Hardwired.. To Self Destruct Songs Ranked

Hardwired… to Self-Destruct is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as a double album on November 18, 2016, by their vanity label Blackened Recordings. It is their first studio album in eight years following Death Magnetic (2008), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in the band’s career. It is also their first studio album released through Blackened. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct was produced by Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed Death Magnetic. The album was Metallica’s sixth consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and topping the charts in 57 countries. Having this album number one marked the second time in history that any band of any genre would have six consecutive albums debut at number one, following only Dave Matthews Band. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct received generally positive reviews from critics, and in 2020 Lars Ulrich ranked it as his favorite Metallica album. Here are all of Hardwired.. To Self Destruct songs ranked.

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12. Manunkind

“Of course the intro is beautiful, but it doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the song. The song it’s actually based around a bluesy riff, reminiscent of Pantera. I don’t have really much to say, except: man, are those rhythm changes awkward. It’s not like in …And Justice for All they weren’t, but Lars actually had the chops to pull them off decently back then.”

11. Murder One

“I like the intro, I like the groove of the song, I don’t mind the tribute to Lemmy on the lyrics. It’s better constructed in that is more of a song and less of a bunch of riffs. The verse is so catchy. One crown, shines on through the sound one crown steady on.”

10. Confusion

“If there’s anything true in this world, is that James Hetfield knows how to write good riffs. Problem is, most of the time that’s not enough. This sounds like a lot of potential great ideas jumbled together. And it’s kinda catchy, but not much than that.”

See more: Metallica Albums Ranked

9. Here Comes Revenge

“The riffs are some of the best on the album and the verse lyrics are so dark and sinister. Some cool moments, catchy chorus, but still, very reminiscent of Death Magnetic, again.”

8. Am I Savage?

“Mid-tempo, darker song, in the line of ManUNkind. Some melodic, interesting sections that don’t last long, before being crushed by the chugging, not-as-interesting riffs. The riff around 4:18 is the heaviest and most brutal Metallica riff I have heard in a long time.”

7. Now that We’re Dead

“A cool riff, but it lacks the arrangements to make it gain some sense of momentum. I remember when they used to overdub tons of melody in their songs (and not even from the Metallica album, Ride the Lightning has some excellent arrangements in that area). Again, at five minutes, the song’s done. A little more interesting, but could’ve been a lot, lot better.”

6. Dream No More

“Dream No More_ is decent, but the chorus feels too far removed from the rest of the song. But it’s got an ominous atmosphere going on, which is positive I guess.”

See more: Metallica Songs Ranked

5. Hardwired

“Decent, but nothing mindblowing. Not too far from Kill ‘Em All, but the production doesn’t help this style. Too clean, not enough gain, vocals too polished, and by god, those drums don’t need to be that loud, there isn’t anything that interesting happening.”

4. Atlas, Rise

“Very Death Magnetic-esque. Nice melodic chorus, with those touches of Maiden here and there. At three minutes, the song is done. What follows are a bunch of riffs that would’ve worked better before, and another round of verse-chorus.”

3. Halo on Fire

“The first really inspired song here. it uses the production and the voice of Hetfield to it’s advantage, it has some really cool melodies and breaks, the awkward drumming of Lars actually makes sense here, and the riffs are structured in a great progression to culminate in the final section. Even Kirk’s solos are serving the song here. It’s funny because, altough it’s the longer song on the whole album, it feels shorter than the rest.”

2. Moth Into Flame

“Except for the awful intro, this is a lot more like it. Sadly, it has the same problem as Hardwired, the production doesn’t help it. But the songwriting is a lot tighter here. Hetfield playing to his strengths on vocals for a change. Again, no need for the recap of the chorus at the end, but overall, a lot better.”

1. Spit Out the Bone

“The one song I’ll be coming back to, besides Halo On Fire. Great changes, thrashy riffs, the lyrics are (again) a bit awkward, but what the hell. And you can actually listen to Trujillo play for a change! It justifies it’s runtime too, although at this point is hard to care, really.”