Over the past 25 years the band best known for creating some fast, hard, intense heavy metal music would be Metallica. They’ve been able to create some songs that have both the intensity of a heavy metal song while also giving songs that have a story and a meaning. Though what made them stand out over the many other heavy metal bands is their talent and skill to have their songs sound clear, well played, and with originality that others didn’t have. If you are someone that likes heavy metal than you’ve been like me, enjoying Metallica’s music since their first album. Now they have the 4 songs off their EP, Beyond Magnetic where they try to bring back their skill with heavy metal songs.

That’s right I said they try to bring back because what I hear on these 4 songs is not the Metallica that was playing in the 80’s with songs that had such a fast beat that it sounded like machines where playing the songs. Now the songs are fast, I will give them that, but not as fast, and they also sound like their past albums put out since the 90’s. I still like the sound, they are fast, not as fast as when they first started out to be, the intensity is not at the same level, but they still have some skill in creating a quick paced song. It’s just that the sound is the same that they’ve had over the last 20 years with just little tweaks to the songs.

A typical song for Metallica is one where James Hetfield sings in blocks instead of giving a continuous song. If I were to take out a section of any of the 4 songs I would not hear a section that seemed to be in the middle of a story but rather a short phrase being said. Each of their songs are formatted this way, in blocks that encompass their own little saying while eventually fitting as a whole. Not only that but his vocals keep the same sound where he does a long note, a few words, ends section on another long note. Example from the track ‘Hate Train’, “To haaatttte is a traaaainnn”, this is how he does every song and it gets boring, especially a song that’s nearly 8 and half minutes long. I don’t know what happened to this band where they gave songs that had different ranges in vocals, the tempos where change, and the lyrics would be a long story rather than being the same beat, the same sound, and each time James Hetfield opens his mouth he does the same vocal sounds, but it’s not the band got me to like them. Whatever intensity, originality, and ability to give a new song with each song that Metallica had, it’s not being heard in these albums. They still have talent, James Hetfield still has a very strong voice to be able to give clear vocals without going out of key, the instruments are played with energizing beats being well played and it’s what make them a talented band, but they’ve lost that edge to push the envelope that made them popular.