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Post by spartanmcdoodle on Apr 13, 2023 22:43:37 GMT
Just listened to the album in a theater. These are my first impressions of the album. I won’t review title by title but in a general way. This will be the first time I will comment harshly on a Metallica album. I like every kind of music and every Metallica album. I don’t care if it’s thrash metal or pop as long as it is good. It’s a 7/10 album for me and I will give it because singles were good. If it was not for the singles, I would give it 4/10. Overally, songs start with a solid 9/10 intro and ends with 9/10 outro but other than that it sounds very generic. Riffs that goes nowhere, very basic drumming, weak vocal melodies and so on… Maybe all the reviews by magazines and other people got me hyped too much and I set myself for a disappointment. All the people were saying it sounds like Justice, Black type of songs, I don’t know what they are smoking. It sounds like Kill Em All low tier songs produced like Hardwired at best. All I can say, they can still do it. I mean HW was a step in the right direction, then S&M2 and AWMH shows. It shows that this band is capable of much more and they can’t limit themselves to punk-thrash anymore. It was seen very back in the day in 90s and early 2000s. Inamorata is a step in the right direction but it still suffers like the rest. It sounds like Halo On Fire’s second part more than Outlaw or Fixxxer. It's funny how people have massively varying opinions on the album! I'm basically at odds with all you've said. I think the singles are the most boring tracks and the album is better than the last 3. Not saying either of us is right or wrong, just cool how different the opinions are! |
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 13, 2023 22:49:14 GMT
So what if HWTSD and 72 Seasons were one album? Hardwired to 72 Seasons? 🤪 yeah i'll get back to you. |
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Post by Ruflux on Apr 13, 2023 22:52:04 GMT
Alright I listened to it. Inamorata is nearly a masterpiece. However, the middle section is almost ruined by Lars' constant hi-hats. It's such a shame. But the main reason why that section feels fresh is that the album is very monotone. It fell into the trap I expected it to: It's filled with heavy mid-tempo stuff so when we get something that resembles a ballad even a little bit it feels awesome. All the songs blend together and in the end few of them end up standing out. I've said this before, but Hardwired and now this album desperately needed ballads as palette cleansers.
I've also said I felt DM was a more consistent album than Hardwired while Hardwired had higher highs than DM. At this stage I feel the album is just as inconsistent as Hardwired, but I don't think it reaches the heights of Moth, Dream etc.
Too Far Gone is the first one on the album I felt was an instant earworm. If you ask me today, I think it's among the best songs on the album alongside 72 Seasons, Lux Æterna, and Inamorata.
I expect I'll be more positive about the album as it settles over the next few days, weeks and months, but I definitely remember fanboying at more points during Hardwired. Maybe it's just me getting older. Either way I'm looking forward to hearing some of these live, although there are a ton of notes I have a hard time seeing James confidently hitting on stage. This is close to how I feel except for me personally I doubt the album will get any better with time. For the first time ever I listened to a new album from a band I follow and didn't immediately want to give it another spin. It's not just that the production is making my ears ring for some reason, it's also that the whole thing felt like a massive drag to get through, very reminiscent of Hardwired disc two.
For specific complaints: Lars's drumming, man, what happened? At times it started feeling like those "hilarious" parody videos of him drumming with the endless LOUD snare rolls and fills and relentless hi-hat abuse (with bad dynamics to boot, he keeps doing that thing where he hits it harder on snare hits and it sounds awful and inconsistent), not helped by the drum mix being really grating. It's probably the biggest let down so far for me. I was hopeful that maybe the singles had the more straightforward stuff but nah, that's just how he plays nowadays.
The songs I feel just aren't good enough for the most part. It felt a bit like contractual obligations Metallica, like they had to put out an album after spending a few years unable to tour and out of commission rather than an album they set out to make out of their own volition and desire. I dunno, maybe that's just me being a fanboy and pretending somehow they'd produce much better tunes with time, but I really do think that for the most part 72S sounds like leftovers and pretty meh riffs jumbled together. But then you get the last three songs where none of this really applies and it just makes it all the more mindboggling that so much of the album is just "meh" to me. They really can still write near top drawer stuff, it's just that for some reason most of 72 Seasons isn't. Maybe they needed more guitar harmonies? For such a guitar-oriented band it's bizarre how hard they seemed to avoid doing them on this album.
Also the sequencing is odd. Why is Lux Aeterna in the middle where it feels awkward rather than the opener of the album? LA and 72S would be the perfect one-two punch album opener and it'd follow Metallica tradition of having the title track be the second track on the album.
Overall, definitely the weakest "modern" Metallica album if you ask me. Too Far Gone?, Room of Mirrors and Inamorata are really solid tracks and bring the impression up quite a bit since the end the album, but otherwise it was pretty rough. Out of the singles, Lux is alright, 72S is fine if a bit annoying due to how oddly cut-and-paste it feels, the other two are kinda eh, with Screaming Suicide definitely being the worst one. IDHAS gets extra points for having at least some creativity in the drums department but even then that's just one section in a six-and-a-half minute song. The others? Genuinely no real impression. I mostly got annoyed and bored with them. You Must Burn! did sorta have a decent vibe and groove going and some memorable lyrics, but in a contest between it and Dream No More... well, yeah. Definitely need to give the whole thing more listens but the problem is that I truly don't want to right now so that'll have to wait.
e: I no good at spoilers I wanted to spoiler the wall of text not the whole thing.
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Post by jackers on Apr 13, 2023 22:55:47 GMT
Just listened to the album in a theater. These are my first impressions of the album. I won’t review title by title but in a general way. This will be the first time I will comment harshly on a Metallica album. I like every kind of music and every Metallica album. I don’t care if it’s thrash metal or pop as long as it is good. It’s a 7/10 album for me and I will give it because singles were good. If it was not for the singles, I would give it 4/10. Overally, songs start with a solid 9/10 intro and ends with 9/10 outro but other than that it sounds very generic. Riffs that goes nowhere, very basic drumming, weak vocal melodies and so on… Maybe all the reviews by magazines and other people got me hyped too much and I set myself for a disappointment. All the people were saying it sounds like Justice, Black type of songs, I don’t know what they are smoking. It sounds like Kill Em All low tier songs produced like Hardwired at best. All I can say, they can still do it. I mean HW was a step in the right direction, then S&M2 and AWMH shows. It shows that this band is capable of much more and they can’t limit themselves to punk-thrash anymore. It was seen very back in the day in 90s and early 2000s. Inamorata is a step in the right direction but it still suffers like the rest. It sounds like Halo On Fire’s second part more than Outlaw or Fixxxer. Pretty much this but I would be even harsher unfortunately. I know that Chasing Light, Crown, and Sleepwalk are terrible and pretty much meh to most so not even going to say much about them, but Shadows Follow, You Must Burn, Room of Mirrors - seriously what the hell are you guys hearing there that I don't? I hear very stock, unmemorable riffs and uncreative vocal melodies. Lux is good, Too Far Gone and Inamorata are okay. The rest of them is probably the worst bunch of songs that they created. At least to me. Good thing I will always have half of HTSD and couple songs of DM to get my modern Metallica fix. |
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 13, 2023 23:09:20 GMT
i couldnt disagree more on Chasing Light and Crown. i love light's groove and james vocals on Crown.
Sleepwalk sounds like a sister song to ManUnkind
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Post by slowdive on Apr 13, 2023 23:31:11 GMT
First three songs: Metallica magic.
Last three songs: Metallica WIZARDRY.
"72 Seasons"; "Shadows Follow"; "Screaming Suicide"; "You Must Burn!"; "Lux Aeterna"; "IDHAS"; "Too Far Gone"; "Room Of Mirrors" and the MIGHTY "INAMORATA" = 10/10 album.
"Sleepwalk My Life Away" is just ok. Nothing special, a bit too happy. "Crowned Of Barbed Wire" actually grew on me, still one of the weakest.
Hated "Chasing Light" at first listen, now it's growing a lot on me. Deserves it's place on the album.
Easily their best since TBA.
"Inamorata" is their best song since ...AJFA. When the groove starts, i just expect Ozzy to start belting. It's that AMAZING.
Not a perfect album, but a damn good one and a grower, for sure.
Well done, boys!
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Post by Prometheus426 on Apr 13, 2023 23:42:34 GMT
Bought the MP3 album off Amazon, the production is pretty good.
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Post by ridethelightning on Apr 13, 2023 23:47:58 GMT
Haven’t listened to all songs all the way through yet but have given most of the non singles a full first run through.
Initial impression is this album is DENSE. Very few dynamics, melodies are in fairly short supply and these songs are going to take several listens to fully get accustomed to.
On the positive side, there are some incredible grooves, riffs and solos.
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Post by joeyr on Apr 13, 2023 23:48:52 GMT
Drunken Thoughts half way through in Germany where it just was released:
1) if 72 seasons was on Hardwired instead of spit, and spit didn’t exist, people would universally praise 72 seasons. I think, one of my favourite metallica song in decades.
2) the mix and production are actually very different to HWYSD- vocals much better layered, guitar tones are more sabbathy. Drums are too fucking loud though, I agree.
3) James is king as always
4) You Must Burn is so so good. And Lux straight after is wonderful.
5. chasing light isn’t great but James voice in chorus is cool
6. The last three songs = best last three songs since TBA
7.. Such garage inc and load vibes. HWTSD 2 this is not. So much more dynamic.
8. This is for me their most interesting album since St Anger. DM and HWTSD are great, but I always felt they were more in dimensional . This album sees them
Doing new musical things, and I love that.
I give it a solid 8/10 for first listen. I think in a week or two I will bump that up.
Overall, I am massive lazy impressed. Bring on Hamburg and Munich 🤘
Kirk also plays very well!
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Post by davi84 on Apr 14, 2023 0:41:14 GMT
I still haven't listen to anything other than the singles nor read any of the official reviews, but kept checking this thread every 3 hours today, craving for your personal take on the album. Honestly, I'm kinda relieved that there are that many different oppinions about the album, so it means there's still hope for me to really like it. And, as a bonus, since there's not any unianimous opinion I think I'll be able to have a relatively unbiased first listen.
Thanks guys, you've made this long day a lot more bearable. Now there's just a couple more hours between the new album and me, and I'm hyped AF!
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Post by SicJes on Apr 14, 2023 0:50:25 GMT
I'm with you davi84 still haven't heard anything other than the singles. And everyone's opinions are great and so varied that I know I'm in for a treat, especially when I see folks put SS at the bottom because I really dig that one, so if it only gets better than that, it's a win for me. |
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 2:03:17 GMT
One of the most interesting parts of the listening party was learning Kirk wrote the main riff to 72 Seasons. I really want to identify all of the other non-James riffs.
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 2:36:01 GMT
FYI: They're debuting IDHAS live on Kimmel tonight around 12am(ish?) EST
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 2:48:03 GMT
I feel pretty confident is giving my first round of rankings. 1. Chasing Light (Fucking love that main riff! bad ass song)
2. Crown of Barbed Wire (best vocal performance by james outside of Inamorata)
3. Too Far Gone (short but sweet. all killer no filler. love the chorus)
4. If Darkness Had A Son (i love the main riff and the chorus.)
5. Inamorata (1st half of the song is OK. 2nd half of the song is where she really takes off. amazing)
6. Screaming Suicide (got much better in the context of the record. love the "never speak my name" part)
7. Lux Aeterna (This should have been the opener on the album imo. super fun and catchy)
8. Shadows follow (a solid baseline for the entire record)
9. You Must Burn! (This one is growing on me and rising up the rankings)
10. Room For Mirrors (i see why people love it. those harmonies are great)
11. 72 Seasons (this one sounds like a Frankenstein of leftover parts from hardwired)
12. Sleepwalk My Life Away (i get Manunkind pt 2 vibes with this one. it's alright.) |
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Post by SicJes on Apr 14, 2023 2:58:01 GMT
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I'M DYING HERE GUYS!
I need to hear this fucker NOW!
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Post by Zalman on Apr 14, 2023 3:06:46 GMT
One of the most interesting parts of the listening party was learning Kirk wrote the main riff to 72 Seasons. I really want to identify all of the other non-James riffs. Any more interesting tidbits like this? The 72 Seasons riff is one of the best on the album imo. |
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 3:18:05 GMT
One of the most interesting parts of the listening party was learning Kirk wrote the main riff to 72 Seasons. I really want to identify all of the other non-James riffs. Any more interesting tidbits like this? The 72 Seasons riff is one of the best on the album imo. The whole thing felt almost like they didn't get around to finishing it? 72 Seasons had like 5-6 minutes of interview preceding it with a lot of insight from the whole band, and the rest of the songs only had 2-3 of the members talking about it at a more surface level. They talked way more about "vibe" than the writing process. It was still an enjoyable watch, but it was strange how much they talked about only one of the songs. Kirk mentioned "Rob's heavy riff" in You Must Burn but didn't specify which one. Probably the one under the creepy bridge? Also the new Tim Saccenti videos were great, but most of the visual ones were just... utterly unenjoyable. Especially Chasing Light. |
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 3:22:02 GMT
we might still get making-of videos like we got for the songs on DM and HWTSD
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 3:43:53 GMT
I think the thing I'm not jiving with the most on this album is the tracklist. The flow just feels... odd. Especially the first half.
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 3:46:02 GMT
i'd have to sit around and play with it. But right off the top of my head i'd swap 72 Seasons and Lux Aeterna.
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 3:52:32 GMT
i'd have to sit around and play with it. But right off the top of my head i'd swap 72 Seasons and Lux Aeterna. Right! That was the other insight from the listening party; James mentioned how he could've seen Lux or 72 open the album. I think if Lux won out as the title track, that would've happened. |
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 3:57:34 GMT
yeah, that shouldn't have mattered anyway. the title track didn't open the Lightning, Puppets, or the Justice records.
Lux is the perfect opener. Weird choice by Lars.
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 4:03:40 GMT
imo the first half would flow so much better if it were this (sorry it's 2 minutes into the release for my time zone and I'm already making fan tracklists):
1. Lux
2. 72
3. Burn
4. Suicide
5. Sleepwalk
6. Shadows
Second half is perfect.
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 4:07:08 GMT
Just listened to the album in a theater. These are my first impressions of the album. I won’t review title by title but in a general way. This will be the first time I will comment harshly on a Metallica album. I like every kind of music and every Metallica album. I don’t care if it’s thrash metal or pop as long as it is good. It’s a 7/10 album for me and I will give it because singles were good. If it was not for the singles, I would give it 4/10. Overally, songs start with a solid 9/10 intro and ends with 9/10 outro but other than that it sounds very generic. Riffs that goes nowhere, very basic drumming, weak vocal melodies and so on… Maybe all the reviews by magazines and other people got me hyped too much and I set myself for a disappointment. All the people were saying it sounds like Justice, Black type of songs, I don’t know what they are smoking. It sounds like Kill Em All low tier songs produced like Hardwired at best. All I can say, they can still do it. I mean HW was a step in the right direction, then S&M2 and AWMH shows. It shows that this band is capable of much more and they can’t limit themselves to punk-thrash anymore. It was seen very back in the day in 90s and early 2000s. Inamorata is a step in the right direction but it still suffers like the rest. It sounds like Halo On Fire’s second part more than Outlaw or Fixxxer. It's funny how people have massively varying opinions on the album! I'm basically at odds with all you've said. I think the singles are the most boring tracks and the album is better than the last 3. Not saying either of us is right or wrong, just cool how different the opinions are! i think some people have over-hyped expectations which sort of worked negatively against them when listening to the record. they had no where to go but disappointment. I think once the dust settles and the hype is gone they'll enjoy the album a lot more. i also think this will work on the other end of the spectrum... with people who like the record maybe too much. once the shine wears off a little bit... i think all these opinions will eventually meet in the middle. |
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Post by herodreamer79 on Apr 14, 2023 4:14:53 GMT
PSA: you can now listen to the entire record on Amazon if you purchase the digital copy.
At least I can anyway.. i live in California.
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Post by SicJes on Apr 14, 2023 4:20:08 GMT
Alright. Here I go. A walk in the woods and the new Metallica album!
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Post by BMus1 on Apr 14, 2023 4:30:12 GMT
Crown of Barbed Wire has such a swagger to it. That slide riff is badass, almost Dimebag-like.
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Post by ModerusPrime on Apr 14, 2023 4:32:35 GMT
Just got back from the theater preview. Here are my thoughts after one listen:
Opens ok. Nothing special.
Shadows Follow is meh.
Screaming Suicide is functional Metallica.
Mostly sounds like Hardwired 2.0 so far.
Kirk's solos on this album are fucking fire.
Sleepwalk My Life Away is blatant Enter Sandman ripoff.
You Must Burn! was the first song that felt like something fresh.
Crown of Barbed Wire is badass.
If Darkness Had A Son = Best Song On The Album/Best Song Of The 00's
The last three songs are meh. People are going nuts over "Inamorata". It's ok. It's not bad.
Lars said "Inamorata" is the first 10+ minutes song, which is false, The Outlaw Torn is.
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Post by R2D2 on Apr 14, 2023 4:46:55 GMT
Outlaw Torn is only 9:48
single version doesn't count. :P
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Post by ModerusPrime on Apr 14, 2023 5:04:28 GMT
It's the version they play live. It's the only version that counts.  |
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