Earlier today, legendary Bay Area thrashers Metallica, unleashed the first single from their upcoming ‘Death Magnetic’ album, entitled “The Day That Never Comes”. I’ve listened to this new tune nearly a dozen times this afternoon to really get a feel for it. I wanted the overall excitement of hearing a new Metallica song to wear off before posting a clearheaded review of it here. And I honestly have to say, even after repeated listens, this is an impressive song. With a slow, melodic, ballade-sque first half, I’m reminded slightly of classic Metallica songs such as “Welcome Home” and “Fade to Black”. Somewhat generic-sounding at first, I’ll admit, but the melody really is catchy… and once this track hits the five minute mark, things evolve into something any ‘tallica fan of old can appreciate.

Finally… goddamn finally… Metallica has returned to their thrashy roots. We’re treated to some truly inspired and interesting riffage… something I’ve been personally waiting for from James, Kirk and the boys for nearly a decade. Kirk lays on the lead guitar work pretty solidly through the solos, and things get mixed up quite a bit with some attention-keeping changups throughout. For the first time in a long time, I’m impressed.

Surprisingly, one of the largest concerns of this new album to many, the vocals, sound excellent. James’ voice is clean and strong, and the lack of “hey heeey heeeeeeys” or anything of the such gives me hope that ‘Death Magnetic’ may be something worth checking out after all. Luckily for us, gone are the tin can snare drums and subpar production of the despised St. Anger days. Although this is a lower-quality webstreaming version of the track, it’s easy to tell that some time and effort has been put into properly producing this album.

Now that you’ve read my take, crack a beer, raise the devil horns, and take a listen below:

UPDATE (08-21-08): Updated MP3 from 96kBit/s webstream version to high-quality 256kBit/s version. You’re welcome.

I recently upgraded my mobile music capacity by purchasing a new iPod. By replaced my 60GB iPod Video with the impressive new 160GB iPod Classic, I gained a newly polished and refined user interface, a metal front that won’t get scratched to hell, and the ability to haul my entire music collection in the tiny confines of my front pocket. While some people may argue that I had an entire 60 gigs to do so beforehand… I stand my ground in saying I like having the ability to listen to what I want, when I want. I’m a collector. I don’t do single tracks. If there’s a song on the radio you like, chances are there are half a dozen more on the album that are far superior, or hell, half a dozen other albums by that artist that completely outshine anything that the radio stations would care to play. And when you start collecting those albums, hard drive space tends to get filled very quickly.

Needless to say, I have a huge music collection… nearly 130GB and nearing 500 artists. Variety is key, and when it comes to the umbrella genres of metal and rock, there are numerous subgenres to pull from. I like the ability to pull from any of those subgenres whenever I feel the need to. However, it seems I may have been slightly hasty in dropping quite the pretty penny on a new gadget, when a simple application can provided the same convenience to anyone at no additional cost. As long as you own an iPhone or iPod Touch that is.

Kevin’s ongoing quest to clear his gambling debt continues as everyone’s favorite smooth-talker, Darryl, gives him a helping hand at the bank. But (surprise!) things don’t go as smoothly as planned. The first 20 seconds of this webisode does a pretty good job of summing up exactly why I love ‘The Office’ in all of it’s deadpan glory. I just hope Craig Robinson’s recent arrest for drug possession doesn’t keep Darryl out of the Dunder Mifflin warehouse this upcoming season…

After only 20 years or so if waiting around for Metallica to write some new material that I could happily hear and not want to aurally castrate myself, James, Lars and the boys have finally penned some material worth taking a listen to. With some interesting riffage and a few tempo changes throughout, the new track “Cyanide“, which the band played at this past weekend’s Ozzfest, is hopefully a good indication that Metallica is working to release an album worthy of their once respected name. That album, “Death Magnetic” is slated to hit September 12th… and for the first time in years, I honestly look forward to it.

UPDATE: I changed the video to use the newly release soundboard recording version. Much better sound quality! Enjoy!

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, the main reasons for this being my steadily hectic work schedule and my good friend Chad (aka Dr. Chud’s) wedding this past weekend. Paintballing, drinking, preparing, rehearsing, tuxing, groomsmanning and drinking some more can take up a big chunk of your time… trust me. And even though it was one of the least relaxing extended weekends of my life, it was a hell of a damn good time.

Congrats to Chud and Natalie! I wish you both all the best!

Photo L-R: Keenan, Me (in a badass hat), Mike, Dan, Chud, & Mark