Death Magnet

Last week, Metallica released Death Magnetic. Your opinion of it seems to have been determined approximately 17 years ago. That is when Metallica released their self titled or so called "Black Album." For some people, this was Metallica's sell-out album. They went from being a cult favorite to being mainstream. Nevermind that they had already multiple gold and platinum records prior to the Black Album, but no one can argue with the success of the Black Album. It has always been hip to criticize that album and everything after it, and to praise everything before it. If you are hip like that, then obviously you won't like Death Magnetic. On the other hand, if you thought the Black Album was a big improvement for Metallica, then you will love Death Magnetic.

Personally, I like the Black Album and I like Death Magnetic. It is definitely in the vein of other recently successful rockers of the 80s/90s, like U2, R.E.M., and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in that it "channels" a lot of their classic material while still sounding modern. The guitar playing is impressive, and in many ways the whole thing felt like it had been inspired by the Guitar Hero video game (which I also love to play.) In fact Death Magnetic can be downloaded and played on the XBox 360 and Playstation 3, but unfortunately for me, not the Wii...