WE'VE all had days like Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who, ahead of the making of his band’s first album in eight years, lost his iPhone. The difference is that most of us don’t have 250 guitar riffs stored on it.

Whether that’s partially explains the more direct, back-to-basics approach Metallica take on Hardwired... is open to debate, but this two-disc album succeeds where so many of their efforts over the last quarter-century have failed by not overcomplicating things.

Opening track Hardwired, Atlas, Rise! and Spit Out The Bone, a fizzing rant against technology, are lean, loud, and lethal; biting, galloping hard rock with the added benefit of frontman James Hetfield reining in his often-overdone vocals.

Unfortunately, a significant disc-two sag in quality and vibrancy drags Hardwired… down – ManUNKind, in particular, lives down to its title – as if Metallica realised they were having too much fun at the start of the album and fooling themselves into changing pace and emphasis. However, a sizeable chunk of Hardwired… finds Metallica with the right kind of fire in their belly.