it was so dry my lips cracked listening to it, it was so loud my ears lost hearing, it was so distorted my speakers are broken, and despite all those distractions, it's still little better than st. anger.

oh. dear.

especially the snare. soooooooooo loud, and tinny, and reverb less with no power. it just thwacks over and over with a slight metallic thud. sure, there's less of a metallic thud than last time around, but apparently lars insisted on the snare being tuned back up from a dull thud that could be mixed low to the tinny metal mental haemorrage that is on the record. and is it me or is that the only fucking drum he now hits? He thinks that he is john bonham, except john bonham used the other drums too. and why are the symbols so sibilant, and why is it so fuckinggggggggg dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. i mean, where's the echo, it's literally hard work to listen to because of how dry it is. it just slaps you in the face, in the same way other records i wouldn't listen to do.

and why do the bad songs have good solos and the good songs have naff load solos, and why is unforgiven III on the record, and why does the chorus make my head hurt in general southern rock crassness, and why is dimebag darrell turning in his grave so pointlessly?

and why is the only good song on the record that does not rip off the back catalogue about 3 minutes too long and only briefly uses the best riff in the song for 20 seconds? All Nightmare Long is a disturbing glimpse at a world in which someone like Bob Rock didn't force them to cut song length.

SOMEBODY PHONE ANDY SNEAP. MY. God.

Its better than St Anger. Its ok. but nothing like previous work.

They're gone. Lost it.

Metallica, redeem thyself.