 Adrien Begrand of "PopMatters" complimented the band's concise songwriting and wise selection of songs for not including ballads and long instrumentals.He observed that Metallica was having fun again and made a record that will please old and new fans.Neil McCormick of "The Daily Telegraph" felt the album was "80 minutes of in-your-face shouty rage with absolutely no let-up", and that "if it was half as long, it would have been twice as effective".