Metallica - Death Magnetic (2008)

Metallica’s Death Magnetic has easily been one of the most hyped CD’s of 2008. This album will certainly be a major conversation piece in the hard rock and heavy metal world. I can’t think of another album released this year that will receive an equal amount of love and hate.

The question most people have been wondering is if this disc surpasses Metallica’s last effort, the awful St. Anger.

The first time I saw the cover art, I thought it was pretty terrible. I still don’t think it is great, but the way the cover is cut does make it kind of cool, and if anything, unique. Thankfully, the music is better than the cover art! Death Magnetic is cram packed with music. This CD has over 70 minutes of music. The first two songs together clock in at 15 minutes in length by themselves.

Death Magnetic is not a detour from Metallica’s roots ala the Black and Load albums. There are a couple of instances, where the album slows down just enough, so fans of the Black/Load era Metallica will find something to sink their teeth into. In fact, on Death Magnetic, Metallica does a pretty good job blending the sound of all of their past albums (with the exception of St. Anger). The end result is a heavy album that I think most fans will be pleased with.

Death Magnetic starts off in heavy fashion with “That Was Just Your Life“. The music on this song is awesome, and easily one of the heaviest songs Metallica has done since their album, And Justice For All. I thought the vocals of James Hetfield were mixed a little too low on this song, but the music is so full of headbanging goodness that the mixing quickly becomes an after thought.

“The End of The Line” is another long heavy cut with a crazy amount of guitar solos by Kirk Hammett. If this song doesn’t ignite your inner head banger, your headphones must be broken.

Chances are you have already heard the first single off of Death Magnetic, “The Day That Never Comes“. I immediately took a liking to this song. I though it was a nice mix of the Black album, with a mix of Master of the Puppets thrashing guitar solos by Kirk Hammett.

“Suicide & Redemption” might be the heaviest and longest instrumental track that I have ever heard.

I didn’t care for the track “Cyanide” at first, but repeated plays has completely changed my mind. I like this track a lot now. Some other highlights for me are “Broken, Beat & Scarred”, and “The Judas Kiss”.

The Bottom line, Death Magnetic is a great return to form by Metallica. Yes, folks that is right Metallica still has it, and if you haven’t bought Death Magnetic, you should go get it!

You can buy Death Magnetic at Rock Kingdoms!

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AC/DC - Black Ice (Release Year - 2008)

2008 gave us two of the most highly anticipated albums in hard rock. One was Metallica’s “Death Magnetic”, the other is “Black Ice” by the Australian Kings of hard rock, AC/DC. Metallica pleased most of their fans with their new disc. Can AC/DC do the same?

In case you haven’t heard, Walmart has the exclusive release of this disc in the United States, and it hits stores as of 12:01 A.M. today (October 20th).

AC/DC must be out to make a statement that they want to rock. Check out some of the song titles on “Black Ice”. On this album you have “Rock ‘N Roll Train”, “She Likes Rock N Roll”, “Rock N Roll Dream”, and “Rocking All the Way”. That is a lot of rock related titles on one album.

If you haven’t heard “Rock ‘N Roll Train” on the radio by now, your radio dial must be stuck on an easy listening station. I like this tune, but I am thankful to say that this is far from the best tune on “Black Ice”. I do like this song a lot, and it is a pretty good tune to get things started on “Black Ice”.

The best part of the song “Skies on Fire”, is Angus Young’s fantastic fret work. This isn’t one of AC/DC’s best tunes, and it isn’t very memorable, but it is an OK listen.

“Big Jack” is a foot stomping, fist throwing stadium anthem that is sure to please. I hope this is one of the songs that AC/DC adds to their set list in their 2008 tour!

AC/DC will surely have another hit on their hands with “Anything Goes”. This song has a really cool, uplifting guitar riff that will help power this song on to the radio.

“War Machine” is the kind of song that gets me pumped up, right before I go into battle (online). I have heard this song quite a bit prior to the album’s release, and like this hard rockin’ adrenaline pumper.

A song that has been growing on me is “Smash N Grab”. When I first heard this tune, I felt like I had heard it before, but couldn’t put my finger on which AC/DC song it reminded me of. I still haven’t figured that one out yet. There are some subtle nuances to this song that give it a slightly different sound.

Man oh mercy, the guitar work on “Spoilin’ For A Fight” is AWESOME! Another excellent tune that could be another AC/DC classic.

“Wheels” is a short little bluesy rocker that could easily be the new official theme song of NASCAR.

The pace slows down a little bit with the song “Decibel”. This is a mid tempo foot stomper with some really cool bluesy guitar licks by Angus Young. At first, I thought Brian Johnson’s pronunciation of the word decibel was incorrect, but there are two different sounds for the word depending on the area of the world you live in. It still bugs me somewhat, but this is an OK song.

“Stormy May Day” has a really cool slide guitar riff, but this was another tune that I thought was just on the OK side.

“She Like Rock N Roll” is another really good anthem that could become another AC/DC classic.

I can’t get the song “Money Made” out of my head. If you listen to this song one time, you will find your self chanting “Work, Work, Money Made”. This tune is extremely catchy, and is another sure fire hit.

“Rock N Roll Dream” is one of those typical AC/DC songs where the main lyric is repeated over and over again. This song is one of the more average tunes on Black Ice.

“Rocking All The Way” is another fun bluesy rocker. Angus Young has this innate ability to take an average song, and turn it into something special with his awesome guitar licks. This is one of those kind of songs.

The album closes out with the title track “Black Ice”. This is another good tune with an ultra cool guitar riff. This is a very strong way to close out this album.

I think AC/DC fans are going to be very pleased with this album. Is AC/DC breaking any new ground with this disc? No, absolutely not. Have the guys lost one iota of talent or skill over the years? No, not one bit. Brian Johnson’s voice is as strong as ever, and the Young brothers are still playing some of the best guitar licks I have ever heard.

“Black Ice” is easily the best new AC/DC album since 1990’s “The Razors Edge” Start your week off right, and get to Walmart and pick this CD up! For those about to pick up “Black Ice”, I salute you!

Highly Recommended!

You can now buy Black Ice through Rock Kingdoms

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