Quick Takes - "My Apocalypse"

It looks like Metallica has finally taken the lid off the Death Magnetic box. The last song on the album, "My Apocalypse", was released to their web site, Mission: Metallica, and iTunes this morning.

The tune rocks. The only song Metallica's written in the last fifteen years that's come close to thrashing like this is "The Struggle Within", and that's pushing it. "My Apocalypse" is much closer to "Damage, Inc." and "Dyers Eve" in tempo. James is actually yelling on this one, and it isn't touchy feely stuff about about his alcoholism. Corpses and mangled flesh ahoy! The riffage is fast and tight, and Kirk even pulls out a bit of "Whiplash" flavor for part of the solo.

So far Metallica has a really nice album on their hands, but I fear, regardless of what their "people" say, that the album will be a milestone in the Loudness War. Once again the 256 kbps version of the song is way too loud and hideously distorts. This is a cryin' shame because their efforts deserve better presentation. Let's hope the right people are reading the forums, they stop putting lousy mp3 files out to paying customers (note to those responsible: lowering the volume after the song has been clipped doesn't solve the problem!), and the album itself doesn't suffer from these issues.