THE 6 IN 1 REVIEW: Metallica - “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct” (2016)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/11/2016

Label: Blackened Recordings

“Hardwired…To Self-Destruct” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Hardwired

2). Atlas, Rise!

3). Now That We’re Dead

4). Moth into Flame

5). Dream No More

6). Halo of Fire

7). Confusion

8). ManUnkind

9). Here Comes Revenge

10). Am I Savage?

11). Murder One

12). Spit Out the Bone

The Reviews:

Take one massive album, 6 people from the scene, ask them for their thoughts and you've got  the debut 6 in 1 review.  Metallica - “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct” 

Ross Brown (Vermilion Whiskey):

“Hardwired to Self Destruct”is probably the closest thing I've heard to the Metallicathat I grew up with for quite some time. Close, but still not the same. I've always been a fan of the faster riffs from them. But overall we respect their journey and are still fans. We will probably never see a band have such a prestigious career like they have had again. Long live the riff!

Rob Rom (Static Tension)

There is a lot of hype around this album at the moment, and until yesterday I had heard two songs. Now after giving it a few spins, I'd like to give my little take on what I think of this album.  There are definitely pieces of this album that reflect on a time long ago for Metallica, some really good solos, some decent breakdowns, and the drums top those of “St.Anger” for sure. With those positive things said, this is where it's lost on me.  Those vocals and those lyrics really have to go. They feel rather corny and forced, which makes sense after seeing the documentary "Some Kind of Monster" and seeing the steps they take to write lyrics and vocals.  James will never recapture what he was in the past, and I feel they are better off just accepting that and not forcing themselves to bring back old sounds. I would still give the album a six 6/10 rating which isn't bad considering it's coming from someone who isn't a Metallicafan, beat the hell out of anything they have done since “Load”! Best song in my opinion was "Spit Out The Bone"

Nikos Mixas (Twingiant)

#Notmymetallica…That pretty much sums up my feelings after listening to 5 tracks of “Hardwired…to Self-Destruct.”  This is not the Metallica I grew up with.  This is Metallica for the Clear Channel cult that brainwashes idiots into believing bands like Five Finger Douche Punch, Avenged Sevenfoldand Disturbed are actually “metal”.  The only thing positive I can say is that the video for “Murder One”, a tribute to the late and great Lemmy, was pretty awesome…. however; what the fuck is up with Kirk Hammett’s solo for that song?  For fuck sakes, I’ve heard better solos from Jack Black…. 

 Matt Jahn (Into the Storm)

Metallica made 4, maybe 5 good albums. A couple of those are really good albums. That's it. They fucked up with “St. Anger”, trying to do something different. Then they went back to what they did right in the past with “Death Magnetic”. Here we are, another “Death Magnetic”. Meh. 

Christine Kelly (Tridroid Records)

It's fine.

Marco Banco (Tyrants Blood)

This is much better than their last 4 releases. Still not very inspiring to me personally. Drum quality is bland. Lars Ulrich performance is not very strong. Some of these riffs are really good, but I find the song structures rather dismal and subpar. Vocals are decent, quite strong in comparison to more recent past work. None of these songs really jumped out at me and made me want to listen to them again.

Curtis Dewar (Dewar PR)

These guys who say the new Metallicasucks have no clue. This (along with “Death Magnetic”/”Beyond Magnetic”) are a return to form for Metallica. These are the albums they should have released after "And Justice for All..." and show that Metallica are able to make great albums again.

Band info: official