10 Things Metallica Need To Get Right On The New Album

10. Kirk Needs To Lay Off The Wah

We all know it, I even think at this point Kirk knows it. I mean you can see why he keeps throwing his (now signature) wah pedal into every solo, as any guitarist knows that first time you dump the entire pedal and the smattering of notes you were playing suddenly gets turned up to 11, is a feeling you'll never fully replicate, although Ol' Hammers here keeps trying. The point of overkill is his duelling solo with Hetfield on Death Magnetic's biker-rock-instrumental Suicide & Redemption, as you know exactly when Hammett comes thundering in, his leaden-boots of wah stomping all over the second half of that section of the track. These pedals are great inventions, and I fully stand behind their use in songs, however from seeing Metallica a handful of times live, and watching every single piece of footage I can get my hands on, it often feels like Hammett is covering up some miss-picked notes with a liberal caking of pedal-power these days.