And what am I talking about, gentle readers? Well, the new Metallica, of course!

Hear me out. I didn’t really dig Load and Re-Load. The S&M stuff was just OK. Unlike the rest of the world, I actually loved St. Anger. It was gritty, raw, and daring: a new experiment needed to liven up an otherwise stale metal sound. People complained about the tinny production, and a plethora of other things leading Metallica to run back to their roots for their latest: Death Magnetic.

But did they really need to run back so soon? Death Magnetic just feels forced. During the St. Anger sessions, Kirk Hammett made note about not wanting to add long guitar solos to a song for no reason. He said that the solos had to suit the song in question.

SO WHAT HAPPENED, KIRK!?!? The new record isn’t bad, per se, but it just feels like the band let the “old school fans” lead the way. “Here’s what they want, I guess we have to give it to them.” Yanno what I say? Fuck the old schoolers. And fuck the music fans that can’t accept that it’s no longer 1985.

Although I understand that I’m the minority in the land of St. Anger-ville, St. Anger was still a step in the right direction. Death Magnetic? Two steps back.