Give Metallica credit. When 1991's eponymous "black album" landed the band squarely in the mainstream, it didn't milk the formula. It forged ahead with "Load" (1996) and "Reload" (1997), tweaking things here, trying new approaches there.
Problem was, none of it worked. And when, with 2003's "St. Anger," the band genuflected in the direction of nu-metal, a genre it should have destroyed five years previous, all hope seemed lost.
So when dissonant arpeggios that open first track "That Was Just Your Life" give way to double-time riffing, there's a sense of welcome familiarity. It's the first time Metallica has sounded like Metallica since 1988's " ... And Justice for All."
Maybe it's musical regression, but so be it. When progression leads to dead ends, retreat is the only sane course of action.
Progress, in the case of "St. Anger," meant handcuffing lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, presumably so the songs would be totally devoid of redeeming value. Unbound, Hammett tears into his solos like a hungry jackal thrown a leg of lamb. His wah-wah is back in action, howling freely, especially on "The Judas Kiss."
"Death Magnetic" strikes a balance between the thrash that made them legends and the mid-tempo "black album" approach that made them rich. It's not all great. Why "The Unforgiven III"? Wasn't one enough? Especially since "The Day That Never Comes" does the job better?
Regardless, the band has finally acknowledged what it does best. There's more of the Metallica we love here than on anything they've released in 20 years.
When all else fails, milk the formula. Why not? They wrote it.
Download this: "The Judas Kiss"
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