Pitchfork media summed up my thoughts on the album pretty well when they said, "But [Rick Rubin's] intent was well-meaning: get rich, fortysomething rockers to recall themselves as hungry, twentysomething metallers. In the real world, this is called a midlife crisis."
They tried, but it just wasn't the same. "My Apocalypse" and "All Nightmare Long" came close, but the rest was just a mess of riffs, solos, and awful drumming.
James can still write some terrific riffs, but they can't write songs the same way the used to. Now it just sounds forced, it utterly lacks any flow. Maybe it's the lack of Burton, or the lack of Mustaine. Either way, it's hard to listen to.
Sorry, you just triggered my rant. It took a lot for me to abstain from commenting on the In Flames and Bodom albums (both of which were massive letdowns, although In Flames was to be expected considering how they've been playing since 2000).
Death Magnetic just broke my camel's back!
