Last time we had a new Metallica album, we were in the last thrashings of George W. Bush’s presidency, Michael Jackson was still alive and everyone was convinced e-books were just a flash in the pan. Times change. So do Metallica.
The Bay Area behemoths are back with ‘Hardwired…To Self-Destruct’, their 10th LP and their first in eight years. And...exhale...it’s not terrible. There’s plenty to love here.
And yet, if you just want Metallica to thrash like four tuna fish being blown dry by the burning engine of an aeroplane, you’re still best off sticking to their early records.
‘Hardwired…’ is bookended by its title track and Spit Out The Bone, which are both violent, neck-snapping metal songs where Lars Ulrich rediscovers his double-bass pedal and James Hetfield spits staccato statements of intent. It’s all very rose-tinted.
That couplet aside, though, ‘Hardwired…’ isn’t really a thrash record. Instead, it explores metal tropes with varying degrees of success. The dual-lead guitars on tracks like Moth Into Flame and Atlas, Rise!, for example, fizz like the best Iron Maiden and Judas Priest melodies. The former is also in possession of a godly Kirk Hammett lead into the chorus, while the latter’s noodling is so Maiden you could stick an Eddie mask on it.
Halo On Fire wraps that NWOBHM ideal around the 4/4 stomp of Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ era, while Dream No More’s pounding, Sad But True-esque groove is more in line with the band’s ‘Load’ and ‘Reload' material thanks to Hetfield’s Layne Staley worship. Its “You turn! To stone!” refrain should be stuck in every Metallica setlist until they retire/die, too.
Basically, the first disc of ‘Hardwired…’ is banging. The other one, not so much. Save for the aforementioned Spit Out The Bone and Here Comes Revenge, a track lovingly reminiscent of End Of The Line from ‘Death Magnetic’, the second stanza plods like a sloth at the end of a week-long bender.
Confusion’s militaristic intro descends into aimless meandering, ManUNkind is a wasted pun opportunity – HumUNkind, surely?! – and Murder One, the band’s tribute to late Motörhead frontman Lemmy, is everything he wasn’t: it’s misguided, mostly devoid of memorable hooks and outstays its welcome. The bluesy, alt-rock leanings of ‘90s Metallica are always welcome, they just need to be brought forth in ways that aren’t derivative and detrimental to an otherwise great album.
Metallica have never been the best self-editors and that’s the real reason that ‘Hardwired…To Self Destruct’ falls short of being spectacular. Had it been an eight-track record omitting ManUNkind, Am I Savage?, Murder One and Confusion, it would’ve been a wonderfully ugly brother to ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’. As it stands, it harbours stronger songs than ‘Death Magnetic’ but its consistency fails to stand up. Still…we have a new Metallica album, and two thirds of it is ace.
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