METALLICA MAKE EPIC MINI-FILMS

With the release of their first studio album in eight years, the mighty Metallica focus their sights on our polluted landscape and sound a sober reminder of the importance of creating art that challenges conventions and explores themes of heavy social significance. This heady collection isn't destined to whip up a frenzy limited to Metal Militia circles, but it's influence will be felt across a broad spectrum of eclectic demographics and ideologies; in the post-truth era, "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" arrives just in the nick of time, picking up right where "And Justice For All" left off. 

In innovative, binge-batch fashion, Metallica released 13 fresh-off-the presses videos--one for each new song off "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct"--the day preceding the album's highly anticipated release (Friday, November 18). Through their diverse collection of genre-spanning-mini-films, Metallica curates cultural fragments which address the complexities inherent in balancing the dualities of radically conflicting lives. To call these music videos actually does them an injustice. 

"Confusion" offers a modern-day Jekyll & Hyde juxtaposition of a veteran returning home, transitioning from serving in a combat zone overseas back into corporate America, where it's business as usual. She--yes, she--faces a constant barrage of triggers (both of the gun and environmental-stimulus variety) which profoundly effect her psyche. Rarely on film is the teetering between anxiety and routine so profound. "Confusion" offers a concise primer on PTSD and the hidden challenges of nurturing conflicting ideologies--each desensitized in their own fashion.
 
Be sure to visit metallica.com to check out the entire collection of "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" videos. Hit your favorite record shop right now to score the album. Coming soon: "Metallica x Motown", our Flashback Review of the Metallica-curated 2-day Orion Festival, a DetroitDrumDreams.com exclusive.  

"Am I Savage"-inspired spoken word/micro-review:

recognizable routines
slip into
dysfunction 
& disconnected chaos... 
we're reduced
to containers--
silhouettes & shadows
of our former selves--
preserved fragments 
of collective culture
void of physical 
distinguishment
struggling to maintain 
ones soul
in the face 
of the establishment.
Ego diminishes 
the cast of players 
in our lives
to supporting roles
& window dressing.​ 

"manUNkind" micro-review:

Clever alter-ego role playing and anonymity create a throw-back Black Sabbath aura crossed with a Carrie-inspired homage to old-school shock/horror.

"Spit Out The Bone" micro-review:

Fusion of past atrocities and advances in modern technologies conspire to offer a beat-down on free thought, resistance, and dissidence. This frantic dystopian mash-up of mixed media, animation, live action, and assembled archival historical footage is the ultimate juxtaposition: intertwining mediums which present a challenging, thematic jigsaw puzzle. So much to decipher and contemplate. Intimacy & fantasy: weapons of mass over-stimulation.

"Here Comes Revenge" micro-review: 

Animated psychological fable thriller oozing with suspense and a unique end-twist sure to resonate. Ruinous outcomes: residuals of past lamentations and forecasts of hate-filled agendas, fixated on violence, domination, and control.

"Dream No More" micro-review: 

A Twilight Zone trip where humans are reduced to blank-slate silhouettes, which serve as cultural feeds, projecting disruptive, disorienting stressors & static that bog down cognitive functioning and overwhelm our ability to focus.  Excellent footage of the band, creatively interact with(in) the silhouette/blank-slate/vessels.