Metallica Hardwired... To Self-Destruct

Anchored by James Hetfield’s unctuous roar, songs like “Hardwired”, “Moth Into Flame” and “Atlas, Rise” are no-frills, hard-charging thrash that knocks over everything in its path. The furious pace comes to a simmer on the nuanced “Dream No More” and “Here Comes Revenge”, both worthy of stadium anthem status. But the prevailing mood is downcast. Hardwired… To Self-Destruct is hard music for hard times, an amplified reaction to—and reflection of—an inhumane society.