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Jason Notte wrote about the new Metallica album for Esquire.com and the Colorado Springs Independent. The Boston-based writer heard our Soundcheck Smackdown on “Death Magnetic” with Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork Media and Phil Freeman of Metal Edge magazine. He shares his thoughts:

I found myself torn between the Metal Edge and Pitchfork commentators, because I honestly feel that this is a great album. Lars Ulrich has rediscovered double bass and bassist Rob Trujillo has stepped out of Jason Newsted’s shadow and regained his old Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves form. If I have any qualms, it’s that voice lessons have rounded too many rough edges off James Hetfield’s growl. That’s where Ryan Schrieber’s views converge with mine. There’s just a little too much polish on it, which doesn’t make you forget that they killed Lollapallooza, killed Bonnaroo, ratted out their fans during the Napster debate and made themselves look like sad little imps in the “Some Kind of Monster” documentary and the ensuing “St. Anger” album.

“Is Metallica Still Relevant?” Yes and no. The bands that are currently steering the metal community, including Clutch and Opeth, have very little to do with the thrash metal that Metallica popularized and even less to do with the commercial metal from the “black album” on. Despite the fact that Metallica is no longer at the forefront of heavy metal ingenuity, the genre’s fortunes still rise and fall with its biggest acts. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath were well past their prime during Ozzfest, but they anchored a festival that helped bring bands including System of a Down, Tool, Soulfly, Deftones and Hatebreed to the fore and helped give metal mainstays including Pantera, Slayer, Megadeth and Sepultura an expanded audience. Metallica once was that influential, launching bands including Faith No More, Corrosion of Conformity and Glen Danzig’s solo project.

Much as baseball benefits when the Yankees are good or Saturday Night Live benefits from one cast member with an appealing character, metal benefits from a strong Metallica. It gives younger bands a chance to grow and be seen, which subsequently gives metal a chance to be a relevant musical force — if such a thing exists in this age.

It isn’t good enough for Metallica to impress the Metal Edge writers who love them; the band also has to capture the imaginations of the Pitchfork writers who loathe them. Metallica did that once. Even Schrieber admits he was a fan of the Master of Puppets album. It’s up to the band to either do it again, or pave the way for the next baddest metal band in the land.