20 Greatest Alternative Albums Of 2016

Everyone feared for the worst when Metallica released the pretty abysmal ‘Lords Of Summer’ track in 2014. Slated for inclusion on the new album, metal audiences weren’t expecting a rejuvenated Metallica to once again bust down the doors of metal’s confines.

But that’s exactly what transpired. Thankfully, the song was dropped, and instead the album turned out to be their best record in at least two decades. They don’t try to recreate a time period like they did with Death Magnetic – they just focus on delivering great songs, no matter what stylistic shell they happen to be coated in.

Switching from thrash-centric numbers to heavy slow burners, the band time warp through their many different eras over the years. Most surprising is the embracement of their divisive but underrated '90s material, with songs like the groove-based, rock splitter ‘Dream No More’ or the fierce barnburner ‘ManUNkind’ taking their cues from the group’s Load and Reload work. Highlights include the downright mean opener ‘Hardwired’, the towering riff-machine ‘Here Comes Revenge’ and the pummeling retro thrasher ‘Spit Out The Bone.’

The whole record feels like a huge love letter to the fans, and really, that’s all what was needed. Arguably, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct was 2016’s biggest musical surprise – and a welcome one at that.