Single Review: Metallica’s “Dream No More”

Metallica – Dream No More

Metallica just released their forth music video – “Dream No More” – off their upcoming highly anticipated studio LP Hardwired…To Self Destruct. If you enjoyed Metallica’s material off The Black Album, Load, and “– Human” off S&M, this song will light up your afternoon like a child on Christmas morning. Get ready for a riff-heavy onslaught unlike anything else previously heard in Metallica’s catalog. “Dream No More” is completely new territory for the godfathers of metal yet recalls the ethereal doom of “The Thing That Should Not Be” and “Sad But True.”

When James Hetfield screams the words “You turn to stone,” the agony in his voice represents one of the fiercest lyrical deliveries of his career. The dramatic build up to this song’s chorus hits the listener as if James Hetfield himself cracked us in the face with Negan’s bat Lucille.

“Dream No More” channels Alice In Chains inspired sludginess atop of vintage James Hetfield downpicked power chords. Metallica fans should immediately smile when Hetfield sings “Ktulu awaits you.” “Dream No More” could be considered a sequel to “The Call of Ktulu” and “The Thing That Should Not Be” since these lyrics are inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Cliff Burton bonded over his novels in the eighties and the relentless aura of vintage Metallica could be felt all over this song.

“Dream No More” also showcases Kirk Hammett’s strongest leads off Hardwired…To Self Destruct thus far – we still haven’t heard the full album yet. The string-ripping bends in his guitar solo recalls “The Unforgiven” before he unleashes one of Metallica’s tastiest harmonies since The Black Album. When Hammett and Hetfield dual harmonize around the 5:00 mark, this is the style of virtuosity that Metallica fans have wanted to hear from both guitarists since the late 80s and there is no better feeling in heavy metal.

The best is yet to come; we are less than 48 hours away from Hardwired…To Self Destruct. Better yet, Metallica filmed music videos for all 12 songs on this record and they will be released throughout today and tomorrow. Here is the schedule:

Wednesday, November 16

• 12 p.m. EST – “Dream No More” (Directed by Tom Kirk) – Gshow Globo, Brazil
• 2 p.m. EST – “Confusion” (Directed by Claire Marie Vogel) – Rolling Stone, USA
• 4 p.m. EST – “ManUNkind” (Directed by Jonas Åkerlund) – Bravewords, Canada
• 6 p.m. EST – “Now That We’re Dead” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – Pitchfork, USA
• 8 p.m. EST – “Here Comes Revenge” (Directed by Jessica Cope) – Triple M, Australia
• 10 p.m. EST – “Am I Savage” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – Ro69.JP (Rockin’ On), Japan

Thursday, November 17

• 12 a.m. EST – “Halo On Fire” (Directed by Herring & Herring) – BiLD / Metal Hammer, Germany
• 2 a.m. EST – “Murder One” (Directed by Robert Valley) – Le Parisian, France
• 4 a.m. EST – “Spit Out The Bone” (Directed by Phil Mucci) – NME, England
• 6 a.m. EST – “Lords of Summer” (Directed by Brett Murray) – Aftonbladet, Sweden

Keep your eyes glued to Metallica’s social media pages! For this writer, I have a tough choice – do I keep it old school and wait until midnight on Friday and listen to this album in consecutive order? Do I cave-in and watch all of the music videos beforehand? This might the equivalent of Netflix binge-watching with the greatest heavy metal soundtrack in 2016.

Metallica fans could also attend – Blackened Friday – Metallica’s own special event, which will see 100 record stores across the country open their doors at midnight on Friday and give away tons of Metallica prizes and memorabilia atop of fans being able to purchase Hardwired…To Self Destruct. Details could be found on https://metallica.com/blackenedfriday.

James Hetfield once sang the words; “Good day to be alive, sir” and these lyrics really capture the excitement of Metallica fans worldwide. Hardwired…To Self Destruct will be released on November 18 through Blackened Recordings.