It’s hardly surprising that substantial changes take place when a band achieves a certain fame with which, of course, comes wealth and status. Perhaps those things shouldn’t matter, but they do, and suddenly resentments settle in and egos flare. This has certainly been the case with Metallica, a band who achieved a worldwide fame that most bands can only dream of, only to find that their fanbase, instead of being supportive, was riddled with the sort of egomaniacal, resentful loudmouths whose sole purpose seemed to be to demonise a band they once loved for daring to go over-ground. Thus, no matter which way Metallica have turned, they’ve been ridiculed at every opportunity and abused by the very same people who complain loudly that other metal bands don’t sell enough records. The truth is very simple. Metallica don’t owe anyone anything, and whilst few (if any) would claim that their career has been free of mistakes, their contribution to metal should be beyond question, and it’s difficult to escape the conclusion that the band receive more flak because of jealousy than because of any real fault on their part. Such are the times we live in, alas, but the level of scrutiny under which Metallica frequently find themselves does go some way to explaining the lengthy gap between albums, as the band consistently struggle against a weight of expectation the like of which even Atlas would struggle to bear. Yet Metallica carry on, and, odd misstep aside, they have managed to maintain a youthful passion for their music regardless of the naysayers who would seek to bind them forever in 1986.
A double album (or a triple if you get the deluxe edition with bonus CD), the first thing that strikes you about ‘Hardwired to self-destruct’ is how concise it sounds. Rather than cram each CD to an endurance-sapping seventy-five minutes, Metallica have sensibly kept the length of each CD down meaning that the album splits neatly into two, relatively accessible parts that flash past in what feels like a fraction of their run time. However, those expecting a thrash-heavy re-tread of ‘Death Magnetic’ are in for shock. Whilst heavy tracks abound (not least blistering opener ‘Hardwired’ and furious closer ‘spit out the bone’), the album feels more like a summary of Metallica’s career starting with the Black album and moving forward. Elements of ‘Load’ and ‘reload’ appear in the longer songs (for example ‘now that we’re dead’) whilst hints of Metallica’s commercial peak regularly appear in the juggernaut riffs that run through the album like a vein of titanium. In short, it’s a Metallica record through and through, but the energy with which James and co. attack the songs suggest that this is also the band at their most inspired in years, and the result is easily the best post-Black-album record the band have released.
Although Metallica teased the album with a variety of songs, I deliberately kept clear after ‘Hardwired’ so I could enjoy the album in full when it arrived. The album certainly makes good on the initial promise demonstrated by its title track. ‘Hardwired’ is a perfect album opener, packing a harder punch than ‘Fuel’ (possibly the last track to open a Metallica album with such a level of ferocity), it falls short lyrically (the only track on the album so to do) with its weak “we’re so fucked, shit out of luck” chorus tag, but to be honest the music hurtles by so fast you’re unlikely to care thanks to the adrenalin rush it triggers. James sounds particularly bullish as he snarls the vocal and there’s a sense of glee that permeates the whole track as the band mesh together, thrashing away with a youthful intensity that is a joy to hear. Keeping things fast and loose, ‘Atlas, Rise!’ is a crunchy thrash assault that would happily sit alongside any of the best tracks from ‘Death Magnetic’ thanks to some blistering riffs and a magnificently addictive melodic hook. The album changes tone considerably with the mid-tempo ‘now that we’re dead’, which takes the band back to the much maligned (and unfairly so) days of ‘Load’. With a potent melody, a range of riffs to chew on and a brilliant vocal performance form Hetfield, ‘Now that we’re dead’ deserves to go down in music history as the song that causes thousands of metalli-fans to reassess ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’. Another shift and we’re into the classic-metal of ‘Moth into flame’ which has more than a hint of Iron Maiden in its harmonised leads and chugging rhythms. It’s the sound of the band digging into the influences and finding their muse in the process and the fact that it packs a whopping punch is also most welcome. ‘Dream no more’ digs deep into that whole ‘greasy’ sound the band talked about on ‘Load’ with its mid-tempo grind, layered vocals and wild solos whilst the first disc ends with the harmonised guitars and multi-faceted riffs of ‘Halo on fire’, a complex, dynamic song that juxtaposes dreamy verses with explosive passages that threaten to tear the roof clean off. An epic finale, ‘Halo on fire’ provides a perfect close to the album’s first half and leaves the listener very much ready for the second act.
Harking back to the Black album and ‘the god that failed’, ‘Confusion’ opens with an initially brutal riff driven by a martial beat before the band abruptly switch direction to incorporate elements of the towering epic ‘the day that never comes’. It’s prime, modern Metallica, delivering melody and metal in equal measure and whilst there will be those who lament the slower tempos on offer, the music feels very much like it represents where the band’s collective heart lies at this point in time. Another track with more than a hint of Iron Maiden about it, ‘ManUnkind’ has a beautiful intro that gives way to some truly monstrous riffing, emerging as one of the album’s most varied compositions before ‘Here comes revenge’ swaggers into view with guitars howling and a dusty atmosphere that recalls the Sergio Leone epics so beloved by Hetfield and co. Another mid-tempo beast, ‘Am I savage?’ hints at how a song like ‘sweet amber’ might have sounded with better production whilst ‘Murder one’ sees the band pay a heartfelt tribute to Lemmy from Motorhead whose immortal spirit lives on in the work of bands such as Metallica. The album ends as it began, with a ferocious thrash monster in the form of ‘Spit out the bone’. Fast and frantic, it sees the album out on a high and proves (as if any proof were needed) that Metallica are still capable of whipping up a storm when the mood takes them.
I’ll make no bones about it, I love ‘Hardwired to self-destruct’. It brings together the best aspects of Metallica’s latter day career, harnessing the ferocious thrash energy that powered ‘death magnetic’, the punk ethic that underpinned ‘St Anger’ and the darker, heavier groove-orientated material of the Black album and its two immediate sequels. It’s not a perfect album, perhaps, but it does sound, more than either ‘St Anger’ or ‘Death Magnetic’, like Metallica are comfortable with both their past as thrash titans and their more immediate past as purveyors of a more tempered, mid-tempo metal. The songs roam freely across the scarred battleground that is Metallica’s back catalogue, and, as the solos pile up and those Hetfield melodies return to the fore, it becomes quickly apparent that this is Metallica proudly waving a middle finger and screaming “this is who we are!” There will be those who resent the slower numbers, and those that yearn for a more obvious ballad in the vein of ‘nothing else matters’ or ‘the unforgiven’, that is the nature of the beast and for those people, the back catalogue remains out there to be enjoyed, but for me, ‘Hardwired to self-destruct’ pretty much does everything that I could wish from a Metallica album. Fun, furious and full of heart, ‘Hardwired to self-destruct’ is Metallica in their very best ‘don’t give a damn’ mode and I’m more than happy to be along for the ride. 9
Special Edition Notes
The special edition is a three CD digi-pack with a bonus disc of material. Originally slated to include ‘riff origin tracks’, the disc track list was updated at the last minute and it now boasts fourteen additional tracks including the ill-fated ‘Lords of Summer’ single (omitted from the album) and three covers: the ‘Ronnie Rising Medley’ (from the Dio Tribute album), ‘When a blind man cries’ (from the Deep Purple ‘Re-machined’ tribute album) and ‘Remember tomorrow’ (from the Iron Maiden tribute album). The remaining ten tracks are live cuts recorded in 2016 and include a live rendition of ‘Hardwired’ that almost eclipses the recorded version. Arguably, the cracking ‘Lords of summer’ is worth the price of admission alone, but it’s certainly good to have Metallica’s various tribute songs gathered together in one place (especially their excellent ‘Remember Tomorrow’) as well. The live tracks, meanwhile, are excellent, being remastered versions of the band’s Record Store Day 2016 performance. Filled with energy and yet shorn of the stadium grandstanding found on the band’s live DVDs, this is a thrilling live set and one that fans will want to own. There is only one area in which the special edition is slightly disappointing: in further expanding the quite hideous artwork of the album, it further emphasises just how misguided it is. Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but it doesn’t say much for Metallica’s aesthetic that this poorly photoshopped mishmash is the best they can do. Nonetheless, this is a special edition worthy of the deluxe tag and well worth the extra outlay.
