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 the band's record label Blackened Recordings. It was Metallica's first studio album in eight years following "Death Magnetic" (2008), marking the longest gap between studio albums in the band's career, and its first studio album released through Blackened. The album was produced by Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed "Death Magnetic".
"Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" was Metallica's sixth consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the U.S. "Billboard" 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and topping the charts in 57 countries. The number one ranking marked only the second time in the chart's history that any band had six consecutive albums debut at number one, following Dave Matthews Band. "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" received generally positive reviews from critics, and in 2020, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich ranked the album as the band's best.
Background.
In October 2011, bassist Robert Trujillo said that the band had returned to the studio to begin writing new material. He said: "The writing process for the new Metallica album has begun. We've been in the studio with Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we're going to be recording during most of next year." In an interview with "Classic Rock" on January 8, 2013, Lars Ulrich said regarding the album, "What we're doing now certainly sounds like a continuation [of "Death Magnetic"]". He also said, "I love Rick [Rubin]. We all love Rick. We're in touch with Rick constantly. We'll see where it goes. It would stun me if the record came out in 2013." In a July 2013 interview, Ulrich told "Ultimate Guitar", "2014 will be all about making a new Metallica record"; he said the album would most likely be released during 2015. Trujillo and Kirk Hammett later confirmed the band's intention to enter the studio.
In March 2014, Metallica began a tour called "Metallica By Request", in which fans requested songs for the band to perform, and a new song, titled "Lords of Summer", was written for the concerts and released as a "first take" demo in March 2014. A Black Friday exclusive single featuring the "First Pass Version" and a live version limited to 4,000 copies was released later that year on vinyl. In March 2015, Ulrich told "Rolling Stone" that twenty songs had been written for the album, and that he hoped some of them could be played at their shows later in the year. In October 2015, the band unveiled a new website with an introduction from Ulrich containing footage from the studio of the band working on new material. In November, Hammett said that the album was expected to be released in late 2016 or early 2017.
On February 6, 2016, during their "The Night Before" show at AT&amp;T Park prior to Super Bowl 50, James Hetfield said that the band was nearing the end of the recording process, and Ulrich said that the album would be released soon. This was compounded by the band playing a new riff at the show, which ended up being from the song "Murder One". Ulrich further elaborated in March 2016, when he said that the band hoped to finish production of the album during the spring. "I think [2016] will be a pretty in-your-face year, at least the back half of it... hopefully we should be able to knock that on the head (finishing the album) this spring, I would guess". In March 2016, Hammett said that the band had worked with Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed "Death Magnetic", as producer on the new album. "The title 'producer' itself is a bit ambiguous. It differs from person to person. You can call Rick Rubin a producer, but he's not the [same] type of producer as Bob Rock, who is there for every note. At the same time, Rick Rubin gets stuff done. Greg Fidelman is a different type of producer in that he's with the engineer always looking to try and move the project forward."
In April 2016, during the week leading up to Record Store Day, for which the band was its ambassador for 2016, Ulrich told "Billboard" that the band's expanded role within the music industry had played a part in the amount of time that it had taken to write and record the album. "The way we do things now is very different than the way we did things back in the days of "Kill 'Em All" and "Ride the Lightning". Nowadays we like to do so many different things." Ulrich was also optimistic that production of the album had almost reached its completion. "Unless something radical happens it would be difficult for me to believe that it won't come out in 2016." In May 2016, Ulrich said in an interview with "Metal Forces" that the album would be released in the summer of 2016, and that details for the new album would be finalized in the next month. "If the record doesn't come out this year then it won't be because it's not done... it will be because there's some sort of cosmic reason that it would be smarter to hold onto it until next year. But the record "will" be done this summer". Recording of the album was completed in June 2016 once the recording for the song "Hardwired" was finished.
Music.
The lyrics follow a general theme of nihilism and pessimism. The title, "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct", came from an utterance Hetfield heard. "Somebody said to me the other day, and it stuck with me, 'Hardwired... Hardwired to Self-Destruct'. So it's like no matter what you do in your life you're really trying to not go down that path that you're maybe hard-wired to do." This theme unites disparate topics such as the dangers of fame on "Moth Into Flame" and cosmicism in "Dream No More".
"Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" marks the first studio album by the band not to feature songwriting contributions from Hammett since he joined the band in 1983 prior to the recording of "Kill 'Em All". In 2015, Hammett had lost his phone at Copenhagen Airport, which contained almost 250 riff ideas. Since Hammett did not back up the data, it affected his creative input for the new album and he "had to start at zero again while [Hetfield and Ulrich] had material for songs." Trujillo's sole writing credit on the album was the introduction to "ManUNkind", which he later said was written as a tribute to former Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Regarding lyrical themes, "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" bemoans the music industry on "Moth Into Flame" and subjects such as drug addiction and overdose on "Hardwired." Familiar lyrics dealing with the H. P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos are explored on "Dream No More", and "Murder One" serves as a tribute to the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy, who died in December 2015; the song was named after the bassist's favorite amplifier.
Release and promotion.
In a live Facebook event on August 18, 2016, Lars Ulrich said the album would be released in November 2016, and would contain twelve tracks. According to the announcement on the band's website, the CD version of the album would contain two discs with six tracks each, and that the album would contain nearly eighty minutes of new music. Metallica released the first single from the album, "Hardwired", that same day; those who pre-ordered the album through the band's official website received an instant download of the song. The album artwork, created by Herring &amp; Herring, and the music video for "Hardwired" were also released. On September 15, 2016, the band announced that they had updated the track list for the deluxe edition of the album. In place of the thirteen "Riff Origins" songs that the band had initially included on the third disc, the band included "Ronnie Rising Medley", which the band had recorded for the Ronnie James Dio tribute album "Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life" in 2014, covers of Deep Purple's "When a Blind Man Cries" and Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow", and remastered versions of the nine songs performed live at Record Store Day on April 16, 2016, along with a live version of "Hardwired".
On September 26, 2016, the band released the second single from the album, "Moth into Flame", along with a music video. The album's third single, "Atlas, Rise!", was released on October 31, 2016, with a music video composed of footage from the album's recording process. Ulrich also told "The Straits Times" that same day that the band would be filming music videos for all twelve tracks on the album, using YouTube as their platform. "Now that YouTube is the world's biggest television station, we figured we may as well knock a video out for every song... the practicality of shooting twelve music videos is kind of crazy, especially when you're trying to promote your record, and you're all over the place, and trying to make sure it doesn't leak. It's crazy but, at the same time, fun." On November 12, 2016, a local Walmart started selling the album in advance of the official release date of November 18. On November 16, the music videos for all nine remaining tracks (along with "Lords of Summer") were released. The Italian city of Matera appears in the music video for "Spit Out the Bone".
Tour.
Metallica promoted "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" with the WorldWired Tour, which began in Puerto Rico on October 26, 2016, and concluded in Mannheim on August 25, 2019.
Critical reception.
"Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" received generally positive reviews. The album received an average score of 73/100 from 29 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At AnyDecentMusic?, that collates critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 6.8 points out of 10, based on 27 reviews.
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said although the album featured all of Metallica's core music elements, he thought the band did not sound as ferocious as it did in its '80s heyday. David Anthony of "The A.V. Club" had a mixed impression, saying "77 minutes of endless thrashing gets tiring" and thought the songs would benefit from leaner songwriting. He did, however, praise the album's first three singles, saying they were some of the best songs the band has written since the 1980s. Writing for "Rolling Stone", David Fricke said "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" reminded him of "...And Justice for All" and "Metallica", having the "jagged apocalypse" of the first and the "focused brawn" of the second.
"Pitchfork"'s Zoe Camp also felt that the album was "an attempt to revisit their early days", similar to "Death Magnetic", but adding that "the only difference is that this time they sound like they’re actually trying, and maybe even having a bit of fun". Greg Kot of "The Chicago Tribune" opined that "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" was not comparable to Metallica's finest work, and predicted the album will be quickly forgotten as its promotional tour is done. Dom Lawson of "The Guardian" had an opposite opinion, declaring "Hardwired..." Metallica's "finest record in 25 years". He criticized the second disc for not being on the same level as the first, and stopped short of calling the album a classic.
Sputnikmusic's Trey Spencer wrote that, performance-wise, Hetfield's voice sounded reinvigorated, but complained on Ulrich's drumming for not "breaking a sweat" on most of the tracks. He concluded that Metallica was not attempting to recapture its trademark sound, but made this album "just for the love of playing". Stephen Dalton of "Classic Rock" said Metallica were still competent with the biggest pop stars in a climate where rock music was declining. Dalton liked the album's cover art, but his opinion on the music was "more mixed". Adrien Begrand of "PopMatters" complimented the band's concise songwriting and wise selection of songs for not including ballads and long instrumentals. He observed that Metallica was having fun again and made a record that will please old and new fans. Neil McCormick of "The Daily Telegraph" felt the album was "80 minutes of in-your-face shouty rage with absolutely no let-up", and that "if it was half as long, it would have been twice as effective".
Commercial performance.
"Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 282,000 were pure album sales. The remaining