By Andrew Bansal
The birth of rock n’ roll can be dated back to the days of Elvis in the 1950s, and through the past nearly seven decades, from the early years of bands such as Beatles, The Doors, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the ’60s, Black Sabbath in the ’70s and Iron Maiden in the ’80s to the modern-day era of the 21st century, perhaps the most notable difference in hard rock and heavy metal music has been in sheer output, and the rate at which bands release albums. Whilst most of the aforementioned bands were releasing one, sometimes two albums per year in their heyday, no band, young or old, can claim to come anywhere near matching that kind of prolific yet high-quality creativity nowadays, including the ones cited above that are still carrying on but with much slower rate of output. With their first four albums taking all of five years and the next five albums spanning twenty years, Metallica would certainly be the most obvious example of this. Their 2008 release ‘Death Magnetic’ was five years in the making (after ‘St. Anger’, 2003), and the wait for its follow-up has been exruciatingly long for those that still hoped this band would make new music. More than eight years later, the moment has finally arrived, as Metallica unveils their tenth LP ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’ worldwide on November 18th 2016, under their own label imprint Blackened Recordings. From a band that is now essentially a nostalgia act, expectations from their newest effort were at an all-time low, and fans and critics alike were inclined to be easily pleased with whatever was to be on offer.
The eight-year gap between this album and its predecessor is the longest Metallica have had between any two albums in their career, and for starters, despite the time elapsed, ‘Hardwired…’ sounds like a continuation of ‘Death Magnetic’, but believe it or not, with better production values and a more palatable sound that compares favorably to the band’s classic albums in this regard. As it turns out, this is probably the most positive aspect one could honestly associate with this album.
First of all, the 77-minute length is a bit excessive, not that long albums are a bad thing, but because almost each and every one of the 12 tracks comprising ‘Hardwired…’ could easily be trimmed without losing any essential creative component whatsoever. Secondly, contrary to the illusion the two singles ‘Moth To Flame’ and the title track may have given to fans longing for the comeback of “old-school Metallica”, no, this is not a triumphant return to the thrash roots, and these are two of only three fast-paced thrash tunes on the entire album. Thirdly, no, it is not the “best thing since the Black album”. It really isn’t, and in all honesty, ranks below ‘Death Magnetic’ and ‘St. Anger’, and for anyone in a sane and sober state of mind, ‘Hardwired…’ is hard to stay awake through. What is it about the album that lends it this trait? Is there anything salvageable? Let’s delve in.
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