New Metallica Album.com

Selected branches of HMV are now stocking this limited-edition collectible.

Metal Hammer are proud to announce that selected branches of HMV are now carrying the latest issue of Metal Hammer in a limited-edition Metallica metal sleeve.

Limited in number and highly collectible, these very special sleeves are sure to sell-out very quickly so be sure to get down to your local HMV or alternatively, you can order your magazine in this sleeve from the Metal Hammer merch store.

The current issue of Metal Hammer also contains an all-new interview with Metallica about the road to ‘Death Magnetic’, a definitive review of the album and lots, lots more.

To subscribe to the Metal Hammer Newsletter for exclusive competitions and exclusives you won’t find anywhere else, click here.

According to one audio engineer, the best listening experience for Metallica’s new Death Magnetic album may be the one you create for yourself … in Guitar Hero III. Engineer Ian Shepherd compared the two on his blog, and said that the version from the game has a lot less clipping and more dynamic range.

What’s the culprit? Shepherd blames the “Loudness Wars,” which have engineers sacrificing audio quality in favor of a louder-sounding final product. We blame our mad Guitar Hero skills have somehow, through years of digital instrument manipulation, made us better than Metallica. It’s a proud day.

You have been in Metallica for your entire adult life. Have you ever felt restricted?
I made myself feel restricted: “I’m tired of arguing. I’m not gonna argue for another five hours about something little and stupid. You win. This is Lars’ band. When I’m able to be me, it’ll be the side project, the solo thing.” Which is just ridiculous. Every band that I’ve known that has done side projects or things like that — I don’t respect them anymore.

There are very strict parameters to life in Metallica. It’s like joining the Army.
The metal militia, dude! We’ve all discovered there is freedom through structure. There has to be some structure in my life, at least. I think Lars has discovered that a lot. You could look at Jason [Newsted] as the sacrificial lamb. I didn’t want him doing 12 side projects: “You’re in Metallica.” But it was so unconnected when he left [in 2001], so compartmentalized. But now, Metallica is the four of us. This is our solo project. This is the best way to get our emotions and feelings out and touch people. (more…)

Which is better — traveling to Metallica shows with your family or the way you used to do it with the band? Four on the bus, like a fist.
The four fists on the bus, one fist and four beers on the bus [laughs] — that was a lot of fun. But if you’re going to do this in the prime years of your family life, when you’re rearing the kids, then basing becomes the way to solve it. Park yourself in a city — Copenhagen, London, Paris. You hop in and out. It may not be the most cost-effective way of touring. But big picture — it’s the way of keeping everybody sustained. Everybody gets their elbow room. What you don’t need is a party policy, where people are dictated to, what they can or can’t do. That’s not going to make it fun. It’s not going to give people what they need to administer their own survival skills, to get through this insanity.  (more…)

What do you remember about Metallica’s first European tour in 1984?
We played with a band called Venom — masters of black metal! [Smiles] We were super-psyched. I thought I was worldly, because I’d stayed in New York for a few months. But to go to Europe, for James, Cliff and I, the culture shock hit us pretty hard. It was the food, the language barrier, the fact that stores were opening and closing at different times of the day. On Sundays, you couldn’t get anything. The television was different. You couldn’t read anything when you looked around. We got over it after awhile, but it was so different than any of us expected.

Was Lars, being Danish, the mediator?
He was like, “Oh, no problem.” He’d go to the train station, buy the tickets. “You give it to that geezer there.” “This is the good beer to drink.” “This is the best hot dog stand in Copenhagen.” “These are my pals in Mercyful Fate.” And I’m like, Mercyful Fate? That’s my all-time favorite band.  (more…)

You joined Metallica in February, 2003. How much did you know about the dynamics within the band at the time?
They were in the middle of a bunch of transitional things. They were recording the album [St. Anger], still doing tracking and mixing, and also trying to find a new bass player. I received a phone call. I was in Tahiti on vacation. I checked my voice mail, and I had Lars and Kirk on there. Lars was in the background: “Join our band!” They were probably out on the town, having a few cocktails, calling all the bass players on their list.

Do you know how you got on that list?
I’m not 100 percent sure. I think it was a combination of things. One was I toured with Metallica, with Suicidal Tendencies. That’s where I originally met everybody. And less than a year prior to me receiving the call, a mutual friend of Kirk’s called and said, “Kirk and I are coming down with some friends. Can you show us some surf spots around L.A.?” I thought that was neat: that Kirk, the vampire I knew, the nocturnal man, was ready to explore daylight and surfing in Southern California. He was in an RV with three friends. We spent a weekend hitting different spots. (more…)

A paper sign taped next to a door backstage at SKK Hall in St. Petersburg reads “Tuning and Attitude.” On the other side of the door, the attitude is deafening. The four members of Metallica — singer-guitarist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich — are playing the death march “Harvester of Sorrow,” from the 1988 album . . . And Justice for All, at peak volume, in a windowless room not much bigger than a janitor’s closet but somehow packed with amplifiers and a full-size drum kit. Hammett and Trujillo, pressed into corners, have just enough space for their elbows and guitar necks. Hetfield’s mike stand is up against Ulrich’s twin kick drums. When Hetfield sings, he is right in the drummer’s face, roaring down at him like a hanging judge passing sentence. (more…)

Metallica have returned to the top of the UK albums chart after twelve years.

Death Magnetic is the US rock outfit’s ninth studio release and their third UK chart-topper. They previously reached number one with Metallica in 1991, then again five years later with Load.

The self-titled debut from acclaimed Scottish four-piece Glasvegas has to settle for the number two spot, while last week’s chart-topper, Forth by The Verve, is at four. (more…)

LONDON – In an unusual move for the rock music industry, Metallica engaged consumer design agency Turner Duckworth to create the artwork for new album, ‘Death Magnetic’.

Turner Duckworth, better known for designing logos for brands like Coca-Cola than for working with rock groups, was engaged to create a package that would rekindle interest in CDs.

The agency’s answer was to create an iconic, three dimensional package using a powerful image and an innovative layered die cut.

The new album cover features a remarkable white coffin image, resting in a grave and surrounded by a magnetic field. The image was created to be recognizable, even on a cell phone screen. (more…)

We proudly present the matching folio to the highly anticipated CD by these heavy metal masters – the first to feature bassist Robert Trujillo, and the first produced by Rick Rubin. Includes artist-approved notes and tab for the hit single “The Day That Never Comes” and 9 more: All Nightmare Long * Broken, Beat and Scarred * Cyanide * End of the Line * The Judas Kiss * My Apocalypse * Suicide and Redemption * That Was Just Your Life * The Unforgiven III.  Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price.

Is there anything Rick Rubin can’t do? It’s been a good 15 years since Metallica started losing it, five since St. Anger helped globally popularize the idea of its retirement. Even the band – down Jason Newsted and awaiting ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo’s absorption into the group – admitted that its last album, tunelessly pieced together from studio jams and group-therapy notes, had no songs. Lars Ulrich’s drums didn’t sound like drums any more. The new tunes were ignored on tour and the band members performed facing in four different directions. It was all but done. (more…)