Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by the heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band’s first album since …And Justice for All (1988) not to be produced by longtime collaborator Bob Rock and co-produced by Hetfield and Ulrich. It is also the first Metallica album with bassist Robert Trujillo, and the second to share writing credit to all of the band’s members.
Metallica began writing music for a new album in 2006, later recording the album at different studios across Los Angeles County, California, from March 2007 to May 2008. Musically, Death Magnetic is a radical departure from Metallica‘s previous album, St. Anger (2003), and is considered a return to the band’s thrash metal roots, with more complex compositions, standard guitar tuning on most songs and long guitar solos from Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield. It also includes the band’s first instrumental piece, “Suicide & Redemption”, since “To Live Is to Die” from …And Justice for All.
Death Magnetic made Metallica the first band to achieve five consecutive number-one studio albums on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album received positive reviews from critics, who considered it a return to form for Metallica. However, the album’s production was criticized as overcompressed and cited as a product of the loudness war. The album and its songs were nominated for six Grammy Awards (five in 2009 and one in 2010) and won three, including Best Metal Performance for “My Apocalypse”. In support of the album, Metallica embarked on the World Magnetic Tour from October 2008 to November 2010. Four unreleased tracks from the album’s recording sessions were later released as the Beyond Magnetic EP in December 2011.
Tracklist:
SIDE A
- That Was Just Your Life
- The End Of The Line
- Broken, Beat & Scarred
SIDE B
- The Day That Never Comes
- All Nightmare Long
SIDE C
- Cyanide
- The Unforgiven III
- The Judas Kiss
SIDE D
- Suicide & Redemption
- My Apocalypse
Metallica
James Hetfield: vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on “Suicide & Redemption”
Kirk Hammett: lead guitar
Robert Trujillo: bass
Lars Ulrich: drums
Additional musicians
David Campbell: orchestration on “The Unforgiven III”
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Greg Fidelman: engineering, mixing, recording
Andrew Scheps: mixing
Mike Gillies: additional recording
Ted Jensen: mastering
Dan Monti: digital editing
