Metallica have made some very different records over the last quarter-century, but their work tends to vary along a few main axes. One, of course, is accessibility (low to high: ...And Justice For All to the black album). Another is heaviness (Load to Kill 'Em All). And finally, there's guitar heroics (St. Anger to Master of Puppets).

All told, Death Magnetic forgoes accessibility to make room for loads of loud, complicated riffs and solos. It's a radio-unfriendly effort that will displease those who jumped on the bandwagon after 1990 -- and frankly, the half-hearted vocal lines and the winding, unfocused song structures might not thrill those who place Metallica's golden year before 1987, either.

But if ...And Justice For All is your cup of PBR, prepare to drink up on Death Magnetic. It's one riff piled haphazardly atop another -- the guys spent a whole year whittling down their tapes of guitar ideas, and still didn't get it right -- but boy, are those riffs something.

In some ways the band steps forward by stepping back. These old-school tracks stand head, shoulders, torso, waist and leg above anything on St. Anger, and true fans have long wanted the band to return to its roots. Rick Rubin -- who never produced Metallica before, but worked with some of the band's contemporaries in the thrash heyday -- brings out the classic sound without making the record seem retro or dated.

But in other ways, a step back is just a step back. Through the 1990s James Hetfield made enormous strides in lyrical ability, substituting real poetry for his previous habit of belting out random comments about anguish (or whatever). On St. Anger the band inexplicably decided to let the other members chip in whatever bad rhymes popped into their heads, resulting in such ridiculousness as "Projector, Protector, Rejector, Infector!"

Hetfield once again takes the lyrical helm here, but seems to have forgotten everything he learned in the last 18 years: "Into abyss / You don't exist / Cannot resist / The Judas kiss!" And not to mention the comically exaggerated delivery of lines like "Still liiiife! Incarnay-shuuunnnn!" Good lord.

The Justice comparison holds for the most part, but there are exceptions, some for the better and some for the worse. Thanks to Rubin, the new recording sounds quite a bit more alive, with a not-too-scooped guitar tone, powerful drums and an audible bass. And the vocal hooks are a little better.

Also, "The Unforgiven III" is worthy of the two ballads that preceded it, with great instrumentation (the first piano track ever recorded for a Metallica record, no?), great melody, and to-the-point structure. "The Day That Never Comes" and "All Nightmare Long" are plenty indulgent, but catchy. The verses of "Cyanide" feature a crunchy hard-rock riff.

On the other hand sits the 10-minute "Suicide and Redemption," easily the worst instrumental the band ever put its name on. There's little harmony, no texture, no effective changes in dynamics, not enough solos, and no memorable riffs. It sounds like the karaoke version of a way-too-long vocal song. It's hard to believe the same guys constructed "The Call of Ktulu," "Orion" and "To Live Is to Die."

With Death Magnetic, Metallica sincerely tried to make the record its longtime fans have been hoping for. The resulting effort is a bit bloated, and it doesn't quite accomplish what the aging foursome set out to. But it's sure as hell heavier than Load, and it's sure as hell better than St. Anger.