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Legitimately unsure how I felt about this one. It definitely sounds like they're trying to be thrash again, except for the parts that sound like Load. Overall not awful, but I didn't rush to put it on my playlist, and I'm in no hurry to listen to it again. Big shoulder shrug from me.

One riff song and that riff is a watered down piss weak subset of "hit the lights".

Lars programmed the drum machine OK though.

It’s not so much the riffs but James’ vocals that do modern Metallica in for me…. Yayyyeeeahhhhh

JHorner wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 12:36 pm One riff song and that riff is a watered down piss weak subset of "hit the lights".

Lars programmed the drum machine OK though.

This. It sounds like a song that Dave Mustaine wrote but didn't think was good enough for Kill Em All.

Lars does at least sound like he's playing to the track, instead of getting confused and playing along to a Saxon track in his headphones, which seemed to be his approach to Kill Em All, Ride the Lightening, Master of Puppets...

Don't mind that, not going to set the world on fire but what can we expect from Metallica these days. I will always be a Hetfield fanboi.

Kirk cribbed half the licks in that solo from Master of Puppets haha. Maybe they're trying to connect with the Stranger Things kids who've just discovered them.

Solid thrashy track but generationally I've always preferred the Black/Load/Reload era Metallica over thrashy Metallica so my opinion probably doesn't count haha.

Also, I guess we know what Elon's next child is gonna be called now

Ripping off motorhead

Nice song - looking forward to the rest of the album songs. The could have done better on the album's artwork though.

Olderama wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 2:19 pm Ripping off motorhead

I got a strong Motorhead vibe from it too.

First listen today while working out, I enjoyed it (played it twice). Hope the rest of the album is that good/energetic. Been a long time since listening to any Metallica.

I could hear a deep Diamond Head Influence in it, no bad thing in my view, especially in some of the vocal passages and the ends of the riffs

I'm hearing Nickelback

I quite like it, just needs Lemmy on vocals

It's amazing James is nearly 60 and singing like that. He sounds really great. Still.

The drums are too loud and it sounds a bit too polished for my ears these days (same reason I can't listen to Alter Bridge) but it's fine I guess. It doesn't stay overlong, gets to the riff right away, has some hooky bits, and it's a decent rock n roll song. Not very 'metal' and not very creative but yeah, it's perfectly fine. I've definitely heard worse.

Kirk's solos make less and less sense with each passing album. I wouldn't mind if he went back to composing the solos a bit more rather than blasting wah-drenched pentatonic licks out at mach 10 for his 8 bars. He did some tasty things on Hardwired, some nice melodic lines, that it feels a bit like a missed opportunity when he just widdles in the 12-14th fret box.

The sonics are really there - the overall sound is great, James' voice sounds great, drums are tight - and I dig the uptempo feel, but.... that Motorhead-wannabe riff and a bunch of overused double-stops just can't carry the song. It's not doing it for me. The song wants to be Kill 'Em All era (Hit the Lights etc) but it feels like a parody - almost like how the Team America themesong is a parody of 80's US hairmetal, but it's meant to be - this Metallica song has that vibe, but they're for real. It just feels inauthentic like when they tried to "go real heavy".

This is what happens when guys grow up, get rich, settle down, go steady, - they lose the spark, the drive.

They need a bunch of divorces, overdoses and maybe a death or 2 to get the fire back