Music / Hardwired... to Self-Destruct

We're so fucked, shit out of luck, hardwired to self-destruct.

Hardwired... to Self-Destruct is the tenth studio album by Metallica, released on November 18, 2016, as a double album. It is the first studio album self-released on the band's own label, Blackened Recordings, which now owns their whole body of work. Released eight years after 2008's Death Magnetic, this album marks the band's longest gap between main albums. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett lost his phone at the airport in Copenhagen, causing him to lose his potential contributions to the album. As a result, this is the first Metallica album not to give him any songwriting credit since 1983's Kill 'Em All, which was written before he joined the band. The band spent three years touring for this album.

Tracklist:

Disc One

1. "Hardwired" (3:09)
2. "Atlas, Rise!" (6:28)
3. "Now That We're Dead" (6:59)
4. "Moth into Flame" (5:50)
5. "Dream No More" (6:29)
6. "Halo on Fire" (8:15)

Disc Two

1. "Confusion" (6:43)
2. "ManUNkind" (6:55)
3. "Here Comes Revenge" (7:17)
4. "Am I Savage" (6:30)
5. "Murder One" (5:45)
6. "Spit Out the Bone" (7:09)

Principal members:

• James Hetfield - Vocals, guitar
• Lars Ulrich - Drums
• Kirk Hammett - Guitar
• Robert Trujillo - Bass

Trope out the bone:

• Album Title Drop: "Hardwired" drops the full title in the chorus.
  "We're so fucked
  Shit outta luck
  Hardwired... to self-destruct"
• Anaphora: Appears in multiple songs, including the first lyrics of "Hardwired"
  "In the name of desperation
  In the name of wretched pain
  In the name of all creation"
• Bookends: "Hardwired" and "Spit Out the Bone" are the fastest songs on the album.
• Distinct Double Album: Downplayed. The Thrash Metal on the album is concentrated in the first half. The second half has some thrash-y moments, but, save for "Spit Out the Bone", has thrash take a backseat to slower Traditional Heavy Metal that's similar to the Black Album but a bit less radio friendly.
• Eldritch Abomination: Cthulhu himself is the subject of "Dream No More".
• Epic Instrumental Opener: "Confusion", the first song on disc two, takes over a minute and a half for the vocals to start. Most other songs in the second half also take more than a minute.
• Epic Rocking: Most of the songs pass the six-minute mark or at least go near it, with "Hardwired" (3:09) being the lone exception.
• Face on the Cover: The faces of the four Metallica members sharing a head.
• Fully-Embraced Fiend: "Am I Savage?" is implied to be about a werewolf embracing his beastly side.
  "Faithful, as the full moon is rising
  Beauty and the beast are colliding
  Sharpened edge touch liquid flame
  Deepened seed soaks anger's reign
  Arching back, shape-shift derange
  Father, how I watched you change"
• Garden of Eden: Mentioned in "ManUNkind"
  "Garden
  Of Eden, so simple and pure
  Greedy
  Needy, must we have more?"
• Humans Are Bastards: The title of "ManUNkind" suggests that it does not speak not speak very highly of humanity, yet the narrator still looks for faith in it anyway.
• Longest Song Goes Last: Downplayed. The first disc ends with the longest overall track, "Halo on Fire" (8:16).
• Nightmare Face: The multi-faced being on the cover with the faces screaming and/or looking menacing.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: The narrator and his partner in "Now That We're Dead" shed their bodies to live forever, becoming ghosts.
• Revenge Ballad: "Here Comes Revenge"
• Robot War: Implied in "Spit Out The Bone". The war is not directly mentioned, but the machines have nonetheless succeeded at slaughtering all humans on Earth.
• Title Track: "Hardwired" gets partial credit, as it omits the subtitle.
• War Is Hell: The narrator in "Confusion" is aware of losing his mind over fighting an endless war.
  "Leave the battlefield
  Yet its horrors never heal
  Coming home from war
  Pieces don't fit anymore
  Make it go away
  Please, make it go away"

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