The album begins with ’’Enter Sandman, ’’ a dark tale of the monsters that lurk beneath the beds of children. The track is best played loud, and is great to exercise to. This is Metallica at it’s best; all swagger and growl, exploring the dark recesses of our own subconscious minds. It even manages to make the ’’Now I lay me down to sleep’’ prayer, sound ominous.
Second is ’’Sad But True, ’’ full of diaphragm-shaking riffs but sort of annoying vocal delivery. Next is the unholy ’’Holier Than Thou, ’’ which seems to be trying to be speed metal. It doesn’t succeed and comes off as rather rehearsed.
Next is another cornerstone of the album, ’’The Unforgiven.’’ This track explores bitter guilt and the desire yet inability to please others. It puts the ’’heavy’’ in heavy metal. Dark, probing self-examination; no wonder alienated teenagers love this stuff.
I’ll skip ’’Wherever I May Roam’’ and ’’Don’t Tread on Me’’ and ’’Through the Never.’’ None of the three lives up to the promise of the rest of the album.
Which brings us to ’’Nothing Else Matters, ’’ one of the album’s strong points. Like ’’The Unforgiven, ’’ this explores alienation and self-examination. This track proves metal doesn’t have to thrash to be good.
The remaining four tracks, ’’Of Wolf and Man, ’’ ’’The God That Failed, ’’ ’’My Friend of Misery, ’’ and ’’The Struggle Within’’ are okay, but not of the caliber of ’’Enter Sandman, ’’ ’’The Unforgiven, ’’ and ’’Nothing Else Matters.’’
This album will take you on a journey into the abyss of your own soul. Don’t be surprised if it unearths a few of your demons along the way.