Sunday, Sep. 07, 2008
Death Magnetic
One of the cheerier titles in Metallica's discography also contains some of the band's fastest and loudest music. For many people this is not a selling point. But as produced by Rick Rubin (and really, what isn't?), Death Magnetic is more than just a phalanx of audio Black Hawks sent to attack your ears. There's true virtuosity in the playing — few bands are as maniacal about precision — and plenty of songs where the momentum coheres into surprisingly emotional codas. If that's not appealing enough, there's also a collector's edition packaged in a white coffin-shaped box. You know, for the kids.