During these past few months, Metallica was generous enough to release a few singles off their new album, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. After the unexpected return to their thrash metal roots with the 2008 release of Death Magnetic, some were reassured about the future of the band.
Since the launch of their self-titled fifth album, aka The Black Album, many have questioned the loyalty between the rising superstars and their fan base. The lack of thrash and primary focus on hard rock became the main controversy of Metallica‘s career. By the time Load came out, it was clear that the band was not afraid to experiment with other genres, beginning a wide division between the die-hard fans and the mainstream audience.
These courses of action created distrust within the thrash community as every album adapted towards the changing times. It sunk many people’s expectations especially with the disappointing “comeback” that St. Anger was meant to be.
As time went on the group took a hiatus, causing some to give up all hope on the band that was once leading the American thrash movement, pushing boundaries and impressing everyone within the genre. It seemed as though we were never going to see the aggressive side of Metallica again. For some, the change in direction was a betrayal and there was no way of redemption once that line had been crossed. It was frustrating knowing the pioneers of The Big 4 had the potential to make another thrash masterpiece yet weren’t interested in doing so.
After they put out their first single for Hardwired, there was a question at hand: Could Metallica be forgiven for their past? There’s nothing more pure than a 3 minute thrash tune and doesn’t the change in style reveal the motivation behind the production of it? The return to thrash is the feedback from fans being answered and it wasn’t just mindless speed metal, this was confirmed by the second single.
Moth Into Flame is a much more polished piece of music. It begins with synchronized guitars and is audibly more melodic while still retaining many thrash elements. The balance between melody and aggressiveness is also mastered in the third single: Atlas, Rise! But there are those that are skeptical about Metallica continuing to use melody in their songs.
The elimination of melody isn’t the best solution for any band. In fact, the focus of melody is what gave us The Black Album, however that doesn’t mean it’s more important than the instrumental section. Anything can have melody and still meet the heavy metal standards. That being said, it is easier to forgive songs such as Fade To Black and One when they are surrounded by undiluted thrash classics from those albums. It also helps that these aren’t weak songs by any stretch, but it does blur the line between acceptable and non-acceptable melody in metal.
The Black Album was a more obvious transition which made it understandable to not include it alongside the classic albums. That doesn’t mean that all the material after the 80s is an abomination. It’s definitely in a different league and it is fair to call The Black Album the beginning of the end for Metallica‘s identity.
Death Magnetic was almost the opposite of The Black Album, changing the musical direction back to the original destination. Hearing That Was Just Your Life was like listening to Hardwired‘s title track. There was a “What if?” moment that, unfortunately, went unanswered since the band didn’t build off of the momentum with a proper follow-up album.
Hardwired is a blend of the furious energy from the glory years with a dose of The Black Album. From the tone of Here Comes Revenge to the 1000 MPH speed of Spit Out The Bone, Metallica can safely pat themselves on the back without any doubt. Of course you can’t satisfy everyone, but it is clear that there is a significant sign of progression in the band’s songwriting capacity thanks to this album.
Although we will never get another Master Of Puppets or Ride The Lightning, there are still other aspects to appreciate. Metallica have gone through more highs and lows than any band still touring today. You can never tell when or how a band is going to transform and there’s certainly some ugly memories we’d rather forget, but as of now we can call Hardwired a job well done.
That’s assuming we don’t get another Lulu album…
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