Fantasy Book Critic: Song of the Week: “The Day That Never Was” by Metallica

“Death Magnetic” by Metallica. Release Date: September 12, 2008. One of the most influential bands in music—ranked eighth on the list of the biggest-selling groups in history—Metallica unveils its ninth studio album, “Death Magnetic”. The band’s first album in five years, “Death Magnetic” is also its first with renowned producer Rick Rubin (Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, System of a Down), first with bassist Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), and first on Warner Bros. An aural assault, embracing the band’s past while moving into the future, “Death Magnetic”, says Kirk Hammett, is “the best album we’ve put out in, say, 15 years.”

Growing up, I could never get enough of Metallica. “Ride the Lightning”, “Master of Puppets”, “…And Justice For All” and The Black Album were mainstays in my cassette/CD players and some of my fondest adolescent memories played out to Metallica songs like “Unforgiven”, “One”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, etc. In my opinion, the band started deteriorating with “Load” and hitting rock bottom with the travesty that was “St. Anger”. But thanks to Metallica’s new single “The Day That Never Was”, I’m excited in the band again and can’t wait for their new record. For your listening pleasure, here is “The Day That Never Was”:

Previous Songs of the Week:

August 17, 2008
August 24, 2008

9:00 AM |

Posted by Robert |

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...: they are horrid hollywood sellouts.

i too loved them when rifing the lighting came out...but i would never purchase another thing or support them in anyway after their direct legal action against kids and the total arrogance displayed lars over the years as if he was god's gift to everyone.; August 30, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Robert said...: Being in a band, like almost anything else, is a business. So, I can understand where Lars was coming from even if his actions were inappropriate. As far as being sellouts, you can say that about pretty much any band. Bottom line, recording music, touring, etc., is a musician's career, and they're going to want to make as much money as they possibly can. So, it's not always about the music though I wish it were. That said, I've heard a few other tracks off of "Death Magnetic" and you might be pleasantly surprised if you're an old-school Metallica fan :); August 30, 2008 at 12:13 PM
RobB said...: Cautiously Optimistic - that's how I'm viewing this album. Load and ReLoad should have been combined as one album and even then, it still might have been pretty bad.; August 30, 2008 at 4:32 PM
Susan Helene Gottfried said...: I like your taste in music, Robert. At first, I hated this new single. But man, has it grown on me.; August 30, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Robert said...: Rob, I don't expect to be blown away from the album, especially since my tastes have evolved since then, but the way I see it after their subpar efforts, they can only do better ;)

Susan, thanks! This is really only a small sampling of what I like though :) I hope to post more variety in the future...; September 3, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Judy said...: Raul, I don't believe they're "horrid hollywood sellouts" at all! On the contrary, I think they're good, and the cover is fantastic.; March 30, 2010 at 6:25 PM