Hardwired...To Self-Destruct [LP]

by Metallica

Overview

Metallica began their long journey back home some time after nearly imploding during the recording of 2003's St. Anger. Hardwired...To Self-Destruct arrives 13 years after that album but it, almost more than its 2008 predecessor Death Magnetic, feels like a repudiation of the band's '90s, the years when Metallica shined up, slowed down, and got a lot weirder. Sprawling over two discs when it could've fit onto one (an aesthetic choice certainly meant to evoke memories of 1988's double LP ...And Justice for All), Hardwired...To Self-Destruct does indeed rage, roaring out the gate with a title track where James Hetfield bellows "We're so f***ed/S*** out of luck." That palpable desperation recalls the free-floating angst that fueled Metallica's '80s, but Hardwired...To Self-Destruct doesn't find the quartet scrambling to sound as ferocious as they did during their heyday. Often, they do unleash the fury -- "Moth into Flame" gallops forward in a manner reminiscent of "Battery" -- but there's no denying that Metallica are an older band now, either incapable or uninterested in maintaining that intensity over the course of a full double album. When they slow down, it's not exclusively to churn and brood. "Murder One," a salute to departed Motoerhead leader Lemmy, may belong in that category, but "Am I Savage?" teeters between ominous dirge and intricate transitions, while "Dream No More" has a backbeat that nearly swings. "ManUNKind" also has a bit of buried funk in its rhythms and that, along with the preponderance of complicated suites, is a clue that Hardwired...To Self-Destruct is primarily the work of Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Kirk Hammett doesn't have a single songwriting credit -- allegedly, this is due to the guitarist losing an iPhone filled with riffs just prior to recording -- and he's also diminished in terms of solos, leaving Hardwired as a showcase for Metallica's musical constructions. If the riffs don't always sink in deeply -- and if the entire production feels slightly monochromatic -- what impresses here is the thought and musicality within the compositions and the performances, elements that have always been at the band's core and shine brightly on Hardwired...To Self-Destruct. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/18/2016
Label:	Blackened Recordings
UPC:	0858978005301
Rank:	5994

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Hardwired
2. Atlas, Rise!
3. Now That We're Dead
4. Moth Into Flame
5. Am I Savage?
6. Halo on Fire

Disc 2

7. Confusion
8. Dream No More
9. Man Unkind
10. Here Comes Revenge
11. Murder One
12. Spit Out the Bones

Disc 3

13. Lords of Summer
14. Riff Charge
15. N.W.O.B.H.M.A.T.M.
16. Tin Shot
17. Plow
18. Sawblade
19. RIP
20. Lima
21. 91
22. MTO
23. RL72
24. Frankenstein
25. CHI
26. X Dust

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Metallica   Primary Artist
Kirk Hammett   Guitar
Lars Ulrich   Drums
James Hetfield   Guitar,Vocals
Robert Trujillo   Bass

Technical Credits

Kent Matcke   Assistant Engineer,Production Coordination
Kirk Hammett   Group Member
Lars Ulrich   Composer,Producer,Group Member
James Hetfield   Composer,Producer,Group Member
Greg Fidelman   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Jason Gossman   Digital Editing
Mike Gillies   Engineer
Dan Monti   Digital Editing
Robert Trujillo   Composer,Group Member
Dave Collins   Mastering
Lindsay Chase   Production Coordination
Jim Monti   Digital Editing
Sara Lyn Killion   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Turner Duckworth   Design,Creative Director