Metallica Return With Supersonic New Single “Hardwired”

Metallica fans, raise your devil horns! After nearly 10 years, the metal veterans are back with their new single Hardwired from the upcoming album ‘Hardwired…To Self-Destruct’. It’s been a long and suspenseful wait for fans wanting to see what the headbangers come out with after more than 30 years of hits, misses, and everything in between.

Metallica rose to fame as a pioneer in American thrash metal in the 80s, with their first album ‘Kill ‘Em All’ released to underground acclaim in 1983. Now with 10 albums behind them, they’ve paved a path that most of us look back on as one of the most critical discographies in metal history.

It hasn’t been all sunshine though, in recent years the group have lost a lot of fans, mainly through their lawsuit against file sharing giant Napster in 2000 and controversial album ‘St. Anger’ in 2003, which received dismal reviews.

The group redeemed themselves in 2008 with ‘Death Magnetic’, a fast and thrashy homage to their ol’ skool days. After long-time bassist Jason Newsted left the band halfway through the production of ‘St. Anger’, Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies) stepped in and finally got a chance to show what he could do when ‘Death Magnetic’ was released.

Despite the fact the guys could step down now, it seems they’re not ready to stop playing just yet. Going by Hardwired though, we’re definitely not complaining!

The song starts with a bang. Drummer Lars Ulrich delivers some fast, thrashy-as-hell beats as a distorted wall of guitars welcomes the listener to a fast and brutal song. The riffs are chunky and churn themselves out effortlessly over the speedy drum beats.

Frontman James Hetfield comes in quickly with his voice, which isn’t as guttural as it once was but still holds an insane amount of power behind it. Every note is hit perfectly and every syllable resonates firmly across the song. The speed never falters and as sections change the melodies twist and evolve in a collection of notes which are truly headbang-worthy. Pull out your ponytails and get helicoptering!

The music video itself is classic and dignified. The heavy quartet thrash it out in a dark room full of flashing white lights and close-ups of the members’ faces. The instrumentals make it almost as though you’re sitting in the room with them watching them play.

If you liked ‘Death Magnetic’ then you’ll love this single. The tones can sound a little shallow at times, but Hardwired fits with the thrash vibe the group are going for and it carries its own charm. This baby is loud, fast, and powerful!

Sure, the old grey mare definitely ain’t what she used to be but you can’t deny that the guys are kicking ass for their age. We can’t wait to hear what else is coming!