Hardwired…To Self Destruct
I don’t typically music reviews. I’m not an audiophile, at least not yet. I’m also rather out of the loop of popular music. I can often make my girlfriend’s eyes roll when I ask a question about a performer on SNL. I do try to listen to new stuff from time to time, and Spotify really makes that easy with their Discover Weekly playlist. But I’m stubborn and thusly I always return to Metallica.
I didn’t discover Metallica until I was in my early teens, probably around 1999 or so. I’m sure I heard Enter Sandman on the radio or some of their Load and Re-Load tracks occasionally as a kid. While I was in band and liked music, I never sat and listened to the radio growing up. My mom wasn’t a fan of me listening to anything that rocked harder than 70’s rock or 80’s pop which, coicendientally, is all that Z 92.5 would play in Kokomo, Indiana. So my first true exposure to the band came from a downloaded Dragonball Z music video set to No Leaf Clover. My buddy Caleb turned me on to it. He liked the song too, but to me that song was something I could listen to over and over again. It came from their S&M album, but I wouldn’t find that out until later thanks to X 103.3.
X 103.3 was Indianapolis’ rock station for years. These days it’s…I don’t know. Last time I was home it was a soft rock/alternative station that bared no resemblance to what I grew up with. At the time, The X played Load, Re-Load, and Black Album (the name for the self-titled Metallica album) material all the time. I started passively listening around 16 and I grew to really love the music the station played. When I started getting into fitness, I would go running at 10 at night. The X had a “Mandatory Metallica” block that started at 10 pm. They would play 3 songs and I’d go and run around the town for 15-20 minutes a night. Mandatory Metallica introduced me to their older back catalogue. In the morning, the more recent stuff had to be played because it’s what was more modern and hip. At night, it was anything goes. Sometimes, you’d have a crazy playlist with the likes of Bleeding Me, Stone Cold Crazy, and Trapped Under Ice all in the same rotation. It was thanks to some chatter from the night DJ that I eventually bought The Black Album and listened to it constantly. It was as if James Hetfield, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitar player, and songwriter was speaking about everything I felt like I had gone through. I couldn’t get enough.
Metallica’s been with me for all of the good and bad of my life. From the pains of high school to the difficulty of adjusting to college to my move to Oregon to meeting my girlfriend to my move to Philadelphia. From my highs at Sony Bend to my intermittent lows freelancing. James Hetfield has lyrics for every emotion and Kirk Hammet has a solo for every occasion. And Lars drums I guess.
It’s impossible for me to review Hardwired to Self Destruct completely objectively. Metallica is basically a life partner for me at this point. But I feel like trying. I want to give some thoughts on this album and share where a mega fan thinks it ranks along their albums.
Songs
- Hardwired to Self Destruct
- The song is a short, to the point thrasher. It’s not the best thrash song they’ve done but it’s pretty damn solid. I also enjoy the lyrics. I think it sums up the human race (or even individuals) very well.
- Atlas, Rise!
- When I first heard it I was unsure how I felt. It has a bunch of pacing and rhythm changes over the course of the song. But after a few listens it clicked and I found it to be one of the best songs they’ve done in a long time.
- Now That We’re Dead
- A mid-tempo poppy rock tune. I dig it. Nice change up from the first two songs. Lyrics are open to interpretation.
- Moth to Flame
- Fantastic song. It’s poppy, it’s fast, the lyrics about fame or social media (aren’t they the same thing these days?) are spot on…it’s great to run to. Only have praise for this one.
- Dream No More
- This feels like a song you’d hear on Load. It’s heavy but on the slower side tempo wise. Lyrics are open to interpretation, and Cthulhu makes a fun reappearance.
- Halo on Fire
- I seem to find myself in love with this song. It’s not fast. Lyrically I seem to love it, if feels like it’s about the duality of a man during the nights. It’s a cool mash up of big anthems like “Sad but True” and slower, bluesy tunes like “Until it Sleeps”.
- Confusion
- Song feels a tad unfocused. It’s a bit faster at points, but the rhythm and thus lyrics go off tempo more than my tastes prefer.
- ManUNKind
- Weird one. It’s not a bad song, it’s totally a blues styled song. Lots of odd time signature change ups. Nothing else quite like it on the record, the other blues songs past this point don’t work as well.
- Here Comes Revenge
- Not a fan of the lyrics and the music is kind of bland.
- Am I Savage?
- The lyrics and story it tells is very fascinating. It fits in well with some of their slower tunes like The Thing That Should not Be. Unfortunately, I personally don’t dig it too much musically.
- Murder One
- I know this a tribute to Lemmy…and thus Motorhead…but I just don’t like it. Turned me off on my first listen and has continued to be that way.
- Spit Out The Bone
- FUCK YES. This song is also fantastic. Pure thrash, awesome lyrics. This song is almost a throwback to old school Metallica in every way.
Album as a whole
If you listen to the album as a whole, it actually works very well. Minus Murder One, everything is placed in a great way. Disc one is stronger for sure, but the pacing of the entire album wouldn’t have worked as well if it was spread out differently.
Split out into individual songs, it’s a different story. Everything on disc one is pretty solid, but Spit Out The Bone is the only standout on disc two.
Final Thoughts:
Spit Out the Bone, Moth to Flame, and Atlas Rise! Are, objectively, easily some of the best Metallica songs around. They probably won’t be revered as much as they should due to coming out in 2016 and not 1989. Ranking individual songs would be far too difficult, but I think these three are some of the best tunes since both The Black Album and …And Justice For All.
The Album itself is great. Expecting a band to create a masterpiece every time they are up to bat is unrealistic and unfair. Unfortunately, that’s the trap Metallica has fallen into since the mid 80’s. Hardwired to Self Destruct isn’t consistently great, but its high points are fucking high and its low points, other than Murder One, aren’t very low. This album feels like Ride The Lightning, The Black Album, and Load all got mushed into a single record, and as a fan of most of Metallica’s work (even St. Anger has some redeeming qualities) I have to say I love this record.
Here’s how I’d slot the studio albums as of today. I’m not including Lulu or S&M, these are Metallica solo albums only.
- Master of Puppets
- Ride The Lightning
- The Black Album (Metallica)
- Kill’em All
- Hardwired
- And Justice for All
- I love Justice, but as an album it’s a bit rough. The mixing is terrible and a number of the songs are just…just way too long.
- Load
- Death Magnetic
- Hard to rank vs Load, mostly because they are completely different albums. Decided to slot here because Load has a few songs I personally identify very much with.
- Garage Inc.
- Re-Load
- Anger
Metallica is a versatile band that’s more than Thrash Metal these days, and that’s exactly what Hardwired to Self Destruct showcases.
-Dan