This release is the first album for Warner Brothers, the first recorded with ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo, and the first produced by Rick Rubin, and . . .

It's damn good! It beats Load; Re-Load; and St Anger by miles, and is also better than the Black Album. Sonically (although they need to release an uncompressed version), it sounds as though it should have been released between . . . And Justice for All, and the Black Album. Long, sprawling solos on songs clocking in at over six minutes (ten tracks, roughly seventy-five minutes) bring you back, but the music itself isn't dated or retro. The drums sound as though they have been correctly tuned this time, and James Hetfield again sounds as though his voice has mileage in it.

If you're a long-suffering Metallica fan, this album has what it takes to ease the pain. Just buy it.