[NEW RELEASES]Metallica

The most surprising part of last month’s news that Metallica has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wasn’t the nomination itself. It was: What, they’re not in the Hall yet?

Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first single or album. Metallica, of course, made its debut in 1983 with the seminal thrash metal album “Kill ‘Em All.”

And “Death Magnetic,” produced by the versatile Rick Rubin, is easily the band’s finest hour in the past decade.

This album retains the sounds that defined Metallica in the ’80s. The first single, “The Day That Never Comes,” has everything that’s great about this album - the sleek intro, several tempo changes, stirring solos by Kirk Hammett on lead guitar. The same can be said about “Cyanide” and the instrumental “Suicide and Redemption.”

With seven Grammys, eight platinum records and an influence on heavy metal that’s more difficult to quantify, Metallica will soon be in the Hall of Fame. Death Magnetic has added to their legacy. By Yoo Jee-ho

Metallica

“Death Magnetic”

Label: Universal Music

Genre: Metal