METAL
If you thought these dudes might go soft hitting middle age, think again: Metallica brings the blitzkrieg on their first studio disc since 2003. This 75-minute opus plays like a headbanger's symphony; all but one of 10 songs stretch past six minutes, with complex arrangements that elevate the genre. Any other metal album this year is doomed to pale in comparison.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Broken, Beat & Scarred," a slash-and-thrasher
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