Garage Inc
This double-disc, all-covers release could come to represent a vital turning point for Metallica. While disc 2 is a straightforward collection of every cover the group have recorded in its 16-year history, disc 1 comprises 11 new selections drawn from the oeuvres of such exciting and diverse artists as U.K. punksDischargeand nefarious AustralianNick Cave. The heavier songs, such as theMercyful Fatemedley,Black Sabbath's "Sabbra Cadabra," and theMisfits' "Die Die My Darling," prove that nobody delivers a crunching riff better than these metal veterans. But it is vocalist-guitarist James Hetfields's confident approach toward the likes of Cave's "Loverman" andBob Seger's "Turn the Page" that delivers the most electricity; here his raw, heartfelt vocals are largely untouched. Given that the recharged group spent only three weeks in the studio recording these tracks, it appears that these guys have remembered the value of studio spontaneity over laborious pontificating. Hopefully, that mindset will resurface in future projects.--Steffan Chirazi