least through my eyes, it is a regression often far less developed than previous material.

What is it that makes it so "extremely well made" in your opinion?

For the love of... Trim your quotes people!

And there's a new Metallica song available for streaming on Metallica.com

New song is sounding pretty cool. Lots of old school influence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF1-LaMVBc

The beginning drum sound is so bad. The middle section of the song was Load-ish and the ending was badass.

This is the best song Metallica has done since the original Load. It's just like Fade To Black, even structured the same way (melodic intro, softer verses, and then an all-out thrash section mid-way through). And Kirk Hammett hasn't sounded this thrashy and technical since And Justice For All. The ending was a little over-extended (actually, Kirk's solo is probably all that was really necessary), but otherwise, this is an unbelievable return to roots song.... and this is supposed to be the album's softest song, too!

Looks like we all may very well be proven wrong about Metallica's ability to bounce back after all (though let's not pass final judgement until the final album is released).

http://www.myspace.com/METALLICA

its on their myspace... sounds like its taken straight out of load/reload. If you like that, you'll praobably like this. I found it pretty boring.

So I caved and listened to The Day That Never Ends... Can't say I'm too impressed- there is a nice half minute or so between 5:25-6:00 and the solo's pretty good, but metalxx is right- this is load/reload style, which I've never liked. Oh well, its at least infinitely better than anything on St. Anger.

Its also way too long. I hope that they don't go for the St. Anger route, where they think that every song needs to be at least 7 minutes long, no matter what.

Edit: I'm listening to Cyanide now, and I really don't like this one, except for the all right chorus.

I've got some other complaints to... the guitarsound is just too fucking thin to fit on any thrash metal.. Either my speakers are fucked, or sometimes it sounds like they use some kind of punky sound. And good God is the vocals weak.

Well, I'm not expecting this one to be thrash anymore, even if a thrash riff or two pops up every now and again. Personally, I don't find the guitar sound to be that bad, but its nothing special either. And I agree that James' vocals have really gone to shit. And having finished Cyanide, I can now say that I really don't like it.

yea... The suicide part sounds really really bad. He just misses it., But then again, its a live version.