Metallica

Pretty good album. Despite the near 80 minute length it didn't feel bloated.
 
It's definitely bloated. Also, it just bugs me that there's 2 discs for an album that technically is 77 minutes long. Just an obvious means of trying to get more ticks on the Billboard charts.

If they cut 3 songs from Disc 2 and added Lords of Summer as an actual track I think it would be a much better album.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
It's definitely bloated. Also, it just bugs me that there's 2 discs for an album that technically is 77 minutes long. Just an obvious means of trying to get more ticks on the Billboard charts.
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Double albums don't get counted twice unless they're over 100 minutes long. 74 minutes is still the official max CD duration too, but I suspect the real reason it's a double is because the original opener was something longer than Hardwired (probably Lords of Summer) and that would've pushed it beyond 80 minutes, and they grew to like the idea of having two discs to break up the album a bit too much to change that.

I personally wouldn't cut anything, since I really like all the tracks. Not equally but none of the tracks are quite worthy of the trash pile, unlike most Metallica albums since The Black Album. That's a damn good achievement. On that note, I'm really glad LoS wasn't on the album, because it's still a really bad track and doesn't fit in with any of the other ones.
 
Yeah, but that still doesn't change the fact that the official Red Book standard still is 74 minutes. Many CDs go over that limit but if we get technical, it's perfectly justifiable to make the album a double if it goes over to ensure it plays correctly in every single player (even if this is not really a concern anymore).

Still, just to repeat myself, I'm not saying that's why they did it, just pointing out that by the Red Book standards it's the correct way to do it.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
It's definitely bloated. Also, it just bugs me that there's 2 discs for an album that technically is 77 minutes long. Just an obvious means of trying to get more ticks on the Billboard charts.
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It doesn't feel bloated when you skip one track, but does when you don't. I think Am I Savage? could be excluded, pretty terrible track.
 
Finally listened to it. Just heard it once though but to me it's by far the best they've done since the 90s. Some songs do drag on a bit too long perhaps, but I wouldn't say its bloated. My favorites after the first listen are: Moth Into Flame, Dream No More (really good this one), Halo On Fire, Spit Out The Bone....

All of the songs between Halo and Spit are a bit of a blur right now. Need to listen to the album some more to get to know each song better.
 
First Metallica album I've listened to in a while and I really like it. Bit of fillerish stuff but still a good solid dose of tunes. When I say filler, I mean that I had it on in the background and after Confusion nothing hit me 'till Spit Out The Bone which I think is fuckin class. Disc 2 deserves another go.
Theres some good groovy swing moments (if only Lars could feel the groove) and Id definitely go see them live.
Quite glad they pulled it out of the bag after being a fuckin clown slow for so long
 
Those four are clearly in a higher tier than the rest. I'd say:

Tier 1: Dream No More, Halo on Fire, Moth Into Flame, Spit Out the Bone
Tier 2: Murder One, Confusion
Tier 3: Hardwired, Atlas Rise, Now That We're Dead, ManUnkind
Tier 4: Here Comes Revenge, Am I Savage

In my /5 rating system (Great, Good-Very Good, Decent, Weak, Bad-Awful)

5: Dream No More, Halo on Fire
4: Moth Into Flame, Spit Out the Bone
3: Murder One, Confusion
2: Hardwired, Atlas Rise, Now That We're Dead, ManUnkind, Here Comes Revenge
1: Am I Savage
 
I'd put Confusion in the first tier for sure. And Atlas in at least the second. Still haven't heard:

Here Comes Revenge
Am I Savage?
Murder One
Spit Out the Bone
Lords of Summer
 
After a few listenings, Moth Into Flame still my favorite. That chorus is brilliant and it's the one that keeps stuck in my mind after I finish listening to the album. On par with Moth Into Flame is Halo on Fire and Spit Out the Bone. Overall it's a good album, despite some boring moments. It's clearly an improvement from Death Magnetic.
 
This record would have been much stronger if it was only 8 tracks - I think there's only a few bands that can effectively make 70+ minutes of music at a time (e.g. Tool).
 
Cornfed Hick said:
I pre-ordered on Amazon and it was to be delivered today. I woke up this morning to a note that the revised delivery date is Nov. 28. So naturally I cancelled my order. Now I'll probably stream it a few times, get sick of it, and never buy it. Or buy it used in a few weeks. If you want my cash, Lars, you gotta ship the product.
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Amazon pulled that stunt on me for Book of Souls. I bitched so much via email they ended up refunding me and still sending it to me and letting me download the mp3 in the meantime.
 
I never understood the deal with pre-order? From comments it seems it's just more hassle than picking up the album when it's out...Unless you get extra goodies thrown your way for doing the pre-order, I don't understand it.
 
I won't name any favourites (though I disagree with some of you, 'cause Moth Into Flame was definitely a lowlight to me), but I really, really liked it. After the unevenness of their last efforts and 8 years after DM to boot I really wasn't expecting much, but after the first two listens I already like it more than Anger, Magnetic, Black and Kill, not to mention Lulu. It's somewhere on the level of (Re)Load, though probably more consistent - the highlights aren't as high as the songs there and the pits aren't that deep too. Yeah, Hammett fu**s up Now That We're Dead with his attempt of a solo and there are other complaints here and there, but overall I'm very pleased. I can feel that they're really trying, which is a first in, like, nearly 20 years.
 
My experience with pre orders is that they won't ship until the day it comes out, so it's pretty pointless. Although amazon has a price guarantee so sometimes you'll get lucky and get a pretty good discount on it.
 
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