Some Kind of Monster was transparent about Metallica’s inner workings to an uncomfortable degree, but apparently the experience didn’t dissuade the band from continuing to share their processes to the public, even if (thankfully) it would never be so in-depth. One outcome of that openness was “Vulturus”, a work-in-progress track the band demoed and played on the road a handful of times during early sessions for Death Magnetic. Here was the biggest metal band of all time workshopping a tune in something resembling real time, though to be sure there was nothing accidental about their premiering a short, fast and furious headbanger as something that might be on their new album: Metallica was very conscious about not only how St. Anger was received, but how much (or little) it sold, and Lars in particular understood that their legacy was at risk and that the next new music they put out had to at least mollify if not enthrall the base. And to that end, “Vulturus” did the job by virtue of simply nodding to classic Metallica, if not actually completely sounding like classic Metallica. That may be damning with faint praise, but the track was fun and metallic without attempting to be overly clever or dance around James’ core strengths as a writer and player. It was actually a good amount livelier than what actually made it onto Death Magnetic, which made its ultimate exclusion from the record that much more surprising.
i wish more metallica fans would talk about the all nightmare long demo, bc it's SO FREAKING GOOD DUDE. the final version is better, but the demo is great. the structuring isn't amazing, and I do like the final lyrics over the demo version, but STILL.
Kerry King famously dismissed Death Magnetic with a “nice try”, but Metallica’s hard pivot back to thrash held up much better than even the otherwise positive notices expected. Yes, the record was Hetfield and Ulrich deliberately looking backwards, and was inherently self-conscious and a little awkward in spots as a result, but it also had a sense of mission, and “My Apocalypse” closed the album with purpose. To be sure, James was still figuring out how to apply his diminished range in this setting, but his lyrics were a little less clunky and he sounded focused in his riffing, playing and singing. And although Robert Trujillo was barely audible in the studio mix, in a live setting it became clearer that the track was indeed a full band composition, at least in the sense that everybody was in sync and integrating their own bits into the overall song structure. Not to mention, hearing Kirk Hammett shred like a runaway train was incredibly welcome after a solid 15+ year absence. And 15 years after Death Magnetic announced Metallica’s legacy phase, “My Apocalypse” continues to work as a thrasher that was unmistakably the work of these four individuals.
It's cool that the album 72 Seasons seems to be based on/inspired by Metallica's previous albums. I can hear the Kill 'Em All in Lux Æterna (at least partly due to the video If Lux Æterna was on Kill 'Em All, which I finally got around to listening to!!!), I just read a comment comparing Screaming Suicide to Hardwired and earlier I managed to merge If Darkness Had a Son and/or 72 Seasons with Broken, Beat and Scarred (which is on Death Magnetic). I hope when we get the full album on Friday I hear a bit of Ride the Lightning (the album, but I wouldn't complain if I could hear the song) in one of the other songs