Second Opnion: Metallica 'Death Magnetic'

I consulted my therapist about having to listen to a full, modern Metallica album, and she suggested that I outline some ground rules before delving into the murky waters of commercial metal. So if you will, please picture the following written in crayon with suns with smiley faces strewn about:

- Listen to as little of the new album as possible, but just enough to make a stable opinion of it

- Do not put on “Ride the Lightning”, enjoy it, then make up a convoluted path that they would probably follow through a decade, and then do a review of where I think they would have ended up, instead of actually listening to Death Magnetic

- Remind myself that there are worse things to subject myself to, like Death Cab for Cutie, or rubbing lemon, salt, and copious amounts of heroin into the cut marks on my arms (Not across the street but down the highway!) that would have been the result of listening to Death Cab For Cutie.

So with pinhole pupils and a heavy heart I bring you, the (DEEP BREATH) ‘Second Opinion’ of Metallica ‘Death Magnetic’:

Will did a damn good job acknowledging that this record is a victim of the battle of compression dipped in compression with a dash of compression, also known as the Loudness Wars. While it would be very easy to exploit the fact that no one wants their name on the sleeve of this record, I decided that the media and fans have covered that enough.

What I think is the most interesting part of this record is that not only the audio engineering community is upset about the state in which it was released, but the general public can hear it as well. I find this fact astounding… that average people can hear the lack of dynamics.

That is not meant to sound condescending in any way, but for a record to be so poorly mixed that an untrained ear can recognize that fact is unprecedented.

Of course there was an outcry to this travesty, from professionals and consumers alike. Intertwined with poor production (A 7:00 single? Come on guys, my 20-year-old pothead brother knows better than that!)

All of this unrest has begat some amazing results. A collective movement of fans trying to resurrect the glory they at one time felt for this band. People cutting down songs, independent projects of remastering the album , etc.

Really, this is the loyalty that this dying field of the music business needs! Since the dawn of the internet, music has become a very fluid, niche consumer-influenced medium. Everyone has a very detailed description of music that they like, and they rarely venture outside the red line, more or less participate.

The movement behind this record has truly moved me. It gives me hope that people recognize the minute details of information (musical, lyrical, etc) that is being fed to them, and if that happens to be distasteful, they do something about it.

Though ‘Death Magnetic’ may not be my personal preference of auditory art. I respect it as the catalyst for musical awareness among loyal fans and the general public.

Let this be the reminder that the artistic fields we adore and indulge in can always be molded into the influences, that in our hearts, we desire them to be…. Art has always been a community-based outlet, of both our human and mortal capacity. We owe ourselves to not let it stray from that mainstay.

Second Opinion: Metallica (I want that 7:56 of my life back)

(insert a very long and awkward pause)

Sorry about that, I'm back from having to vomit... I just got the stomach wrenching news that Metallica is still making records. You remember when that racehorse had to be euthanized on the track because it broke it's ankle and it just wasn't going to heal? This is what should have transpired with Metallica after S & M... and I'm just being generous because I like strings.

No, I am not a connoisseur of heavy rock, nor am I familiar with any Metallica record that is not named 'Ride the Lightning'... but certain circumstances have brought me to this painful moment... and I will persevere.

After falling asleep through the painfully long intro, I was softly awoken by the entrance of a vocal part. The first thought that ran through my mind was "Well shit! Incubus got heavier!" Yes, the vocals had qualities reminiscent of this guy. Ouch.

One aspect I did find exciting is the repetitive guitar part that goes on for like 3 minutes straight. That basically means that if fate brings me to such crossroads, my novice guitar skills could potentially score me a gig with Metallica.

I should also note that they finally start rocking out at the 5:00 mark... come on guys, you make radio friendly rock music! Your target market has an attention span of about 1:35... and that's on a good day! My humble advice would be to follow the likes of your fellow on-the-radio colleagues, or switch to post-rock, where pretentious bastards can get away with an 8 minute song.