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[Bumblebeetuna]

Anyone else give it a listen yet? I am halfway through it, seems pretty good so far. Obviously doesn’t hold a candle to the older stuff.

They released four singles. I loved Lux Aeterna and thought 72 Seasons was great but the two in between, meh. So far I have listened to:

1. 72 Seasons - great
2. Shadows Follow - good
3. Screaming Suicide - meh
4. Sleepwalk My Life Away - great
5. You Must Burn! - good
6. Lux Aeterna - great
9. If Darkness Had a Son - meh

Lock if old

 

[Just_one]

Listening to it now.

Just finished track 6 , great album so far!

Red Vynil Edition was suppose to arrive today but it got delayed for monday dammit

Metallica is without any shadow of doubt the biggest metal band of all time!!

Fuck the haters!

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Its good. Need to listen to it some more. Im to old to be completly blown away by a album so it never could replicate what it was like for me back in the day to listen to new albums...

 

[ClanOfNone]

The Black album released when I was in high school, it was my introduction to Metallica. I liked their older stuff even more, And Justice For All will always be my favorite.
Haven't been much of a fan of any of their recent work, but they are undoubtedly one of the biggest metal bands of all time.

 

[Catphish]

It's laughably bad.

 

[poppabk]

I'll wait for the classical covers, it's the only way I can listen to Metallica now. That documentary kind of ruined them for me, except for Lars dad who was like some Viking transported to modern times.

 

[BlackTron]

Its good. Need to listen to it some more. Im to old to be completly blown away by a album so it never could replicate what it was like for me back in the day to listen to new albums...

Aw man, this made me sad. Yeah I miss being 17-26 and just LOSING MY MIND over music.

Anyway, I'm about 3 minutes into the title track. It's pretty good on a technical level (good playing) but the melody/riffs don't seem like anything special and kind of derivative? At least the solos exist!

 

[Laptop1991]

Gonna check it out, been a fan since the 80's, hope it's a good one.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

1. 72 Seasons - great
2. Shadows Follow - good
3. Screaming Suicide - meh
4. Sleepwalk My Life Away - great
5. You Must Burn! - good
6. Lux Aeterna - great
7. Crowned of Barbed Wire - great
8. Chasing Light - meh
9. If Darkness Had a Son - meh
10. Too Far Gone? - great
11. Room of Mirrors - great
12. Inamorata - great

I got pretty excited when I went to track 12 and it was 11 minutes, expected maybe a Spit Out the Bone type of closing banger like the last album but uh, nah. It’s a long Load/Reload type song, which is fine.

Seems like a solid song. Overall seems like a pretty great album. Definitely more consistent than Hardwired imho.

Edit, Inamorata is high quality. Think Bleeding Me type of song.

 

[Thaedolus]

It's got a few bangers so far...I did kinda zone out while listening while walking the dog this morning. I've got 3 more tracks to go but overall it's pretty good. The first couple tracks I really liked.

 

[YuLY]

One of the most boring metal albums I've ever heard. Too long with boring riffs, no melody, barely any aggressiveness , it just doesnt excel at anything to be honest. I guess the vocals are ok, thats about it. Hardwired is still the only decent album they put out since the 90s. If this didnt have the Metallica name on it, nobody would care about it.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[GooseMan69]

I actually like it a lot. The last 3 tracks in particular are amazing, with some fucking badass twin guitar harmonies. Really cool.

I’m still kinda meh on screaming suicide. It’s easily the worst song on the album. It sounds like something off Reload. Really weird that they picked that as one of the singles.

Overall, I’m just happy they managed to string together 3 solid albums in a row this late in their career. Like their recent work isn’t at the level of their 80s stuff, but they do have some modern tracks that have become classics, like Day That Never Comes, All Nightmare Long, Moth Into Flame, Spit Out The Bone, etc. I think Inamorata and Room Of Mirrors will be looked at the same way. For that, I am happy.

 

[nightmare-slain]

One of the most boring metal albums I've ever heard. Too long with boring riffs, no melody, barely any aggressiveness , it just doesnt excel at anything to be honest. I guess the vocals are ok, thats about it. Hardwired is still the only decent album they put out since the 90s. If this didnt have the Metallica name on it, nobody would care about it.

Maybe that's true but it does have Metallica on it and as far as i'm concerned they can do what ever the fuck they like. It's always worth listening to a new Metallica album. They have earned every right to do what they want even if it "sucks" and doesn't live up to earlier stuff.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Loved most of it

And as a bonus, these Howard Stern performances are amazing. Still got it.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

I actually like it a lot. The last 3 tracks in particular are amazing, with some fucking badass twin guitar harmonies. Really cool.

I’m still kinda meh on screaming suicide. It’s easily the worst song on the album. It sounds like something off Reload. Really weird that they picked that as one of the singles.

Overall, I’m just happy they managed to string together 3 solid albums in a row this late in their career. Like their recent work isn’t at the level of their 80s stuff, but they do have some modern tracks that have become classics, like Day That Never Comes, All Nightmare Long, Moth Into Flame, Spit Out The Bone, etc. I think Inamorata and Room Of Mirrors will be looked at the same way. For that, I am happy.

Agreed about the last three songs, they’re really good.

 

[Fart Knight]

It's solid

 

[Insane Metal]

Typical post 2000 Metallica stuff, it's boring and uninspired as usual.

 

[Secret_Lover]

Kirk totally phones in every fucking guitar solo as per usual. He just throws in the first random pentatonic lick that pops into his head. Half of the time it feels like he´s not even playing the same song as the rest of the band.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Wasnt that impressed at all. Too far gone? Was ok. Rest are forgettable.

It’s ok to get old guys..,

 

[Winter John]

Metallica’s problem is they‘re stuck with a bunch of asshole reactionary fans who go nuts if they try to do anything even remotely different, while endlessly bitching that they never do anything different. Everyone gives Lars shit but that dude had the balls to let Lou Reed of all people take over his band. I’m the biggest Lou fan going but even I could see what a disaster that was going to be. Not for Reed, but for Metallica. There was no way that was ever going to end well for them. I still don’t know how Lou convinced Hetfield to sing I am a table. Lou must have been laughing his ass off. That dude was a troll of the highest order to the bitter end.

 

[Scotty W]

The album is just good.

The problem is a lack of differentiation and intensive focus on details. The lyrics tend to be collections of nouns and adjectives, shouted with very little melody. Any artist who goes to a psychiatrist or gets put on meds invariably destroying their genius. You must suffer profoundly for your work, but Metallica cannot suffer profoundly anymore, and have lost their insight, and also the drive to pursue a detail to the smallest degree. Go back and watch the Black album mixing and look at every drum fill under a microscope, or Kirk being PUSHED to deliver a memorable solo. This lack of attention has led to an indulgence and an inability to edit. Many of these songs are longer than they need to be.

Nonetheless, it is still good, and there will probably be a few classics that come out of this.

 

[Kacho]

It’s perfectly fine as background noise. I listened to it while working and it did its job. Didn’t grab me though. Sounds like all their stuff since St Anger. Iron Maiden and Megadeth’s new albums are way better.

 

[GooseMan69]

It’s perfectly fine as background noise. I listened to it while working and it did its job. Didn’t grab me though. Sounds like all their stuff since St Anger. Iron Maiden and Megadeth’s new albums are way better.

Meh, Maiden and Megadeth’s new albums are kinda mid. Especially Maiden who haven’t made a consistent album since Brave New World or MAYBE A Matter of Life and Death. Their last 3 efforts have been extremely uneven.

Dystopia on the other hand is probably the best post 2000’s album by any of the “legacy” bands. Didn’t think their new one was nearly as good. It’s just okay.

 

[Corpsepyre]

I was pretty lukewarm on the album. It badly needed to be edited. A 77 minute Metallica album, in 2023, just doesn't cut it, and I was having problems sitting through it. They've had this issue since Death Magnetic, and it was all the more apparent with this one. Just about every song could have had atleast a minute shaved off, and things would have been a bit better. A couple of songs also needed to be deleted entirely.

Secondly, and this might not sit right with some, but this whole "back to the roots" thing is a problem, and has been for many bands. Aggressive music from washed out 60 year olds is blander than white bread. Should have just embraced their age and written sad dad rock ballads about addiction, divorce and about having too much money to know what to do with etc. Like an album full of songs like Bleeding Me, The Unforgiven, etc, with really catchy melodic vocal lines (and we know James can do it as he in the past with so many songs), with the occasional speedy track here and there.

But oh well, If i had that much money I would never leave the couch, so props to them for putting an effort and then some. I'm glad they're still around to play live, and I'd see them a third time if they come near me, and if the ticket didn't cost half a kidney.

 

[Forsythia]

It's a good album, but I agree that some songs tend to drag on too long. And there isn't much variety. I liked Hardwired much better.

 

[Pigenator]

It's pretty harmless, some are better than others but overall it feels pretty uninspired. Can't blame it on "modern Metallica" because I love Death Magnetic.
The songs structures', riffs, solos, etc just aren't very exciting and kind of dissipate into the background after a while of listening.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Kirk totally phones in every fucking guitar solo as per usual. He just throws in the first random pentatonic lick that pops into his head. Half of the time it feels like he´s not even playing the same song as the rest of the band.

This absolutely baffles me, he has put out some good solos, but the stuff he does now is completely forgettable and does nothing for the songs at all. I gather that everything is just improvised in the studio until something comes out that meets approval, but all his solos just sound like placeholder jams.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Inamorata has grown on me and might be my favorite song on the album. It has some serious Black Sabbath vibes.

 

[Loke]

Death Magnetic was their last great album IMO. Really underrated album. Just shame about the abysmal compression shit.

 

[FunkMiller]

There are two Metallicas:

Black Album and everything prior: hugely creative thrash metal band, with the capacity to write and perform songs across a wide spectrum of themes, styles, lyrics and pacing.

Everything after Black Album: a bunch of aging, pretentious idiots, who have smelled their own farts for far too long, and can only produce the same insufferable, grating, messy productions, with little to no grace or style to any of them.

 

[Duellist]

Have listened to this album 6 or 7 times and this could be my favourite since the black album. Don’t come close to the classics but it never will so no sense whining. It’s a good album with a hand full of great tracks and a couple duds. 72 seasons, Shadows Follow, Lux eterna, chasing light, if darkness had a son, to far gone, room of mirrors and Inamorata are all great songs.

 

[bender]

There are two Metallicas:

Black Album and everything prior: hugely creative thrash metal band, with the capacity to write and perform songs across a wide spectrum of themes, styles, lyrics and pacing.

Everything after Black Album: a bunch of aging, pretentious idiots, who have smelled their own farts for far too long, and can only produce the same insufferable, grating, messy productions, with little to no grace or style to any of them.

I'd say more than two Metallicas.

Era 1:

-Dave Mustaine's influence can be felt on their first two albums.
-Cliff Burton's influence can be felt on the first four albums even if he wasn't around for the recording of And Justice For All and the final mix of the album all but muted Newsted. Burton was easily the best musician the band ever had, God rest his soul.

Era 2:

-Enter Bob Rock producing and commercializing the band. The Black album certainly sent them to another stratosphere in popularity. They toured on that album forever (Binge and Purge in Mexico is one of my favorite live albums ever), took a long needed break for a year and then headed back to the studio with almost everyone cutting their hair (the genesis of "friends don't let friends get friends haircuts" written on the bass guitar from Alice In Chain's MTV unplugged set).
-Load and Reload are interesting and there is probably enough good songs for an album rather than two. Not a good Metallica album mind you, but it was introspective on James part and showed some of his other musical interest like country. More interesting than the Black album but I get why that one gained popularity.

Era 3:

-Newsted gets booted for wanting to make music for his side project, Echo Brain (talk about atrocious music), because James will not let him help write any of he bands music. And then James proving he is the ultimate cunt, gets everyone to write lyrics on St. Anger which might be one of the worst albums I've ever heard in my life. Bob Rock actually writes and plays bass on that album.
-This is where I checked out on the band but from what little I heard of Death Magnetic, it was a step in the right direction but almost anything would be better than St. Anger.

 

[PrimetimeKnight]

Once you hear dumbass Lars constantly tapping the high hat on damn near every track you can't unhear it. He even does it during the bass only section in Inamorata, just horrible. 72 seasons overall is ok but Death Magnetic still leagues above everything since Black Album.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I feel like ever since St. Anger they lost focus of just making a bitching riff from the get go and build a song around it. Since then they kept making these long songs with long ass builds until it finally hits. What happened to riffs like on Unforgiven 1&2 when it just starts. 72 seasons so many songs take ages to get going, i stopped after track 6/7. They all sound the same and the solos too, I feel like I hear the same solo on every song.

 

[Fools idol]

I liked that one song that was on Guitar Hero back in the day. Have never listened to any of their music other than that. It's a bit too shouty/noise for my tastes.

 

[Thaedolus]

ya know, I’m not gonna say this is garbage or have some kinda hot take about their whole career, but one thing is for sure: I can tell you where I was when I first heard Pneuma off TOOL’s last album, or The Parchment off Iron Maiden’s last album, because both gave me goosebumps and had me on the verge of tears because they’re so fucking good. And I’ve gone back and listened to those albums a lot and they’re still fucking good. And this one felt really meh overall. Not St Angry terrible, but going through the motions or something. While TOOL and Maiden are in most ways doing their same act from decades ago, it still feels like they’re fucking bringing it and they want to be doing it, and are perfecting the formula. Tell me 7empest isn’t a song where these old timers are just like let’s fucking go and they go. There’s something missing in 72 Seasons, even compared to Hardwired which I thought was pretty good…it doesn’t matter how loud they turn up the drums. There are sparks of catchy riffs here and there, but yeah most of the songs could use getting cut down because they feel bloated and meandering. Something about a dude in his 60s yelling random words that rhyme doesn’t really do it anymore

 

[Interfectum]

This sounds like a Metallica album generated by AI.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Listened to it all the classic Metallica elements are there.

 

[Toons]

Not a huge metallica guy at l and I had a good time. Room of mirrors is probably my fav

 

[Duellist]

ya know, I’m not gonna say this is garbage or have some kinda hot take about their whole career, but one thing is for sure: I can tell you where I was when I first heard Pneuma off TOOL’s last album, or The Parchment off Iron Maiden’s last album, because both gave me goosebumps and had me on the verge of tears because they’re so fucking good. And I’ve gone back and listened to those albums a lot and they’re still fucking good. And this one felt really meh overall. Not St Angry terrible, but going through the motions or something. While TOOL and Maiden are in most ways doing their same act from decades ago, it still feels like they’re fucking bringing it and they want to be doing it, and are perfecting the formula. Tell me 7empest isn’t a song where these old timers are just like let’s fucking go and they go. There’s something missing in 72 Seasons, even compared to Hardwired which I thought was pretty good…it doesn’t matter how loud they turn up the drums. There are sparks of catchy riffs here and there, but yeah most of the songs could use getting cut down because they feel bloated and meandering. Something about a dude in his 60s yelling random words that rhyme doesn’t really do it anymore

Lol I don’t know, praising the new maiden and then faulting Metallica for being bloated and meandering? Maidens whole catalog post brave new world has been bloated and meandering. Steve Harris is the king of that LOL and I’m a massive Maiden nerd. Lol

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Loving it myself. I love it so much I even bought the vinyl.

 

[Duellist]

Loving it myself. I love it so much I even bought the vinyl.

Ya man I’m surprised I’m loving it also. First couple of listens it was kind of meh but it just clicked all of a sudden. Definitely a grower album. I feel most people are not giving it a fair chance and just looking at it as what’s it’s not.

 

[Thaedolus]

Lol I don’t know, praising the new maiden and then faulting Metallica for being bloated and meandering? Maidens whole catalog post brave new world has been bloated and meandering. Steve Harris is the king of that LOL and I’m a massive Maiden nerd. Lol

Nah I actually thought about that as I wrote it, like this last album had a lot of slow intros that could just be cut entirely. But they’re just intro segments and it doesn’t take away from the rest of the song, whereas with these Metallica songs I’m kinda like ok what are we doing here?

I agree the Steve Harris epics can be overly long, but I’ll take fast forwarding 90 seconds into Hell on Earth over anything on 72 Seasons. The last Maiden album is a fuckin jam even with the bloat, best they’ve put out in a long time

 

[Duellist]

Nah I actually thought about that as I wrote it, like this last album had a lot of slow intros that could just be cut entirely. But they’re just intro segments and it doesn’t take away from the rest of the song, whereas with these Metallica songs I’m kinda like ok what are we doing here?

I agree the Steve Harris epics can be overly long, but I’ll take fast forwarding 90 seconds into Hell on Earth over anything on 72 Seasons. The last Maiden album is a fuckin jam even with the bloat, best they’ve put out in a long time

Hell on earth pisses me off lol probably the best chorus they have written in ages and they only sing it once.

 

[Thaedolus]

Hell on earth pisses me off lol probably the best chorus they have written in ages and they only sing it once.

Hah that’s kinda why I think it’s so great. Don’t get me wrong, I love the repetitive choruses from their classics, but it’s a fucking banger that kinda goes places without repetition and leaves me wanting more Maiden at the end of the album. It’s a great song to go out on. And Bruce, goddamn. They’re the only band I’ve seen live 3 times and he still bringing it

 

[Duellist]

Hah that’s kinda why I think it’s so great. Don’t get me wrong, I love the repetitive choruses from their classics, but it’s a fucking banger that kinda goes places without repetition and leaves me wanting more Maiden at the end of the album. It’s a great song to go out on. And Bruce, goddamn. They’re the only band I’ve seen live 3 times and he still bringing it

Lol I’m not asking for them to repeat it 15 times like some of their other choruses but 2 or maybe 3 would be nice cause the melody is so damn awesome. Got teary eyed first time I heard it. Lol

 

[Duellist]

Hah that’s kinda why I think it’s so great. Don’t get me wrong, I love the repetitive choruses from their classics, but it’s a fucking banger that kinda goes places without repetition and leaves me wanting more Maiden at the end of the album. It’s a great song to go out on. And Bruce, goddamn. They’re the only band I’ve seen live 3 times and he still bringing it

Oh and I agree about Bruce, dude still kills it live. I’ve seen them 3 times also and am going to see them for a fourth this summer. Can’t wait

 

[LiquidMetal14]

This is their best album, for me, since St Anger.

 

[GMCamaro]

Metallica Inc. released a new product? Did they announce at one of their fashion galas?