Earlier this month Metallica released a new album, “Death Magnetic.” I had put off listening to their new effort because I used to love the band in my youth and didn’t want to taint my memories of them with their new album, which I was pretty sure would not be able to live up to their previous glory given that their last few releases were a bit sub-par. I had hoped that their last album, “St. Anger,” would rekindle the rapid thrash, which they brought in the 80s, but it fell more than a little short.

When I first heard that the golden god of production, Rick Rubin, was working with the band, I knew it was definitely a step in the right direction. Rubin has been able to revive many musical careers as he did with Johnny Cash’s “American Recordings” series. My hope was almost shattered though when I watched the epic video for “The Day That Never Comes,” to which I was not impressed. The song just seemed too overdone, and I got the feeling that the band was purposely trying to write a hit song in the vein of “Fade to Black” or “One.”

A few days ago, I received a burned copy of the album from a friend and finally got around to listening to it over the weekend. To my surprise the record is not the total steaming pile that I expected. The opening track, “That Was Just Your Life,” started off slow then came at me like a kick in the teeth. This gave me hope for the rest of the record, which turned out to have more than a few completely kick ass songs. Metallica is back to utilizing the elements that made them a great band in the first place, chugging guitars, head pounding double-bass drumming, killer solos and many tempo changes. I particularly love the harmonic solos that guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett are able to pull off in unison. Overall, this is the best album the band has recorded in years.

While “Death Magnetic” does fall short on a couple of instances such as the current single “The Unforgiven III,” the high points well outweigh the lows. Highlights include the tracks, “My Apocalypse,” “Cyanide” and “The Judas Kiss.” These songs are all definite downloads, which should be done legally, or you may have to face the wrath of Lars Ulrich. Overall, it’s good to see that the band is rocking harder than they have in years. Kudos to Rubin and Metallica.