962. Metallica / Hardwired... to Self Destruct. 2016. 3.5/5

I had truly begun to wonder if Metallica would even bother to ever release another album of new material. In a day and age where money is made by touring rather than selling albums, did they even need to bother? They will forever sell out concerts around the world playing everything off the albums of their first ten years. After the horror of much of the material from Load and Reload and St. Anger, did they need to put themselves through all of that again? Sure, Death Magnetic had half an album of good material, but do you actually want to hear any of that live? All of this sounds negative, but in the long run, on the announcement that they had indeed pulled their finger out and recorded a new album, I can honestly say that, on this occasion at least, I was looking forward to hearing what the band had come up with.

What is the deal with releasing double albums? Iron Maiden did it with The Book of Souls, and now Metallica has done it here with Hardwired...to Self-Destruct. Is it a payoff for the length of time between releases, or just an inability to edit and cut out songs to fit it all on one disc? The ludicrous situation comes when you have to put out THREE vinyl albums to fit the material on it! Obviously, if every song is strong enough to warrant inclusion then this is okay. Much like Maiden’s last release, I’m sure the consensus is that a little editing could have been done.
At least you can say that on this album, Metallica has had a crack at finding that lost ground from 25 years ago. It’s not completely successful, but as with the previous album there are at least places here where you can hear that not everything has been washed away from the original item. It would not be an accident that the first three songs that were released as teasers to the album were “Hardwired”, “Atlas, Rise!” and “Moth Into Flame”, as they are still the three songs that give you the best feeling about the album and the band. Harder, faster, vocals that spit and guitars that flame. They won’t necessarily be everyone’s favourites on the album, but they are the ones that best portray the old warm feelings that Metallica once harboured in all fans. “Now That We’re Dead” sits between these, and while the tempo is not the same as the others, the groove works despite its similarity to pieces of Load.
The slower songs still dredge up bad memories of stuff from Load and Reload. It’s that slow sludgy lack of momentum that really harks back to that era of Metallica, an era that sends shivers down the spine for all the wrong reasons. “Dream No More” is the first impact of this. This could almost have come from the sessions from those albums. “Confusion” also drags up memories like that, but probably more from James’ layered vocals, which are a staple of their releases from the 1990’s. “Halo On Fire” finishes much better than it starts. “ManUNkind” is only average at best, mixing as it does some Sabbath-like riffs along with a halting tempo that I find difficult to like.
“Here Comes Revenge” is a creeper, starting out somewhat morbidly before growing throughout until it concludes with you moving to the music without even realising you are doing it. “Am I Savage” is another where the tempo just doesn’t sit quite right. Again it’s that 1990’s tempo, one where the band moved to after its conversion period, and while the build to the end of the song improves dramatically overall it is average.
I must admit that while “Murder One” is not a bad song, I don’t understand why you would write a song in tribute to Lemmy Kilmister that is played at this tempo. Surely it would have made more sense to get it up to the tempo of those great Motorhead songs that he wrote – I’m not suggesting rip them off, but make it a celebration of the man and his music. Instead, we are stuck in this low tempo grunge that had little to do with his music at all. Strange. “Spit Out the Bone” though ends the album on a positive thrashier note. It’s just a little strange that the preceding songs were of such a different vibe that this is suddenly thrown at you as the closer. It lifts your perception, but in many ways it is a false perception.
As a band the individuals still all have what it takes. Robert Trujillo, while in some places still appearing to be overwhelmed by the wall of guitars in the mix, does an excellent job once again. His part is as support player in the band, but he is terrific again and when he is allowed to break out it is noticeable. Kirk Hammett, following the disasterous St. Anger no-solo experiment, again proves he can put together his craft at a high point. James Hetfield strives to find that middle point between youthful screams and middle age lower tone with his vocals again, and for the most part succeeds. The elephant in the room is still the drums. They sound fine, and at least Lars has never repeated that god-awful sound that he decided was awesome on St. Anger. But honestly, has he even put any effort in to what he’s playing? Yeah, he’s rich and clicked up enough credits in those early albums to allow him (and the band for that matter) to do whatever they like, but seriously? Like millions of my generation, when ...And Justice for All came out I spent hours and hours trying to play those songs just like Lars did, and it was fantastic. He was the top of the pile then. Now I reckon my nine year old could play this album with barely a listen. It’s not the only reason the songs these days can’t match their earlier stuff, but to me it’s a major one. Lars inspired generations of drummers with his playing in the 1980’s. Now everyone has gone past him. It’s a little sad to see, and hear.

Initially I thought the album sounded good, with pieces attracting me immediately, and some not so. At the time, it was my assumption that, like many albums, it would grow on me over time the more I listened to it, and that I would be better for it. To be honest for me that wasn’t the case here. The songs that grabbed me straight away I still listen to happily. Most of the songs that I had trouble with have mostly remained that way. If you played only the opening track and the closing track to someone, they would probably think this album could be a rival to the first four albums the band released. If you play two of the songs from the middle, that same person may think this was a rival to those albums from the 1990’s. That’s how subjective it is. I think it is overkill, and by having the courage to remove two or three songs and making it a 60 minute single disc album it would have worked better. But hell, what would I know.

Rating:  “Plug into me and I'll save you from emotion”.  3.5/5