Screaming Suicide Poll

4 at this moment in time

It's probably a 5 for me. It's not as bad as Hardwired or ManUnKind, but it doesn't have much going for it. This would have been a filler track on a previous album so I'm a bit worried about how the rest of the album is going to turn out.

72 Seasons - ALL FILLER - NO KILLER! Buy it NOW!

I love DM, I wish these two singles were as good as DMs weakest tracks.

These feel like they're rejects from Hardwired they kept in the vault for a rainy day or pandemic.

Hardwired to Reconstruct the EP

I really like Lux, it’s better than most of HWTSD. Like a modern Hit the Lights.

But SS is just too generic and plain and too samey sounding to both Lux as well at Atlas Rise, and all the generic transitions and traits/little characteristics found in most Metallica songs since DM.

The little stop start power chords on the A string, the pauses, the 3 bars of the main riff till the drums kick in, the same single notes on the E string. It’s like they have only 4-5 song writing tools they use to piece together their songs from the various riffs and song sections they have written, so all the little parts that join it all up are the same in every song.

Then you have the actual riffs which in the case of these two songs are way too similar to one another - they’re clearly going for the NWOBHM vibe like the did with Atlas… but why release two songs that sound like this? Is it representative of the whole album?

Then you have the lifeless, soulless, weak sounding production with super loud and fake sounding snare sample over the top of everything, Kirk playing some boring sloppy lick that’s been recycled from previous albums, just like on HWTSD. The end result is a same sounding uninspired serviceable at best bunch of songs like we ended up with on the last album.

I’m grateful that they’re still around making new music, and if we get an album with a couple of songs as good as Moth/Dream/Halo were on the last one it’ll be a decent outcome. It’s just frustrating hearing the boring safe generic stuff when we all know of how creative and passionate they can be. Bands like Accept who are deep into their 60s are still putting out albums with fantastic creative original sounding songs, with heaps of dynamics and variety, creative solos, bite and aggressiveness in their guitar tone and sonics etc… so it’s not like it’s impossible for bands 40+ years into their career to still be inspired and show some creativity.

The crazy thing is that we ALL are ranking Met songs higher than we are doing with other bands. You can’t help being just a little biased.

Tbh if you presented the soloing, the drumming the production and the arrangements from the last two albums, to any decent musician, and they had to be completely honest, they would die of laughter.

We accept a lot since it’s Metallica and Hetfields voice itself bumps up people’s rating by one or two.
But when you have to be brutally honest with yourself, most of what they put out is utter shit compared to the standards in music.

I’m not even mad about it, it is what it is and they are still out there doing it, so we all kind of give them a free pass, with everything basically.
What is frustrating is that we all know they could do SO much better with the proper team around them.

Hetfield is a machine and I believe he with ease could pull killer riffs out of his ass.
Kirk is Kirk but on occasions he shines, maybe if a drummer didn’t guide him through his solos we would see his real capabilities.
Rob is amazing.
Lars doesn’t give 2 fucks about his drumming, he needs a serious kicking. But if they just used proper production put him in the background I believe he would be an awesome Phil Rudd, just scale it back my man.

They still have the talent for so much more, but it’s wasted on bad choices and bunch of yes men. It’s almost sad.

For sure. Strip away the Metallica name and I'd toss this shit aside.
The stuff I'm into the past 10+ years is wayyyyyyy better than the average Metallica output from the past 30 years.

But it's Metallica!

Yes, they get a frustrated pass every time. I get angry with their choices, ignore them for larger and larger gaps each time. Find myself getting bored with the "classic" stuff etc. Hoping that the new stuff gives me that same feeling, that adrenaline rush, that hooked me so many years ago. Every so often, it happens, and all the hate and frustration sits in the back seat for a while, and I can remember, I can feel it, like I'm 12 years old again, jumping around listening to Battery.

My fandom at this point is like a marriage. It has its up and downs, sometimes my wife looks so hot, sometimes she looks like utter shit, sometimes she makes decisions and choices I am against or don't understand, but I still love her, and I'm riding the ship till it goes down.

I look back to all the great memories in my life centered around Metallica, the soundtrack to my life, and they get a pass. Are they as great as the hot, new, younger girls walking around in short shorts come summer time, no, but that's ok, I still love them.

These 2 new songs are okay at best, and as long as there are 2-3 knock out bangers on 72 Seasons, I'll be happy.

I was really disappointed with HWTSD, but then when I put on a handful of those tracks and ignore the rest, wow, there's that rush I'm looking for, that fix.

When the lights go down, and Ecstasy of Gold kicks in, and I'm there, waiting for those first notes to kick me in the face, I'm 12 years old again, and nothing else matters.

I would really love to see Metallica work with Steven Wilson. The small team they use now produce a sound that has grown stale

FUCKING..... THIS!

They have no quality control.