Death Magnetic
Encyclopedia
Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal
band Metallica
. It was released on September 12, 2008 through Warner Bros. Records
. It was the band's first album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo
and the first to be produced by Rick Rubin
, making this Metallica's first album since ...And Justice for All
(1988) that was not produced by Bob Rock
. The album received mostly positive reviews upon release, with critics describing it as a return to the musical style of their early albums.
Musically, the album is a radical departure from Metallica's previous album, St. Anger
, which featured no guitar solo
s, a very modern sound, and low-quality production. Death Magnetic, on the other hand, features very long, technical guitar solos from both Kirk Hammett
and James Hetfield
, marking a return to the band's thrash metal
roots. Death Magnetic was also the band's first album released through Warner Bros. Records
, although they still remain with Warner Music Group
, which also owns their previous label, Elektra Records
. Outside of North America, they are distributed through Universal Music Group
as they remain signed to Vertigo Records
in the United Kingdom
. The album is also the band's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200
in the United States, making Metallica the first band ever to do so.
revealed that the band had been playing new material during studio sessions, but that there was no mention of plans for a ninth studio album at that time. Select music from the jam sessions may be used on the album, as Ulrich stated, "I definitely look forward to sifting through some of that stuff when we get back to the studio in January." On that note, by October 2004 the band had already compiled nearly 50 hours of pre-set jamming, with hundreds of riffs, chord progressions and bass lines. On September 30, 2004, Launch Radio revealed from an interview with Hetfield that the band hoped to return to the studio in spring of 2005 to begin recording their ninth studio album for Warner Bros. Records
.
On March 10, 2006, it was reported that the band was planning to use the following six months to write material for the album, in addition to the previous two months they had already been spending writing music. Lars Ulrich also stated that the band was getting along much better in the studio than they did during the recording of St. Anger. On April 6, Lars Ulrich revealed that the band had composed "six to seven" songs, (except for vocals), from their findings of the riff tapes recording during pre-sets of the Madly in Anger with the World Tour
. He also said that by this point, the band's new material was reminiscent of "old school" Metallica works, and that it certainly did not feel like a St. Anger "part two".
On May 20, 2006, Kirk Hammett
revealed that the band had 15 songs written and were writing on average two to three songs per week. James Hetfield also praised producer Rick Rubin for his production style in giving the band their own freedom and keeping the pressure at a minimum, despite the sessions becoming sometimes briefly unfocused. On May 27, Metallica updated their website with a video featuring information regarding the album. Lars Ulrich, who spearheaded the video, said about the new album:
stated in an interview with Revolver
that the band would be conceiving the album much like they did their albums prior to working with ex-producer Bob Rock
; they would sit down, write a select amount of songs, then enter the studio to record them. He also quoted current producer Rick Rubin by saying Rubin didn't want them to start the recording process until every song that they were going to record was as close to 100 percent as possible.
On March 5, Ulrich revealed that the band had narrowed a potential 25 songs down to 14, and that they would begin recording those 14 songs on the following week. He also expanded on Rick Rubin's style of production, saying,
On March 14, the band's official website issued a statement: "Metallica left the comfort of HQ this week to descend upon the greater Los Angeles area to begin recording their ninth original album. This is the first time they've recorded outside of the Bay Area since they spent time at One-on-One Studios recording their self titled album
in '90 and '91." This was confirmed on on Mission: Metallica, as a video surfaced showing the crew moving into Sound City Studios of Nirvana
fame.
On June 4, bassist Robert Trujillo
revealed that only select portions of the two new songs debuted in Berlin and Tokyo respectively would be featured on the album.
The band hoped to have the album finished by October or November, when the album would be mixed. He predicted the album would be out in February 2008. He also revealed that the songs they are working with are quite long.
On February 2, 2008, according to Sterlingsound.com, it was discovered that Ted Jensen
from Sterling Sound Studios would be mastering the new record. According to Blabbermouth.net and other sources, Greg Fidelman
, who had served as a sound engineer
, had also been tapped to mix the album.
Ulrich confirmed on May 15, 2008 that Metallica recorded 11 songs for Death Magnetic, although only 10 would appear on the album due to the constraints of the physical medium. The eleventh song, titled "Shine", was a song Hetfield "based around a Layne Staley
type, a rock & roll martyr magnetized by death."
A number of unreleased songs from Death Magnetic, including the above mentioned "Shine", but also "To Hell and Back" and "Game", were left off the album, but are rumored to be released as b-sides or on the next album. The titles were confirmed by Hammett and Ulrich on the MetOnTour video from December 20, 2008.
member Layne Staley
to the studio where Metallica was recording. "That picture was there for a long time," said Hammett, "I think it pervaded James' psyche." Wondering why someone with such talent would choose this path, Hetfield started writing a song based on his questions (the unreleased song "Shine").
On July 16, 2008, Hetfield commented on the album's title:
The title is referenced in the track "My Apocalypse". According to Hammett, another title considered for the album was Songs of Suicide and Forgiveness.
On September 2, a French record store began selling copies of Death Magnetic, nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date, which resulted in the album being made prematurely available on peer-to-peer
clients. This prompted the band's United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records
, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10. It is currently unconfirmed whether Metallica or Warner Bros. will be taking any action against the retailer, though drummer Lars Ulrich who was questioned about the leak
on a San Francisco radio station responded,
He later told USA Today
,
On the day of the release FMQB
radio broadcast The World Premiere of Death Magnetic, which was heard on more than 175 stations across the United States and Canada. The live program from Metallica HQ featured all four members of Metallica talking with Foo Fighters
frontman Dave Grohl
and drummer Taylor Hawkins
. Originally scheduled for a 90 minute broadcast, the show ended after two hours.
During their Escape from the Studio '06
tour, the band debuted two songs. "The New Song" debuted on the European leg in Berlin
, Germany on . The song, as performed, is approximately eight minutes long. The title was rumored to be "Death Is Not the End" as Hetfield repeatedly sings the line throughout the song. This song would appear again in multiple Fly on the Wall videos on the Mission: Metallica website, showing the band partway through the song's recording, as noted by the slower tempo and lack of lyrics. "The Other New Song", (which was later named "Vulturous") debuted on August 12, 2006 in Tokyo
, Japan, and is much shorter, taking just below four minutes to perform. To the surprise of fans, Metallica played "The Other New Song" once again on June 29, 2007 in Bilbao
, Spain. Although neither of the "New Songs" appear on the album themselves, "The End of the Line" and "All Nightmare Long" both contain elements of "The New Song".
On August 9, 2008, Metallica debuted the first album track, "Cyanide", at Ozzfest
, in Dallas, Texas
and was performed again on August 20, 2008 in Dublin, Ireland. On August 22, 2008 at the Leeds Festival
, they debuted the first single
, "The Day That Never Comes
".
On July 31, 2009 it was announced on Metallica.com that the band felt that the song "My Apocalypse" was in need of an introduction when played live to "set the mood". The statement on Metallica.com reads, "We've been enjoying playing 'My Apocalypse' out here on the road but felt like it could use something extra. We decided that it needed a cool intro to set the mood so James wrote one. Check out and enjoy this free download... and make sure you learn it for singing along at a future show!" The approximately minute-long introduction is available as a free MP3
download. The song had originally been debuted live on March 25, 2009, at the LG Arena in Birmingham
, UK.
"Cyanide" has been extended shortly as well, making it easier to interact with the audience.
. This content would later be optimized for external use in Guitar Hero World Tour
, Guitar Hero: Metallica
(although "All Nightmare Long" was included on the in-game setlist), Guitar Hero 5
, Band Hero
, and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
.
The Guitar Hero DLC had two versions of the instrumental track; "Suicide & Redemption". Each version had its own solo, and were named accordingly to which solo they contained. "Suicide & Redemption J.H." had a solo played by James Hetfield. The other version, "Suicide & Redemption K.H." had the other solo, played by Kirk Hammett.
Due to technical restrictions, the Wii version of Guitar Hero: World Tour only could hold the three shortest songs of the 11: "Broken, Beat & Scarred
", "Cyanide
" and "My Apocalypse
". These songs also appear on the Wii and PS2 versions of Guitar Hero: Metallica
as bonus songs instead of DLC. The eight remaining tracks (including both versions of "Suicide & Redemption") were released on November 24, 2009 as DLC for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.
, Velvet Revolver
drummer
Matt Sorum
described his impressions of the unfinished songs:
The album's first single
, "The Day That Never Comes", was described as the most downbeat track on the album, and is said to be reminiscent of their 1990 Grammy
-winning epic breakthrough single "One
"; Rock Sound
has also compared it to the likes of Thin Lizzy
. The band has abandoned the solo-free approach that they followed on St. Anger, returning to complex, multi-layered arrangements such as those typically found on the band's fourth album ...And Justice for All
.
Death Magnetic has been praised by fans as well as critics as a comeback for Metallica after the widely panned St. Anger
. Thrash Hits was one of the first websites, along with The Quietus
to comment on Death Magnetic, calling "it is a vast improvement on 2003 album St Anger." Metal Hammer
noted Death Magnetics "sharp riffs" and "uncharacteristic bouncing grooves," and favorably compares the band's sound on the album to bands like Slayer
, Led Zeppelin
and Rage Against the Machine
. Former Dream Theater
drummer Mike Portnoy
has praised the album, saying "Death Magnetic is hands down the best Metallica album in 20 years. This is the CD I've been waiting for them to make since …And Justice for All. And thumbs up to them for doing the first real Metallica instrumental in 20 years since 'To Live Is to Die
'. Welcome back, boys."
While Metallica was on the first leg of their 2008 tour in Europe, a third party at their management Q Prime demanded that media impressions and blogs commenting on the album be taken down from their website for reasons that were not explained to the band. However, when the band learned of this, they were upset and Ulrich re-posted many of the links along with other reactions to the new album, along with an apology to those whose links had been removed from Metallica's website.
Reviews for the album have been mostly positive. Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine
gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that the album is like "hearing Metallica sound like Metallica again". Other positive reviews come from publications like The Guardian
, who say that the album is "the strongest material the band have written in 20 years", and Uncut
, declaring that "like all the best heavy rock albums, it suspends your disbelief, demands your attention and connects directly with your inner adolescent."
and distortion. Sean Michaels of The Guardian
explains that "the sound issues are a result of the 'loudness war
' – an ongoing industry effort to make recordings as loud as possible". A Rolling Stone
article states that Rick Rubin
was "overseeing mixes in Los Angeles while the band is in Europe, headlining shows" and only communicated with him by conference calls. Fans have noted that these sonic problems are not present in the Guitar Hero version of the album, where the tracks are present separately because of the game mechanics and the tracks were sent to the game publishers before the process was made. MusicRadar
and Rolling Stone attribute a quote to the album's mastering engineer Ted Jensen
in which he claims that "mixes were already brick-walled before they arrived" for mastering and cite a petition from fans to remix or remaster the album.
On September 15, 2008, after a reviewer for Swedish daily Sydsvenskan
admitted that he preferred the Guitar Hero mixes of Death Magnetic to the official release, a scheduled interview was duly cancelled by Universal Music Sweden. Its president, Per Sundin said:
Metallica and Rubin initially declined to comment on the issue, while the band's co-manager Cliff Burnstein stated that complainers were in a minority and that response to the album had otherwise been "overwhelmingly positive". Lars Ulrich later confirmed in an interview with Blender
, that some creative control regarding the album's production had indeed been transferred to Rubin but also stressed his satisfaction with the final product.
.
According to Billboard Magazine, in the September 27, 2008 issue, Death Magnetic landed at number one on the following ten charts: Billboard Top 200, Billboard Comprehensive Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums, Top Digital Albums, Top Internet Albums, Top European Albums, Tastemakers, and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ("The Day That Never Comes
"). The album stayed at number one for three consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. The album spent 50 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. Internationally, the album peaked at number one in 34 countries, including Ireland
, United Kingdom
, Canada
, and Australia
.
According to The Rock (a New Zealand
radio station) the album became platinum on the first day of its release in New Zealand. In addition, nearly 60,000 copies were sold digitally, making it debut at number one on the Digital Album chart. The album debuted at number one in the official United Kingdom albums chart after just three days of availability, selling 75,164 copies. The album remained at number one for two weeks and has sold over 150,000 copies to date. In Canada, Death Magnetic debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
. The album sold 81,000 copies in its first week, making it the second best-selling debut album of 2008 in Canada. It remained the number one album for four consecutive weeks. The album was certified 4x Platinum in Canada in October 2009.
In Australia, Death Magnetic was the fastest selling album of 2008, selling 55,877 copies in its first full week of release. Death Magnetic was Australia's highest-selling record in one week since Australian Idol
winner Damien Leith's
The Winner's Journey
, in December 2006. The same success was repeated in Germany, where Death Magnetic has become the fastest selling album of 2008. Within the first three days of the album's release, Death Magnetic sold over 100,000 copies and has been certified platinum. According to reports, Death Magnetic is outselling competitors in Russia and Turkey
, two countries which don't have an official album chart.
In Finland
, during the second week of January 2009, Death Magnetic jumped eighteen spots back up to number one on that country's album charts within one week. As of August 2010 the album has sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide.
Death Magnetic was certified double platinum (2,000,000 units sold) by the RIAA
on June 28, 2010.
s. Rick Rubin
was nominated for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical" for his work on Death Magnetic, as well as other albums this past year.
The album won two Grammys for "Best Metal Performance" and "Best Recording Package" at the 51st Grammy Awards
on February 8, 2009. Rubin received the award as "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical" for the second time.
Awards 2009.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. It was released on September 12, 2008 through Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. It was the band's first album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
and the first to be produced by Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
, making this Metallica's first album since ...And Justice for All
...And Justice for All (album)
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986...
(1988) that was not produced by Bob Rock
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
. The album received mostly positive reviews upon release, with critics describing it as a return to the musical style of their early albums.
Musically, the album is a radical departure from Metallica's previous album, St. Anger
St. Anger
St. Anger is the eighth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on June 5, 2003 through Elektra Records. It was the band's last album released through Elektra. The album marked the end of the longest timespan between studio albums from Metallica, with nearly six...
, which featured no guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
s, a very modern sound, and low-quality production. Death Magnetic, on the other hand, features very long, technical guitar solos from both Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
and James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
, marking a return to the band's thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
roots. Death Magnetic was also the band's first album released through Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, although they still remain with Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, which also owns their previous label, Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
. Outside of North America, they are distributed through Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
as they remain signed to Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The album is also the band's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the United States, making Metallica the first band ever to do so.
Writing process
Early in 2004, Metallica frontman James HetfieldJames Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
revealed that the band had been playing new material during studio sessions, but that there was no mention of plans for a ninth studio album at that time. Select music from the jam sessions may be used on the album, as Ulrich stated, "I definitely look forward to sifting through some of that stuff when we get back to the studio in January." On that note, by October 2004 the band had already compiled nearly 50 hours of pre-set jamming, with hundreds of riffs, chord progressions and bass lines. On September 30, 2004, Launch Radio revealed from an interview with Hetfield that the band hoped to return to the studio in spring of 2005 to begin recording their ninth studio album for Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
On March 10, 2006, it was reported that the band was planning to use the following six months to write material for the album, in addition to the previous two months they had already been spending writing music. Lars Ulrich also stated that the band was getting along much better in the studio than they did during the recording of St. Anger. On April 6, Lars Ulrich revealed that the band had composed "six to seven" songs, (except for vocals), from their findings of the riff tapes recording during pre-sets of the Madly in Anger with the World Tour
Madly in Anger with the World Tour
The Madly in Anger with the World Tour was a year-long concert tour by Metallica that took place in 2003 and 2004, in connection with their St. Anger album....
. He also said that by this point, the band's new material was reminiscent of "old school" Metallica works, and that it certainly did not feel like a St. Anger "part two".
On May 20, 2006, Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
revealed that the band had 15 songs written and were writing on average two to three songs per week. James Hetfield also praised producer Rick Rubin for his production style in giving the band their own freedom and keeping the pressure at a minimum, despite the sessions becoming sometimes briefly unfocused. On May 27, Metallica updated their website with a video featuring information regarding the album. Lars Ulrich, who spearheaded the video, said about the new album:
Recording process
Three studios were used to produce the album, those being Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, Shangri La Studios in Malibu, California, and HQ in San Rafael, California. On January 1, 2007, Lars UlrichLars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
stated in an interview with Revolver
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
that the band would be conceiving the album much like they did their albums prior to working with ex-producer Bob Rock
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
; they would sit down, write a select amount of songs, then enter the studio to record them. He also quoted current producer Rick Rubin by saying Rubin didn't want them to start the recording process until every song that they were going to record was as close to 100 percent as possible.
On March 5, Ulrich revealed that the band had narrowed a potential 25 songs down to 14, and that they would begin recording those 14 songs on the following week. He also expanded on Rick Rubin's style of production, saying,
On March 14, the band's official website issued a statement: "Metallica left the comfort of HQ this week to descend upon the greater Los Angeles area to begin recording their ninth original album. This is the first time they've recorded outside of the Bay Area since they spent time at One-on-One Studios recording their self titled album
Metallica (album)
Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Mainly produced by Bob Rock, it was released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records to critical acclaim...
in '90 and '91." This was confirmed on on Mission: Metallica, as a video surfaced showing the crew moving into Sound City Studios of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
fame.
On June 4, bassist Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo
Robert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
revealed that only select portions of the two new songs debuted in Berlin and Tokyo respectively would be featured on the album.
The band hoped to have the album finished by October or November, when the album would be mixed. He predicted the album would be out in February 2008. He also revealed that the songs they are working with are quite long.
On February 2, 2008, according to Sterlingsound.com, it was discovered that Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
from Sterling Sound Studios would be mastering the new record. According to Blabbermouth.net and other sources, Greg Fidelman
Greg Fidelman
Greg Fidelman is an American music engineer, producer and mix engineer. He has worked with many renowned and highly regarded bands in various genres, many in the heavier rock or metal genres, including Metallica, Slayer, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Bush, Audio Slave, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, and...
, who had served as a sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, had also been tapped to mix the album.
Ulrich confirmed on May 15, 2008 that Metallica recorded 11 songs for Death Magnetic, although only 10 would appear on the album due to the constraints of the physical medium. The eleventh song, titled "Shine", was a song Hetfield "based around a Layne Staley
Layne Staley
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the...
type, a rock & roll martyr magnetized by death."
A number of unreleased songs from Death Magnetic, including the above mentioned "Shine", but also "To Hell and Back" and "Game", were left off the album, but are rumored to be released as b-sides or on the next album. The titles were confirmed by Hammett and Ulrich on the MetOnTour video from December 20, 2008.
Album title
Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett also played a role in the inspiration of the title, when he brought a photograph of deceased Alice in ChainsAlice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
member Layne Staley
Layne Staley
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the...
to the studio where Metallica was recording. "That picture was there for a long time," said Hammett, "I think it pervaded James' psyche." Wondering why someone with such talent would choose this path, Hetfield started writing a song based on his questions (the unreleased song "Shine").
On July 16, 2008, Hetfield commented on the album's title:
The title is referenced in the track "My Apocalypse". According to Hammett, another title considered for the album was Songs of Suicide and Forgiveness.
Release
In January 2008, a statement was made by Stereo Warning that the album would be delayed until September 2008, but was quickly denied by Metallica's management since an album without a defined release date can not be "delayed". The album, which was completed on August 10, 2008, was released on September 12, 2008 and issued in a variety of different packages.On September 2, a French record store began selling copies of Death Magnetic, nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date, which resulted in the album being made prematurely available on peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
clients. This prompted the band's United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10. It is currently unconfirmed whether Metallica or Warner Bros. will be taking any action against the retailer, though drummer Lars Ulrich who was questioned about the leak
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
on a San Francisco radio station responded,
He later told USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
,
On the day of the release FMQB
FMQB
Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...
radio broadcast The World Premiere of Death Magnetic, which was heard on more than 175 stations across the United States and Canada. The live program from Metallica HQ featured all four members of Metallica talking with Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
frontman Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
and drummer Taylor Hawkins
Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters....
. Originally scheduled for a 90 minute broadcast, the show ended after two hours.
Promotion
Escape from the Studio '06
Escape from the Studio '06 was a 2006 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica. The tour took place during the writing process of the group's then-untitled ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, and follows the Madly in Anger with the World Tour in support of St...
tour, the band debuted two songs. "The New Song" debuted on the European leg in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany on . The song, as performed, is approximately eight minutes long. The title was rumored to be "Death Is Not the End" as Hetfield repeatedly sings the line throughout the song. This song would appear again in multiple Fly on the Wall videos on the Mission: Metallica website, showing the band partway through the song's recording, as noted by the slower tempo and lack of lyrics. "The Other New Song", (which was later named "Vulturous") debuted on August 12, 2006 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan, and is much shorter, taking just below four minutes to perform. To the surprise of fans, Metallica played "The Other New Song" once again on June 29, 2007 in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Spain. Although neither of the "New Songs" appear on the album themselves, "The End of the Line" and "All Nightmare Long" both contain elements of "The New Song".
On August 9, 2008, Metallica debuted the first album track, "Cyanide", at Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
, in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and was performed again on August 20, 2008 in Dublin, Ireland. On August 22, 2008 at the Leeds Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
, they debuted the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "The Day That Never Comes
The Day That Never Comes
"The Day That Never Comes" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica and the lead single from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic...
".
On July 31, 2009 it was announced on Metallica.com that the band felt that the song "My Apocalypse" was in need of an introduction when played live to "set the mood". The statement on Metallica.com reads, "We've been enjoying playing 'My Apocalypse' out here on the road but felt like it could use something extra. We decided that it needed a cool intro to set the mood so James wrote one. Check out and enjoy this free download... and make sure you learn it for singing along at a future show!" The approximately minute-long introduction is available as a free MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
download. The song had originally been debuted live on March 25, 2009, at the LG Arena in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK.
"Cyanide" has been extended shortly as well, making it easier to interact with the audience.
Guitar Hero
Alongside the release of the album, it was released as downloadable content (DLC) for Guitar Hero III: Legends of RockGuitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
. This content would later be optimized for external use in Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
, Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
(although "All Nightmare Long" was included on the in-game setlist), Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
, Band Hero
Band Hero
Band Hero is a spinoff video game as part of the Guitar Hero series of music video games, released by Activision on November 3, 2009, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles...
, and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is a music video game and the sixth main entry in the Guitar Hero series for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles. The game was released September 24, 2010 in Europe, September 28, 2010 in North America and September 29, 2010 in Australia...
.
The Guitar Hero DLC had two versions of the instrumental track; "Suicide & Redemption". Each version had its own solo, and were named accordingly to which solo they contained. "Suicide & Redemption J.H." had a solo played by James Hetfield. The other version, "Suicide & Redemption K.H." had the other solo, played by Kirk Hammett.
Due to technical restrictions, the Wii version of Guitar Hero: World Tour only could hold the three shortest songs of the 11: "Broken, Beat & Scarred
Broken, Beat & Scarred
"Broken, Beat & Scarred" is the forty-fifth single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the sixth from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, released on April 3.Hetfield and Lars Ulrich argued at length over the title of this song...
", "Cyanide
Cyanide (song)
"Cyanide" is the 42nd single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the third from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic. On September 1, 2008, it was made available for streaming on the band's official website, as well as a download from the Death Magnetic website Mission: Metallica...
" and "My Apocalypse
My Apocalypse
"My Apocalypse" is the forty-first single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the second from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic. On August 26, 2008, it was made available for streaming on the band's official website, as well as a download from the Death Magnetic website Mission:...
". These songs also appear on the Wii and PS2 versions of Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
as bonus songs instead of DLC. The eight remaining tracks (including both versions of "Suicide & Redemption") were released on November 24, 2009 as DLC for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.
Reception
In a 2007 interview with Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Matt Sorum
Matt Sorum
Matthew William Sorum is an American rock drummer and percussionist. Sorum is most famous for his 7-year stint in Guns N' Roses and supergroup Velvet Revolver , which is comprised in part of former Guns N' Roses members Duff McKagan and Slash .-Early career :Matt Sorum was born Matthew William...
described his impressions of the unfinished songs:
The album's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "The Day That Never Comes", was described as the most downbeat track on the album, and is said to be reminiscent of their 1990 Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning epic breakthrough single "One
One (Metallica song)
"One" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the third and final single from their fourth album ...And Justice for All. "One" was also the band's first Top 40 hit single, reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100...
"; Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
has also compared it to the likes of Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
. The band has abandoned the solo-free approach that they followed on St. Anger, returning to complex, multi-layered arrangements such as those typically found on the band's fourth album ...And Justice for All
...And Justice for All (album)
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986...
.
Death Magnetic has been praised by fans as well as critics as a comeback for Metallica after the widely panned St. Anger
St. Anger
St. Anger is the eighth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on June 5, 2003 through Elektra Records. It was the band's last album released through Elektra. The album marked the end of the longest timespan between studio albums from Metallica, with nearly six...
. Thrash Hits was one of the first websites, along with The Quietus
The Quietus
The Quietus is a British online rock music and pop culture magazine, focusing on arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication led by John Doran and a group of freelance journalists and critics, some of whom have worked for other media outlets...
to comment on Death Magnetic, calling "it is a vast improvement on 2003 album St Anger." Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
noted Death Magnetics "sharp riffs" and "uncharacteristic bouncing grooves," and favorably compares the band's sound on the album to bands like Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
. Former Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
drummer Mike Portnoy
Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, as well as the temporary drummer for the hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. Known for his drumming prowess and technical...
has praised the album, saying "Death Magnetic is hands down the best Metallica album in 20 years. This is the CD I've been waiting for them to make since …And Justice for All. And thumbs up to them for doing the first real Metallica instrumental in 20 years since 'To Live Is to Die
To Live Is to Die
"To Live Is to Die" is a mostly instrumental composition by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the eighth track on the band's fourth album ...And Justice for All . Keeping up with the tradition of the band's previous two albums, the instrumental track comes late in the album and is long...
'. Welcome back, boys."
While Metallica was on the first leg of their 2008 tour in Europe, a third party at their management Q Prime demanded that media impressions and blogs commenting on the album be taken down from their website for reasons that were not explained to the band. However, when the band learned of this, they were upset and Ulrich re-posted many of the links along with other reactions to the new album, along with an apology to those whose links had been removed from Metallica's website.
Reviews for the album have been mostly positive. Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that the album is like "hearing Metallica sound like Metallica again". Other positive reviews come from publications like The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, who say that the album is "the strongest material the band have written in 20 years", and Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
, declaring that "like all the best heavy rock albums, it suspends your disbelief, demands your attention and connects directly with your inner adolescent."
Criticism regarding production
The album has been criticized for having compromised sound quality, due to an overly compressed dynamic range, during a process called peak limiting leading to audible clippingClipping (audio)
Clipping is a form of waveform distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven and attempts to deliver an output voltage or current beyond its maximum capability...
and distortion. Sean Michaels of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
explains that "the sound issues are a result of the 'loudness war
Loudness war
The loudness war or loudness race is a pejorative term for the apparent competition to digitally master and release recordings with increasing loudness.The phenomenon was first reported with respect to mastering practices for 7" singles...
' – an ongoing industry effort to make recordings as loud as possible". A Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
article states that Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
was "overseeing mixes in Los Angeles while the band is in Europe, headlining shows" and only communicated with him by conference calls. Fans have noted that these sonic problems are not present in the Guitar Hero version of the album, where the tracks are present separately because of the game mechanics and the tracks were sent to the game publishers before the process was made. MusicRadar
MusicRadar
MusicRadar is a website for musicians. It covers information pertaining to artists and music, special features, product news and reviews, music lessons and a social network service in the style of Facebook and Myspace...
and Rolling Stone attribute a quote to the album's mastering engineer Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
in which he claims that "mixes were already brick-walled before they arrived" for mastering and cite a petition from fans to remix or remaster the album.
On September 15, 2008, after a reviewer for Swedish daily Sydsvenskan
Sydsvenskan
-External links:*...
admitted that he preferred the Guitar Hero mixes of Death Magnetic to the official release, a scheduled interview was duly cancelled by Universal Music Sweden. Its president, Per Sundin said:
Metallica and Rubin initially declined to comment on the issue, while the band's co-manager Cliff Burnstein stated that complainers were in a minority and that response to the album had otherwise been "overwhelmingly positive". Lars Ulrich later confirmed in an interview with Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
, that some creative control regarding the album's production had indeed been transferred to Rubin but also stressed his satisfaction with the final product.
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q | UK | 50 Best Albums of the Year | 2008 | #25 |
| Uncut | UK | 50 Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #44 |
| TIME Time Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects.... |
US | Top 10 Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #3 |
| Revolver Revolver (magazine) Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy... |
US | The 20 Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #1 |
| Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... |
US | Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #9 |
| Metal Edge | US | 50 Best Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #2 |
| Metal Hammer Metal Hammer Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music... |
UK | Critics' 50 Top Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #1 |
| Kerrang | UK | Album of the Year 2008 | 2008 | #1 |
| Metal Maniacs Metal Maniacs Metal Maniacs was a heavy metal magazine founded in 1989 by Mike G. and Katherine Ludwig of Metal Shop. It was focused largely on covering extreme metal, with emphasis on the black and death metal genres... |
US | 20 Metal Albums of 2008 | 2008 | #20 |
Chart performance
Death Magnetic debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 490,000 copies in just three days of availability. It is the band's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at number one, making Metallica the first band to have five consecutive studio album releases to debut at number one. The album marked the highest first week sales for the group since 1996's LoadLoad (album)
Load is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on June 4, 1996 through Elektra Records, it sold 680,000 units in its first week and debuted at #1 on Billboard 200. The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is certified 5x platinum by the RIAA...
.
According to Billboard Magazine, in the September 27, 2008 issue, Death Magnetic landed at number one on the following ten charts: Billboard Top 200, Billboard Comprehensive Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums, Top Digital Albums, Top Internet Albums, Top European Albums, Tastemakers, and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ("The Day That Never Comes
The Day That Never Comes
"The Day That Never Comes" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica and the lead single from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic...
"). The album stayed at number one for three consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. The album spent 50 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. Internationally, the album peaked at number one in 34 countries, including Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
According to The Rock (a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
radio station) the album became platinum on the first day of its release in New Zealand. In addition, nearly 60,000 copies were sold digitally, making it debut at number one on the Digital Album chart. The album debuted at number one in the official United Kingdom albums chart after just three days of availability, selling 75,164 copies. The album remained at number one for two weeks and has sold over 150,000 copies to date. In Canada, Death Magnetic debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
. The album sold 81,000 copies in its first week, making it the second best-selling debut album of 2008 in Canada. It remained the number one album for four consecutive weeks. The album was certified 4x Platinum in Canada in October 2009.
In Australia, Death Magnetic was the fastest selling album of 2008, selling 55,877 copies in its first full week of release. Death Magnetic was Australia's highest-selling record in one week since Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
winner Damien Leith's
Damien Leith
Damien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...
The Winner's Journey
The Winner's Journey (Damien Leith album)
The Winner's Journey is a live album and DVD based on Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith's performances on the show. The full-length album features remastered versions of Leith's live performances from the show, along with the studio version of his debut single "Night of My Life" and two of...
, in December 2006. The same success was repeated in Germany, where Death Magnetic has become the fastest selling album of 2008. Within the first three days of the album's release, Death Magnetic sold over 100,000 copies and has been certified platinum. According to reports, Death Magnetic is outselling competitors in Russia and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, two countries which don't have an official album chart.
In Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, during the second week of January 2009, Death Magnetic jumped eighteen spots back up to number one on that country's album charts within one week. As of August 2010 the album has sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide.
Death Magnetic was certified double platinum (2,000,000 units sold) by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on June 28, 2010.
2009 Grammy Awards
Death Magnetic was nominated for four Grammy awardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s. Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
was nominated for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical" for his work on Death Magnetic, as well as other albums this past year.
- Best Rock Album - Death Magnetic
- Best Metal Performance - "My Apocalypse"
- Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Suicide & Redemption"
- Best Recording Package - Death Magnetic
The album won two Grammys for "Best Metal Performance" and "Best Recording Package" at the 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
on February 8, 2009. Rubin received the award as "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical" for the second time.
2010 Grammy nomination
Death Magnetic picked up a nomination for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.- Best Hard Rock Performance - "The Unforgiven III"
2009 Kerrang! Awards
Death Magnetic was awarded "Best Album" in the Kerrang!Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
Awards 2009.
Track listing
Mission: Metallica
-
- Experience 2
- Digital downloadMusic downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
of Death Magnetic at 320 kbit/sBit rateIn telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
, ringtones, two live shows, additional two hours of exclusive "making of" footage, 250 photos. Also includes exclusive Mission: Metallica footage of the writing and recording of Death Magnetic, as well as riffs and excerpts from it, exclusive photos and live tracks.-
- Experience 3
-
- A physical copy of Death Magnetic CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.-
- Experience 4
-
- A box set of Death Magnetic on five 180 gram vinylGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
LP albumLP albumThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s, with five individual sleeves and a Mission: Metallica lithograph. Also includes the same extras as Experience 2 and 3. This set was limited to 5,000 copies.
-
- The Box Magnetic
- A collector's edition white coffin-shaped box which includes a Death Magnetic CD in a special carton box, an additional CD with 10 demos of the songs from the album entitled "Demo Magnetic", a DVD of additional "making of" footage not seen on Mission: Metallica, an exclusive t-shirt with the Death Magnetic logo, a flag, guitar pickGuitar pickA guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
s, a back stage pass, a fold out coffin-shaped poster with the members of Metallica, and a collector's credit card with a code for a free download of a performance in Europe in September. This set was limited to 2,000 copies.
Personnel
- James HetfieldJames HetfieldJames Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - Kirk HammettKirk HammettKirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
– lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals - Robert TrujilloRobert TrujilloRobert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Lars UlrichLars UlrichLars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- David CampbellDavid Campbell (American arranger/composer)David Richard Campbell is a Canadian-American arranger, composer and conductor. He has worked on over 450 gold and platinum albums including Death Magnetic , Minutes to Midnight , KISS Symphony: Alive IV Spirit , These Days , Fallen , and various albums by his son...
- orchestrationOrchestrationOrchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
on "The Unforgiven III"
Production
- Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Greg FidelmanGreg FidelmanGreg Fidelman is an American music engineer, producer and mix engineer. He has worked with many renowned and highly regarded bands in various genres, many in the heavier rock or metal genres, including Metallica, Slayer, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Bush, Audio Slave, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, and...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, recording - Andrew Scheps – mixing
- Mike Gillies – additional recording
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Dan MontiDan MontiDan Monti, also known by his stage name Del Rey Brewer, is a musician, composer, producer and engineer who has worked with such bands as Metallica, Slayer and Guns 'n' Roses...
- digital editing
Album
| Country | Provider(s) | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/ shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | CAPIF Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.... |
1 | Platinum | 40,000+ |
| Australia | ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
1 | 2x Platinum | 140,000+ |
| Austria | Music Control Europe | 1 | ||
| Belgium (Flanders) | Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
1 | Platinum | 30,000 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) | Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
2 | Platinum | 30,000 |
| Brazil | ABPD | 4 | Gold | 45,000 |
| Canada | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... |
1 | 4x Platinum | 320,000+ |
| Colombia | ASINCOL | 1 | Platinum | 10,000+ |
| Croatia | HDU | 1 | ||
| Czech Republic | All Records/IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | Platinum | 20,000 |
| Denmark | IFPI Danmark IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | Platinum | 30,000 |
| Europe | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | Platinum | 1,000,000 |
| Finland | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | 2x Platinum | 79,415 |
| France | SNEP/IFOP | 1 | Gold | 75,000 |
| Germany | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | 2x Platinum | 400,000 |
| Greece | IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
1 | Platinum | 15,000+ |
| Hungary | Mahasz | 2 | Platinum | 6,000+ |
| Ireland | IRMA Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
1 | Platinum | 15,000 |
| Italy | FIMI | 1 | Platinum | 118,000+ |
| Japan | Oricon | 3 | Gold | 83,000 |
| Mexico | AMPROFON AMPROFON Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in Mexico. Established on April 3, 1963, it groups phonographic companies that represent more than 70 percent of the market in Mexico... |
1 | Platinum | 100,000 |
| Netherlands | GFK/Dutch Charts | 1 | Platinum | 80,000 |
| New Zealand | RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 | Platinum | 60,000 |
| Norway | VG Nett | 1 | 2x Platinum | 64,000 |
| Poland | ZPAV | 1 | 2x Platinum | 40,000 |
| Portugal | AFP | 1 | Platinum | 20,000 |
| Spain | PROMUSICAE PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... |
2 | Gold | 40,000+ |
| Sweden | Sverigetopplistan | 1 | 2x Platinum | 80,000+ |
| Switzerland | Media Control Europe | 1 | Platinum | 30,000 |
| Turkey | Mu-Yap Turkey | Gold | 5,000 | |
| United Kingdom | OCC The Official UK Charts Company The Official Charts Company , previously called the Chart Information Network and then The Official UK Charts Company, compiles various "official" UK record charts, including the UK Singles Chart, the UK Albums Chart, and the UK Official Download Chart, as well as genre-specific and music video... |
1 | Gold | 100,000+ |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Billboard | 1 | 2x Platinum | 2,000,000 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums | ||||
| U.S. Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums | ||||
| U.S. Billboard Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums |
Year-end charts
| Country | Position (2008) |
|---|---|
| Germany | 9 |
Singles
| Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "The Day That Never Comes The Day That Never Comes "The Day That Never Comes" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica and the lead single from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic... " |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
31 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Active Rock) | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 5 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... |
18 | |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
19 | |
| Australian ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... Top 50 Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
18 | |
| "My Apocalypse My Apocalypse "My Apocalypse" is the forty-first single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the second from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic. On August 26, 2008, it was made available for streaming on the band's official website, as well as a download from the Death Magnetic website Mission:... " |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 67 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Active Rock) | 38 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 30 | |
| Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart | 38 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 51 | |
| "Cyanide Cyanide (song) "Cyanide" is the 42nd single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the third from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic. On September 1, 2008, it was made available for streaming on the band's official website, as well as a download from the Death Magnetic website Mission: Metallica... " |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 50 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Active Rock) | 1 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 19 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs | 22 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 48 | |
| "All Nightmare Long All Nightmare Long "All Nightmare Long" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, the song is released as their fifth single from their ninth album Death Magnetic, and their forty-fourth single overall. The single was released on December 15, 2008... " |
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Active Rock) | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs | 28 | |
| U.S. Billboard Heritage Rock | 21 | |
| "Broken, Beat & Scarred Broken, Beat & Scarred "Broken, Beat & Scarred" is the forty-fifth single by American heavy metal band Metallica, and the sixth from their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, released on April 3.Hetfield and Lars Ulrich argued at length over the title of this song... " |
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Active Rock) | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs | 32 | |
| U.S. Billboard Heritage Rock | 18 | |
| Austria Singles Top 75 | 74 | |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
25 | |
| Finland Singles Chart | 4 | |
| France Singles Top 100 | 36 | |
| German Singles Top 100 | 35 |
Non-singles
| Song | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| "The Unforgiven III" | Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
41 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
89 | |
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
14 | |
| Greek Singles Chart | 7 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 | |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
120 | |
| "That Was Just Your Life" | Norway Singles Top 20 | 16 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | September 10, 2008 | Vertigo Records Vertigo Records Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram... |
Compact Disc Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digipak Digipak Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:... , deluxe carton box, 2LP (33 rpm), 5LP box (45 rpm 180-gram vinyl) |
1773726 |
| Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
Universal Music Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
Compact Disc, Super Jewel Case | ||
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
September 12, 2008 | Compact Disc | — | |
| Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
Vertigo Records | Compact Disc | 602517840201 | |
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
Universal Music | Compact Disc, digipak Digipak Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:... , deluxe carton box |
— | |
| Germany | Compact Disc | — | ||
| Japan | Compact Disc, deluxe carton box | UICR-1077 | ||
| United States | Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies... |
Compact Disc, deluxe carton box, 2LP (33 rpm), 5LP box (45 rpm 180-gram vinyl) | 508732-2 | |
| Canada | Warner Music Warner Music Group Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies... |
Compact Disc, digipak | 2-508732 | |
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
Universal Music | Compact Disc, deluxe carton box | — | |
| Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
Compact Disc, deluxe carton box | 00602517737280 | ||
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
Compact Disc, deluxe carton box | — | ||
| Europe | Compact Disc, Coffin Box Set, Deluxe CD Carton Case | 00602517737280 | ||
| India | Compact Disc, digipak, coffin box set | 602517737266 | ||
| Australia | September 13, 2008 | Compact Disc, limited edition die-cut Die (manufacturing) A die is a specialized tool used in manufacturing industries to cut or shape material using a press. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create... deluxe digipak Digipak Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:... |
00602517737280 |