Hardwired...to Self-Destruct!

After more than a decade of alienating fans with behind-the-scenes drama and unpopular stylistic choices, Metallica pulled off a coup with 2008’s Death Magnetic, a triumphant return to thrash marred only by questionable mixing and production. Eight years later, Metallica’s double-disc tenth album manages to continue that march back toward respectability while simultaneously adding a few new wrinkles.

In some ways, Hardwired is very self-consciously a throwback album. The destructive connotation– and punctuation choices – of the title seem to be taking a page from Megadeth’s 80s catalog (ironic, given Metallica’s love-hate relationship with ex-member/Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine) while the radio-unfriendly song lengths call to mind …And Justice for All.  Across the first several tracks, James Hetfield’s snarling vocals and sometimes-juvenile lyrics, backed by hard-hitting instrumentation, would seem right at home on a mid-late 80s Metallica release.

But Hardwired is neither simple repetition nor self-parody, and as it progresses, the album takes a number of unexpected turns. From track to track, lyrics alternate between Biblical and mythological themes (“Atlas, Rise!” and “ManUNKind”) to tributes of sorts to Amy Winehouse (“Moth into Flame”) and Lemmy (“Murder One”). The band also plays with slower tempos on some songs, gradually speeding up to project a sense of growing menace. Metallica may have embraced its roots, but it hasn’t chucked every bit of musical development from the past two decades out the window.

An alternate explanation, of course, is that all of the members are north of 50, and sustaining a 77-minute thrash assault simply is beyond their reach. Yet if Metallica is slowing down, the members mask it well. Robert Trujillo delivers strong basslines while Lars Ulrich’s drumming, always somewhat divisive, is at least well-timed. Ironically, it is lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, usually the most reliable of the bunch, who seems the most noticeably absent here. It isn’t that his guitar is neutered but rather that he doesn’t really get a chance to cut loose, in trademark fashion, until the closing track, “Spit out the Bone.” Whether or not this is related to the fact that Hetfield and Ulrich wrote all of the songs is anyone’s guess. Whatever the reason, it comes as a letdown following the epic riffing found on Death Magnetic.

Hardwired doesn’t pack as much of a punch and won’t turn as many heads as Metallica’s classic albums, but it is a commendably hard-hitting effort from a band that seems to have seen and done it all in three-plus decades.

8/10

Trouble - Manic Frustration

Released in 1992, Manic Frustration marks a turning point for the Chicago-based doom metal pioneers. For their fifth album (and final Def American release), the tempos were sped up and the lyrical focus shifted from Biblical prophecy to drug references.

Critically lauded and commercially ignored, Trouble may be one of the most enigmatic bands of the past 30 years. They dressed like hippies, but made a name for themselves carrying on Black Sabbath’s slow and gloomy tradition. Early releases featured strong spiritual themes, while their later work contains a stoner sensibility. Despite being enormously influential on the post-1985 metal scene (Dave Grohl recruited Trouble vocalist Eric Wagner for his throwback Probot project), several of the band’s releases are currently out of print and only available as digital downloads.



Manic Frustration stands out as Trouble’s masterpiece because it perfectly embodies these quirks and contradictions. To start with, it’s as sonically and lyrically diverse an album as you’ll come across. Guitarist Bruce Franklin does his fair share of shredding and riffing on hard-rocking tracks like “Scuse Me,” “The Sleeper” and “Come Touch the Sky.” “Rain” and the album-closer “Breathe…” feature a more relaxed pace and pop-inspired melodies. The band’s newfound emphasis on 1970s-era psychedelica emerges on “Hello Strawberry Skies” and “Mr. White,” while “Fear,” “Tragedy Man” and the title track waver between social commentary and more personal concerns.



All of these disparate elements seem to come together on “Memory’s Garden,” easily one of the best 100 songs I’ve ever heard. A dreamy, Beatles-esque opening gives way to Franklin’s thundering chords while Wagner (who sounds like Robert Plant, Dave Mustaine and Paul McCartney thrown in a blender) eulogizes a dead girl with mournful, majestic urgency.



If there’s one downside to all this variety, it’s that you don’t know how to feel by the time you’ve reached the end. Black Sabbath’s debut album is consistently dark; Led Zeppelin’s is consistently soulful (the first side, anyway), but Manic Frustration is…well…manic. Still, the emotional confusion is a small price to pay for something that rocks this hard with this much purpose. One can only hope that Trouble, along with the similarly-complicated King’s X, will someday get its due.



8/10