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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Death Magnetic
by Metallica


8.0

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 415 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

St. Anger

Official Artist Site

The Rick Rubin-produced album for the heavy-metal band is its first to feature Robert Trujillo on bass.

LABEL:	Warner Bros.
RELEASE DATE:	12 September 2008
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock, Metal

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Phoenix

Of special note is the 10-minute instrumental 'Suicide and Redemption': listening to it, you almost forget that there are supposed to be words in rock songs, since it’s filled with building riffs, escalating volleys of tension and release, and moments of frantic drum abandon from Lars Ulrich that should do a lot to redeem his standing in Modern Drummer’s Drummer of the Year polls.

Paste Magazine

Death Magnetic is more than a paean to all things thrash--it’s the revivification of ambition dormant for nearly two decades.

Entertainment Weekly

Sometimes the album's mini-epics come off as we've still got it! stunts. But when it's working, the effect is like ceding your senses to a particularly well-engineered roller coaster in the dark.

Uncut

Like all the best heavy rock albums, it suspends your disbelief, demands your attention and connects directly with your inner adolescent.

The Guardian

This is the strongest material the band have written in 20 years.

New Musical Express

Not only does it banish the memory of "St Anger" but it’s easily their best work in 17 years.

Blender

Rubin pointed the direction, but credit goes to the band-which, for the first time on record, includes new bassist Robert Trujillo-for recapturing their old sound and reconciling it with what followed.

musicOMH.com

Which brings us to the nub of what makes Death Magnetic such a resounding success. Death Magnetic could have dropped 15 years ago and been a logical conclusion to the "Black" album. Today, it emphatically brings Metallica full circle to an intriguing afterthought: what next?

Observer Music Monthly

As bright young things fall in and out of fashion, it's a joy to have these gnarled veterans back to reinforce the sheer visceral thrill of timeless heavy metal.

Hartford Courant

They responded with Death Magnetic, the best Metallica album since "Metallica."

All Music Guide

Metallica is still vitally violent and on this terrific album--a de facto comeback, even if they never have really went away--they're finally acting like they enjoy being a great rock band.

Rolling Stone

The musicianship feels thrillingly live throughout, and nimble new bassist Robert Trujillo helps, even though he's mostly heard as a distant, ominous rumble.

Spin

The album is more a rebirth, with Metallica exploring what they've learned durig their 20 years at the top of the heavy-metal slag heap. [Nov 2008, p.96]

Q Magazine

Producer Rick Rubin has made Metallica sound like Metallica again. [Nov 2008, p.116]

Austin Chronicle

Yet even when the album starts to sag ("The End of the Line," "The Unforgiven III"), the guitars crack the spine of every skeleton in Metallica's graveyard, making Death Magnetic one of the fiercest comebacks of all time.

Los Angeles Times

It's a conservative, preservative move by men who needed to reclaim their ground. But playing by those rules, Metallica wins.

Prefix Magazine

Death Magnetic is just about the best album Metallica could have made at this point.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Some bloat makes the record fully feel its 75 minutes, but considering all the baggage Metallica had to shed just to find itself again, some minor excesses don't detract from Death Magnetic's importance.

Hot Press

Metallica certainly have a lot to prove with Death Magnetic, the follow-up to 2003’s "St. Anger," an album which divided the critics and the band’s own audience.

PopMatters

By embracing those old sounds and avoiding the trap of sounding like Metallica Trying New Things, it feels like that hunger of old has returned.

Sputnikmusic

There’s a worrying air of desperation running through the band’s lyrical choices that thankfully doesn’t spill over into the music, but it is nonetheless a frequent distraction on an otherwise fine album from a heavy metal juggernaut that might just be kicking back into gear.

Billboard

Virtuosity can be impressive without being particularly enjoyable, and it's hard to shake the feeling that for all the potent-as-ever prowess here, Death Magnetic is more a stamp of authenticity than a complete record.

NOW Magazine

Their latest successfully revisits elements of their thrash-metal prime, eschewing bloated self-indulgence for straight-up head-banging aggression, with decent riffs to match, thanks in no small part to producer Rick Rubin.

Mojo

It's as though they've kept the whole catch, driftwood, prize-fish and all, rather than sorting through it. [Oct 2008, p.100]

Dot Music

Death Magnetic at least proves that 40-something millionaires can make a valiant fist of recapturing the fury of youth. Sadly, though, it seems that Metallica will never be 20-years-old again.

cokemachineglow

All of this provides a great recipe for exactly one good listen. That one listen is best the volume down though, as Death Magnetic might very well be the most distorted, punishing mastering job since the advent of the CD. After that, the charms of the album become significantly reduced.

Pitchfork

The best ones spit in the face of death; this album instead finds aging men trying to reclaim their youth.

The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 415 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rusty S. gave it a9:
I'm not even a metal fan but this album was great. It's like St. Anger never even happened so if you aren't buying this just because of St. Anger, you should probably change your mind. This album obviously had a lot of time and thinking into it because some of the guitar material is just amazing.

Maxton U. gave it a10:
This album was far better than I ever hoped. A fair amount of the anger and passion of their early albums is here, but it's combined with stunning variety and excellent production. Excellent.

Jason D gave it a9:
The release of Death Magnetic was accompanied by a collective sigh of relief. The first thought that popped into my head upon hearing this album was "So THIS is what listening to a just-released Black Album must have felt like." I saw these guys when they came to Columbus for the DM tour, and the show they put on was nothing short of amazing. James' beard was kick-ass!

James W. gave it a10:
This album is a constant play in my car. From the opening track to the final one, this is a return to the Metallica we grew to love in the 80's with a modern spin on it. This is the album that St. Anger should have been. Best album of 2008!

Jason M. gave it a9:
Metallica is back in my life. Like scores of once rabid fans, I was VERY turned off by the whole Napster circus. This was followed by "St. Anger," which I continue to convince myself was recorded by a tribute band called "Shmetallica." Anyway, I've been waiting over ten years for this. Since "Re-Load," Metallica released a cover album, a live album, and an unspeakably awful album. Death Magnetic has brought me back to new, AWESOME Metallica music. The album honors their roots, draws upon their years of stardom, and yet still has a tinge of metal progression to it. Like "Back In Black," every single track of this quasi-masterpiece is infectious. A must for any Metallica fan, 18 to 45.

Metal L. gave it a9:
This album is the best effort from Metallica in 15 years. The guitars are where they should be and has many catchy riffs. Don't listen to the critics! Buy it and listen, if you're a true Metallica fan you'll agree this is the SH*T! They nailed it! You people who say Metallica is 40 somethings trying to recapture their youth obviously don't understand music. They are being themselves at 40. Most bands usually are not around at this point, and for sure not writing and recording like this! Set of horns from me! Keep~N~ it HEAVY!! Thanks Metallica!

Nilesh P. gave it a10:
Metallica Rules... !!!

Death Magnetic by Metallica

Death Magnetic
by Metallica