Metallica performing in Bangalore, India in 2011.
Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
“Seek and Destroy,” “Whiplash,” “Hit The Lights,” “For Whom the Bells Toll,” “Fade to Black,” “Master of Puppets,” “Battery,” “One,” “Enter Sandman” and now “Hardwired.” Metallica’s new single, “Hardwired,” has mysteriously come out of the blue and become an instant classic among die-hard fans of the band and members of the metal community.
Minutes after the single dropped, there was news of a new album (“Hardwired…To Self-Destruct”) coming from the thrash metal icons in late November. Personally, I have been waiting for a new Metallica album since “Death Magnetic,” their previous album in 2008, and it has honestly been worth the eight-year wait for this fast-paced magnificent single by Metallica.
Although myself and fellow Metallica fans expected an eight-minute epic that the band is known for creating, it was a little bit of a shock to see that the single runs at only three minutes and 19 seconds. But, Hetfield and Ulrich have managed to construct a song that is straight to the point and faster than anything we have heard since their first album, “Kill ’Em All.”
Short and sweet, “Hardwired” starts off with a heavy chugging accompanied by a faster breakdown, which leads us to the simple, but not so simple, lyrics of James Hetfield, Metallica’s legendary tattooed frontman.
After multiple head-banging moments of listening to the song on repeat, I have come to multiple conclusions. First, it seems as if Metallica has been holding on to a lot of anger and resentment and has finally released it through this song, which oozes with feelings of self-destruction and all out moshing (this song will get people wild when played live). Maybe their haters got to them and this is a song lashing out at them? Who knows?
Second, I always instantly have the urge to throw stuff and just run around where I am. I start to mosh-pit on my own when I’m listening to the song, which really touches my heart because their last album didn’t have songs that made me feel so amazing and genuinely proud to be a metal head.
This song surely marks the return of an iconic band in not just metal, but music history, with a sense of going back and respecting their earlier albums that made them the notable band they are today. Hopefully, their new album will arrive with more classics to come and bring us all to headbang together.
