Hardwired... to Self-Destruct

Hardwired... to Self-Destruct is the tenth album, a two-disc set on which Metallica surveys its own history while showing both the impulse of short, explosive thrash and the constructive power of building weight over long durations. Greg Fidelman produced. Sharply carved riffs, low-crawling bass, hard forward drums and dry, taut singing mesh at different temperatures from song to song. Robert Trujillo continues on bass. "Hardwired" opens with a short, ninety-second explosion, and "Moth Into Flame" and "Atlas, Rise!" carry powerful hooks. The closer "Spit Out the Bone" explodes with furious thrash. On the long songs, repeating phrases and rhythmic sway create a space of deep shading. Playing the past styles not by mere reproduction but with a present sense of performance, the album reached number one on the US Billboard 200. A record to keep company with for a long time, pouring in the weight and tenacity that experience brings.