Hmm.. Seeing the Metallica concert tickets and listening to this crappy album at the same time almost made me poo myself with unenjoyment.

Enjoying it so far…everything is good except Unforgiven 3, which is lyrically and conceptually disastrous. Judas Kiss and All Nightmare Long are as good as anything they’ve ever done.

Listening to the first song. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. Maybe it’s the quality of this leak but the production sounds really fucking weird. Maybe it’s just me but the guitars seem to have this weird buzz, idk…

@Ross – If you’re listening to the same link as I am(which I assume most people are), the production you’re hearing is leak quality, not cd. The leak is at 192kbs which is far below the original quality(damn what itunes says, I don’t think that’s an acceptable bitrate to release songs at when 320kbs doesn’t really take anymore space). I don’t see the cd having significantly better production, but there will be a difference if you buy it. And if you don’t, just wait for a rip of the cd at either FLAC or 320kbs to release and that should sound better.

I really like what I’ve heard so far. It’s not the best cd ever written, but it’s a DAMN good Metallica cd I think.

Yes…emo*…describes Metallica perfectly. -_-

I can completely understand people not liking this cd. That does not shock me in the least that cd will be hated by quite a number of people. But emo? Really?

*Much like numetal, I do not recognize emo as a music genre on the simple basis that every band lumped into it can easily fit into another genre. I simply use it in this post because the message is clearer and simpler by copying what has already been said.

Seriously….Tell me during the VERY FIRST track (This was your life) that when the vocals kick in over that overly happy riff/thing, that you cant imagine James clutching a cross, with a tear in his eye, looking up, and smiling while being so fuckin happy! Just like in one of those christian music compliation CD infomercials I know you all have seen at least once. Its exactly what it sounds like to me! I really wanted this to be good! I heard The Day that Never Comes a few days ago…hated the first 4 minutes, but liked the last 4 minutes enough where I though there may be hope…. Sadly I fear thats the only half-way decent part of this entire album now, and its not saying much. It almost hurts….

the new album, to put it bluntly, is fantastic.

to anyone that disagrees solely because it’s metallica, i’m sorry for your loss.

what sucks is that this is what people have been salivating for since TBA, and people are still going to bitch about it. it’s pathetic.

StormBlast

What an absolute stream of nonsense you speak.

And ‘it hurts’? Try paying for the thing first maybe.

Oh yeah, and Hetfields vocals are pretty aggravating too.

I don’t know what is there to like about this album? Okay, they are bringing back there “old school” form- ITS AWFUL! To me, this album just sounds like Metallica is grabbing everything that made them FANTASTIC: Ride The Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All, and a little of their self-titled album, ripped off whatever made those albums good and just rehashed everything they did! Yea, I can most definitely hear the load-era vocal delivery, no problems with that. My problem is that they are cover band of their former selves!

I honestly was expecting a FANTASTIC comeback. I mean look at Machine Head and/or Testament. Some of the albums they put out were “iffy” for the hardcore fans, but they came back strong with “The Formation of Damnation” or “Through The Ashes of The Empire”/”The Blackening”. Hell, even Megadeth’s “The System Has Failed” was a good comeback album. Didn’t break leaps or bounds, but it was a refreshing Megadeth sound.

I’m a fan of Metallica, I guess I have to stop holding them up on this holy pedestal that I have them on. To me, this “new” Metallica album sounds exactly single “new” Slayer that keeps on being recycled and put out.

The only way I would review this album, instead of comparing to their back catalog, judge the album based on the “comeback” albums that similar sounding bands have put out. Based on that comparison, I feel this album is subpar and I only give it a 6 out of 10. I honestly would go back listening to the self-titled through load era material than this garbage they have been putting out this decade!

YOU WILL NOT GET MY MONEY METALLICA!

Tasty riffing here n there….sweet Hammett solos,A BASS!!!!!!!!good structures,James is still on the lyrical slide tho,hard to be angry about the world when your so consumed with yourself tho,isnt it JAYMZ! lol.

Listened to this album and it’s brilliant. Some of the criticism has just been so pathetic and contrived. No matter how good this album was going to be (and it is amazing) people were going to shit all over it for no good reason other than it being Metallica. Quite sad really.

…and it’s even getting good reviews in the MEGADETH forums. It’s that good. haha.

Jesus fucking Christ, you whiny bastards, if you want fucking thrash, go back and listen to Metallica’s fucking thrash albums. I’m sure if this album actually WAS real thrash, the same wobblecocks whining about the current sound would say they’re just recycling their old sound.

Stop coming up with bitch-ass excuses and just fucking say, “I don’t like Metallica” and fucking leave it at that. It’s evident half of you dumbfucks are nothing more than trolls who, regardless of what Metallica did, even if they gave out free fucking copies of their cds with $1000 taped to the disc, you anal seepage fucktards would STILL find something to whine about.

i gave it 2 spins: a great leap from the trainwreck that was st anger but nothing impressive.

Cool voice for james as always, lars bougt the snare from a scrapyard, kirk with random cool/normal/horrible soloes, normal work for trujillo along the drum timing.

From the old school bay ’80 bands, the best release of the 2008 it’s still testament formation of damnation

Did vince or neil reviewed it?

found it, cool review.

I think a lot of the people calling it shit are listening to it with extreme bias. They have a close mind because St. Anger sucked so bad that they think this one sucks too because of that. I honestly think it’s a huge step up from St. Anger.

It still sucks.

Hi, guys im Rob, i dont understand you people! What do you want from us, to quit!? St. anger was shit right!? Well we heard most of ur complaints and tryied to get a better album, guitar solos, better lyrics, also oldschool tunes, but u still dont like it. You cant hate all the time, sometimes u gotta let it go. U dont have to buy our new album if u dont want to, if u wanna download it do it, just stop complaining about something that was made for you. We are not stealing ur other music from ur home, u can still listen to them if u like. I dont know how u can feel hurt for something so stupid (release of a new album, mainstream music, old guys trying to play, noisy snare drum, etc.) , most of u are acting like the motherfucker who killed our brother Dimebag. Please enjoy the music u like, metal ofcourse, because there might be friends of u out there that still like our music made with so much effort. Thanks! chill, dont kill!!!!

where can I download it from? Limewire doesn’t have it and I’ll be damned if I pay for it just in case, presumably of course, that it will suck.

Wow, I can’t believe how fucking awesome a couple of these tracks are…too bad there is shit like “day” mixed in, this could have been fucking incredible…nightmare is by far my favorite….that riff just kills….

Get a grip. If you “fans” were the same people you were 20 years ago, you’d still be pegging your fuckin jeans above your high-top sneakers wearing RATT t-shirts. One must progress to stay relevant. If Metallica still sounded like they did in the “Puppets” days, no one would even care about them anymore. For example: Had Rage Against the Machine stayed together and kept doing what they were doing, they would have gone the path of Limp Fucking Biscuit. They didn’t, and they’re still relevant. Metallica’s new record is good, if not great, considering what they have been through in their 20 year history. Of course, this is the opinion of someone who has changed along with them thank God! I feel sorry for you lifer’s that are stuck in the past.

Why are all you MetallicA haters here? if you hate MetallicA so much why are you searching for them? Why are you still listening to them? MetallicA will allways be number 1. This shit is far from happy emo bullshit. People don’t have a broad selection of music anymore. They get used to one genre and if it changes a bit they freak the fuck out and cry!!!! I grew up listening to Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, And Justice For All…the Classics…but still enjoy the new shit. Most of you wouldn’t even recognize good music if you heard it.

So combine reports of this single source 128 rip with the consideration stores very rarely get a new release that far advance – especially a big release – and it suggests to me that this was a deliberate, sanctioned leak by Metallica’s people. Whether that be Mercury or otherwise.

Perhaps it’s a sales tactic because they believe the band have made an album that will sway the doubters (aside from the forum trolls and naysayers), an album they believe people will buy once they hear it.

It’s pure speculation obviously.

Give it more than 10 spins. It’s growing. Not a masterpiece, but an honest work overall.

on more thing – someone asked where to DL this from.
go to Blogsearch.google.com and put ‘Band Name – Release’ in a search bar..

Lars dude – i downloaded your album – sue me.
plus – i got free tickets for Metallica shows.

isn’t that the same???
grow up dude!

The album rocks so far. All Nightmare Long is an instant Metallica classic. You may call it a rehash, but I call it a revisiting. This album is old school Metallica riff porn. The songs needs to sink in. They are long and kind of rambling, but are listenable throughout. I remember hating And Justice when I first heard, but after the 5th listen I was obsessed with it. That was a million years ago.

There is some filler here, and Unforgiven 3 is just boring. I really wish James would get off the emo style lyrics and start writing songs about space aliens and Satan. I realize he’s in his 40′s, is wealthy, and has kids, but damn it all, metal lyrics are for releasing the inner 14 year old!!! Also, I wish Lars would take drum lessons again. Or something. he seems to be channeling old school NWBHM sloppiness, but it doesn’t work. The drums need to match the wicked precision of James’ riffs.

Testament are releasing the best material of their careers, and Formation Of Damnation is a better album than this one. But then again, Testament’s early albums are no match for the Metallica classics. Same goes for Exodus and Death Angel. Death Magnetic is no Master Of Puppets, by any means, but perhaps better than The Black Album. Time will tell.

Thank you, Metallica, for releasing the kind of album I’ve been wanting to hear from you guys for 20 years. And thank you, Rick Rubin, for kicking this band in the ass and being the anti-therapist.

i am nothing but pleasantly surprised by this album. i just don’t understand why the 3 songs they release of this album are the shittiest ones on it. i wanted nothing more than to hate this album, and i spent a lot of time telling my friends what shit this cd was going to be. looks like i’m going to have to eat my words… on listen number 3 it’s getting better everytime.

I love Metallica…. I use to idolized Lars (being a drummer)… I hated how they treated the world with the hole Napster and other P2P services thing!

Sadly, due to that, I would not put it past the band to trick the world into thinking it’s ok to download their music (without paying) as some sort of new anti-piracy tracking or drm software scheme.

I know, I know… conspiracy theory… hey, it’s the digital age, anything’s possible.
I’ll wait to purchase the album just to be on the safe side… and will never let it hit a machine with net access. (rip, sure, got have it portable)… enable the likelihood they’re testing out some new DRM, no?

my $0.02

“It’s the way business is done these days,” Mr Ulrich said. “And there’s the novelty of anyone wanting to listen to a new Metallica album.”

Well, 2 things I didn’t expect to say about this album:

1. Best Metallica album since the black album (I’m pretty sure this was mentioned earlier)..

2. I hate the production. That being said, why couldn’t the band record this type of material with Bob Rock? Say what you want about the guy (he ruined the band, blah blah), but the black album sounded amazing. I think if you would have put that type of production behind these songs it would be an huge improvement.