New Metallica Single - 'Rubinized'

My first impressions:

You can definitely tell the track has some Rubin influence. The opening solo-ish licks from Hammett sound Justice-y (and definitely welcome!). The melody is nice - the clean guitar sound is pretty awesome. James's voice sounds extremely ethereal in the verses.

The chorus has a definite 'Fade to Black' sort of stop-start guitar part. Dun-da-de-da-dlum sort of thing. You know what I'm saying? I'm trying not to compare it to past Metallica tracks but it's hard not to. This track, entitled 'The Day That Never Comes', sounds too much like old Metallica and yet not very much like it. It's new and old and hard to compare to the rest of the Metallica collection.

I've made peace with the fact that Metallica has mellowed out. Even as angry as this song sounds, it still has a somewhat 'brighter' sound than earlier stuff. And I'm okay with that. As long as the songs are pretty good, they don't have to be face melters. Wow. I'm just hearing the final solo section, and it gets pretty fast. Kirk Hammett's playing is pretty solid here - thanks for bringing back the solos, sir! - and the rhythm playing, too, is as stellar as ever.

The whole structure of the song - and I'll use another allusion to the band's past - is reminiscent of 'One', from 'Justice'. No, it's not as epic, but it's reaching for something that I don't think the band has gone for in quite a while.

The lyrics, though, I have to admit, I'm not so crazy about. That's what I would have to say is the weakest element of the entire song. I'm sure they're not holdovers from St. Anger, but it's kind of what they sound like.

But other than that, I'm pretty impressed. The new album 'drops' in a month, and I personally can't wait to get it.