One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Metallica’s Death Magnetic, hits shelves next Tuesday and D:ET has an early look.

After the June 2003 release of their eigth studio album, St. Anger, Metallica lost the respect of a number of fans. The tracks seemed underproduced, almost as if the band wanted the recording process to be over with so they could finally be apart. There was also a distinct lack of the famed guitar solos that drew in so many listeners in the past (though the same can pretty much be said for Load and Reload). With the release of Death Magnetic, however, I firmly believe Metallica will regain the old fans it lost 5 years ago and probably earn a new following in the younger metal crowd.

I’m too young to remember the raging popularity of Metallica in the eighties, but as soon as I could identify good music I was blasting “Master of Puppets.” Death Magnetic abandons the current tired formulas that all releases seem to follow today and goes back to the reckless abandon their epics embraced. The shortest track, “My Apocalypse,” clocks in at a respectable 5 minutes. Yes, you read that right: 5 minutes is as short as it gets. “Suicide and Redemption” lasts a jaw-dropping 9 minutes and 57 seconds, and it doesn’t even contain a single verse of lyrics! It’s nothing but dueling guitars, low rumbling bass lines and Lars doing what he does best. But what’s length matter when the music isn’t any good? Lucky for us that is not a problem at any point on this album.

By now, most of you have heard the first single “The Day That Never Comes.” Described as following the same pattern as “One,” I feel this was an extremely poor choice for the initial representation that most fans would hear. I was fortunate enough to catch “Cyanide” at Ozzfest before I heard “The Day…” and was blown away by the power that song carried when played live. I can’t even begin to speculate why “The Day…” was picked, but it is not a good indicator of what you get on this album. It’s the weakest song as it doesn’t quite live up to “One”’s strength and emotion. And, like many of you, when I saw the title “Unforgiven III” I couldn’t help but groan in disgust. It was the track I most wanted to hear for that reason alone. As soon as the piano, strings, and horns hit my speakers, I wasn’t sure what to think. It was a complete departure from everything else thus far. But at the 1:34 mark it all changed and became a definite follow-up to the sound of the original. Is it as solid? No, but it’s a decent song in it’s own right. Try not to compare it to the previous two and you’ll enjoy it just fine.

This review would be incomplete if I didn’t mention “All Nightmare Long.” It’s absolutely phenomenal. The harsh guitars took me back to what made me fall in love with “Master of Puppets.” I just can’t get enough of that track. It’s signature Metallica.

Now I must admit, this is far from a perfect album. The vocals at times are shaky (as in “My Apocalypse”) and the lyrics can be quite cliche (”How can I be lost if I’ve got nowhere to go”). But none of that really matters when those aggressive guitars kick in; you can’t help but smile like a kid in a candy store as your head follows Lars’s brutal snare. This is the Metallica of old, the ones who were enjoying themselves as they kicked your ass. And I’m happy they’re finally back.

Good riddance, Bob Rock. Rick Rubin, welcome to the show.