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.

Read Full Review >

Paste Magazine

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

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

Uncut

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

Read Full Review >

The Guardian

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

Read Full Review >

New Musical Express

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

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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?

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

Hartford Courant

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

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

Los Angeles Times

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

Read Full Review >

Prefix Magazine

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

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

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.

Read Full Review >

Pitchfork

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

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 438 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Juan E gave it a10:
Possibly the Greatest Triumph in Musical History. While Many Disliked St Anger, St Anger Was A Rebirth of Metallica. With Death Magnetic You see the power they still posses. While Many dislike the Wah Wah solos, the solos themslves were made to fuse the song with variety. Death Magnetic Was a Album that seemed to be influenced by middle Eastern Music. Musically Metallica Is the Best Band in The World That is Still Living. They Always have Variety, Enough Variety to please Metal Heads All Around and the mainstream audience. Overall Death Magnetic is the Start Of A New Chapter In Metal History, The Return of The True Gods Of Metal!

Josh H gave it a5:
It still is the best album they've done for about twenty years, but God that's not a difficult thing to achieve. This album does nothing for the imagination though, it's just plain same old Metallica. Nothing special really.

Louie F gave it a7:
Reading some of the highest rating reviews and lowest, I can see where certain points from each are valid in my opinion. From the higher: Death Magnetic at times sounds like an evolution from the Black Album, with monster riffs and lyrics that are well thought out. The return of Kirks' solos are welcome in hindsight to St. Anger. From the lower: The vocals are vibrato ridden and a flashback to the Load/Reload era, something that I believe Death Magnetic was hoping to differentiate itself from. Many songs sound like a long jam session, for example "The Day That Never Comes". Last but not least the solos are not very Metallica-like in my opinion. They seem to challenge the riffs and might be thought of more as leads, and not enhance the music like the solos from previous albums (ex. Master Of Puppets). All in all a decent album worth a listen that tries to recapture all the heaviness, anger and musicianship of earlier Metallica albums, but falls slightly short of its mark.

Chris K gave it a9:
Metallica's new album is sure to please those who were disappointed with St. Anger, as well as all other Metallica fans! Some great songs on here, with classic Metallica style guitar riffs and solos. Some of the songs do feel like they last longer than they should, however.

Finch Finch gave it an8:
The sound quality was alright. The guitars have that classic Metallica "buzzsaw" sound. The drum are are too loud and Robert's bass is buried in the mix. Other than that the songs echo their earlier days. The heart and soul isn't all there, but all the tunes are tasteful and aggressive. The songs are a bit long... Every song on Death Magnetic could have benefited from being shortened. The music is intense and demands your attention... But even Metallica isn't awesome enough to keep my attention for over 70 minutes. Upon listening I have to break it up in blocks. However, it does lends itself well upon multiple listens.

Alex H. gave it a9:
This album is a huge combat from St. Anger (not that it was bad). This album brings back more of their thrash feeling rather than heavy. As always, Pitchfork is gonna bash it without listening to it, as with all other rock and metal albums. My favorite track from this album is All Nightmare Long. The Day That Never Comes is a good song, too, but overrated.

Kendo J gave it an8:
I'm liking it more and more with each play-through. While the sound is hardly original - it's traditional Metallica through and through - It's bursting with an energy and vibrancy that defies the age of these rock stars. Some absolutely incredible guitar and drum work within.

Music

Upcoming &Recent Releases

Death Magnetic

Album Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases