Heavy and thrashy, unafraid to embrace the band's past yet move into the future, Death Magnetic, says Kirk Hammett, is "the best album we've put out in, say, 15 years."

"Skull-rattling old-school album that...recalled Metallica's (early) work." -Rolling Stone

"That's the pleasure of Death Magnetic: hearing Metallica sound like Metallica again... Listening to the band play, it's hard not to thrill at Metallica's mastery of aggression and escalation...Metallica is still vitally violent and on this terrific album -- a de facto comeback, even if they never really went away -- they're finally acting like they enjoy being a great rock band."