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Ever since their Master of Puppets–channeling album Death Magnetic first leaked, critics and fans have been pumped about the “return of Metallica." A recap of their wince-y last decade: Former producer Bob Rock took them to washed-out alterna-rock land, drummer Lars Ulrich sued Napster and lambasted fans for pirating their music, and they made a rockumentary, Some Kind of Monster, exposing themselves as spoiled and self-obsessed. The foursome, finally realizing the need for big change, took on Slayer producer Rick Rubin to help churn out Death, a scruffy, free-flowing old-school Metallica album, with a penchant for purely fun arena-rock choruses (listen to “All Nightmare Long”). — Elizabeth L. Cline