I think I can estimate that I’ve been enjoying metal as a genre for about nine years now, going on ten sometime next fall. Like so many others, my first bands were Iron Maiden and Metallica, both of which inspired me to pick up bass and to explore heavy metal, power metal, and thrash metal in my early days. Metallica in particular was instrumental in me pursuing heavier music, as their older material helped me find bands in similar styles that only got a progressively resulted me in the taste of music I have today. I do owe Metallica a lot, and yet I owe them an honest review with Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.

The fact of the matter is that I didn’t care if this album was ever released. 2008’s Death Magnetic, while an imperfect beast, captured everything a Metallica album should have been: heavy riffs, dynamic writing, and a sense of variety in the songwriting. It’s literally taken the band eight years to release another album, and it just seemed so obvious that they had no interest in doing another one anyways. Regardless of what their mindset was, Hardwired is the product we’re being given. For the most part, the album avoids some of the mistakes that they faced on Death Magnetic, but other times it leaves one scratching their head, asking themselves “Why did they do that?”

This process of questioning begins at an examination of the album, as it’s revealed that the album is double disc. Disc one caps off at about 37 minutes while disc two runs slightly longer to 40 minutes, adding up to 77 minutes that sits with the longer of the Metallica albums like Load’s 78 minutes, Reload’s 76 minutes, Death Magnetic’s 74 minutes, and St. Anger’s 75 minutes. Okay, Metallica intended Load and Reload to be a double album but that obviously didn’t work out, so it just seems odd that they would have made Hardwired a double album to  begin with.

All the double album format does, in a sense, is help separate the strong from the weak. Disc one is, fortunately, good! I know, I’m shocked, that’s amazing. Kicking off with “Hardwired” in a three minute frenzy of thrashing intensity, the album starts off on a high note and manages to stay there for a good while. “Atlas, Rise!” continues with the momentum, while “Halo On Fire” closes out the disc with a more dramatic, slower direction that has a solid amount of power behind it, too.

I’m hardly the first one to say it, but the second disc falters in trying to make the album feel more complete. There’s an organic sense to the writing and Metallica are almost emulating a jam-band on Hardwired, but like a Grateful Dead tribute band who are lost in a bad LSD trip while soloing during a jam session, Metallica just don’t seem to know where to stop and trim the fat with some of these songs. “ManUNkind” is a throwaway, bluesy track with an emphasis on groove where the wear of the album starts to show, while “Murder One” just apes the intro of “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and features some piss-poor lyrics on James’ part.

Fortunately, the band saved one of the stronger pieces for the end. “Spit Out the Bone” stands as one of the heavier of the songs that really show what Hardwired could accomplish, and sends out the album is what may be called the “true Metallica fashion.” Whatever that means, right? But regardless, it’s a blaze of glory that sums up what everyone can enjoy about the band.

It can safely be said that Metallic seem to be afraid of putting out a short album. Sure, give your fans more music, I get that idea, but I would much rather have a 45-minute than something that ends up dragging like Load did on the first listen. Take the entire first disc, possibly “Confusion,” and of course “Spit Out the Bone” and you’ll have one solid Metallica album that still runs for 51 minutes. Easy, no?

Production wise, however, things are considerably more natural sounding and less compressed than Death Magnetic was. While Lars’ kick drum is still far too loud in the mix for absolutely no reason, the band sounds authentic on Hardwired. Much to my surprise, Rob Trujillo’s bass plays a massive part in a great many songs, helping make the guitars sound beefier with his gritty and downright nasty bass tone.

Sure, it has its flaws, but Hardwired… to Self-Destruct sees Metallica still putting out simple-yet-effective metal songs that you don’t need a complex understanding of the genre to have a grasp on. I’d be lying if I said I “loved” this album, but yet again I would be doing the same if I said I hated it. It’s an alright effort by a band that doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore, let alone some guy who writes his opinion on a site partially dedicated to metal. Flaws and all, Hardwired… to Self Destruct sits firmly in the middle of the band’s discography, neither being the best nor worst thing the band has done yet, but perhaps it’s just enough to erase Lulu from everyone’s memory.

Hardwired… to Self-Destruct is available everywhere now.