New Metallica Album.com

Metallica’s future with its record label, Warner Bros. Records, may not extend past the release of the band’s ninth studio album this fall. According to Bloomberg.com, Edgar Bronfman Jr., CEO of the Warner Music Group, of which Warner Bros. Records is a division, declined to comment on the status of contract negotiations with the band during a quarterly conference call earlier this month. The new Metallica album is the band’s last under its current contract with the label, which dates back to 1984 when the quartet first signed with Warner subsidiary Elektra Records.

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich told us that finishing out its recording contract was a liberating experience for the band: “It’s awesome. I mean, to be out of your record contract, it’s exciting just because of, what are the new — and that’s not anything disrespectful about the great bunch of people up at Warner Bros. Records. But it’s just exciting to be able to communicate directly with your fans, and having the opportunities to do it, you know. I think that’s really exciting.”

Warner Music has already lost Madonna to Live Nation and is reportedly paying a tremendous amount of money to keep Nickelback under contract, while other artists that have recently defected from the major labels include Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead.

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Lars: “We’re psyched to play some new songs,” he laughs. “In fact, if we don’t, then I give people permission to come and find me and slap me across the face!”

Metallica is yet to play any new songs from the new album. Will we hear something before Aug 22th. In the following interview in Kerrang magazine from March ‘08, it is unclear if Lars is refering to this specific concert in Leeds to reveal any of the new songs live for the first time. Should we have heard something by now? 

Kerrang: Joining Metallica are Rage Against The Machine – who make their first UK appearance in the UK for eight years – Slipknot, Queens Of The Stone Age, Serj Tankian, Feeder and Pendulum. In addition to their Download 2008 appearances, Bullet For My Valentine and Biffy Clyro have confirmed they’ll appear at the three-day festival. More acts will be announced over the coming months.

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Warner Music Group Corp.’s shareholders must be happy to see that Metallica, one of the company’s top-selling acts, is promoting an album that won’t come out for at least four months. The feeling may not last too long.

Metallica yesterday introduced a Web site with “fly on the wall footage of writing and recording” its ninth studio album, due in the U.S. fall season. The San Francisco-based band has sold about 100 million copies of its recordings since 1981.

The pending release will be the last under Metallica’s contract with Warner, which has put out its albums since 1984. Chief Executive Officer Edgar Bronfman Jr. declined to comment on the status of talks with the band when the New York-based company held a quarterly conference call earlier this month.

Metallica’s future at Warner may be short-lived. (more…)

You have to believe Lars is enjoying this moment. By now you all know about the platinum experience and album pre-sale on MissionMetallica.com with packages priced upto $124.95. Metallica decided they were not going to get beat by piracy, and it looks like they won’t be.

Normally albums are released on a Tuesday at 12 a.m. By 12:30 a.m. they are all over the torrent sights and internet for downloading. Well this time around it should be available by 12:02 a.m. and in high digital quality thanks to the digital download they are providing. How will they thwart piracy, well that’s the genius.

By selling the missionmetallica platinum packages, they win the battle. The most likely package people will buy is the $24.99 (platinum experience and digital download) or $32.99 (platinum experience, digital download, and physical CD) with packages upto $124.99. Usual first day CD prices are $9.99-$12.99. So on average, people will be paying at least two and a half to three and a half times the regular price depending on which package they buy. The usually free material found on ‘making of the album’ DVDs that bands release is what will be found in the Platinum MissionMetallica experience which in essence they are selling. So if they get at least two and a half times the money for each package purchased, they can afford to have at least half the normal sales downloaded for free and still clear the same money as if everyone bought it.  

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In what promises to be an exciting and innovative interactive experience for fans of Metallica, the band has announced it will launch a brand-new website, Mission Metallica (http://www.missionmetallica.com/), which offers users a unique, ground-breaking look-in on the making of Metallica’s upcoming ninth studio album, which the band began recording last year with producer Rick Rubin.

Rather than wait until the album’s fall release date, fans will be able to access a special-edition version of the album before it comes out by joining missionmetallica.com. Set to launch on May 27th, the website will feature a treasure trove of exclusive content, including the low-down from the band members themselves about their progress in the studio via fly-on-the-wall video footage, audio of riffs and excerpts of new songs, exclusive new and never-before-seen archival photos from the studio, plus the chance to win tickets and meet-and-greet passes to Metallica’s live concert events this summer. All of this content is absolutely free.

And if that free content isn’t enough, fans can also join Mission: Metallica Platinum, which gains users access, high-quality digital album downloads delivered at midnight on release date, the physical album CD, plus complete downloads of classic live shows, exceedingly more fly-on-the-wall studio footage, loads of additional photos, and ringtones of riffs from the new album. In addition, Platinum members will be able to enter exclusive contests with the chance to win airfare, hotel, concert tickets, and meet-and-greet passes to Metallica’s headlining performances at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Ozzfest, and the U.K.’s Reading Festival, as well as a special album listening party at the band’s Northern California headquarters.

Access to missionmetallica.com will begin on May 27th. The album + web content packages will be made available in the following six configurations:

--  MISSION: METALLICA. Includes fly-on-the-wall footage, riffs and
    excerpts, new and archival photos, unique live tracks, audio and video blog
    postings, plus the chance to win concert tickets and backstage passes.
    Cost: FREE.

--  HIGH-QUALITY DIGITAL ALBUM DOWNLOAD. Package includes a digital
    version of the album at 320 KBIT/S, which is a better sound quality than
    what is available through most digital retailers. Users can pre-order the
    album download, delivered at midnight on street date. Cost: $11.99. (more...)

James was interviewed at the KROQ Weenie Roast. See both parts..

Part I

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Metallica’s upcoming ninth studio album, the band’s first release through Warner Bros. Records, is expected to be released in September. The belated follow-up to 2003’s St Anger is only a “couple of nips and tucks” away from completion, said drummer Lars Ulrich. The record will be the band’s first studio album in five years, as well as the first to feature current bassist Robert Trujillo. Rick Rubin replaces the worn-out-his-welcome Bob Rock on the boards this time around, marking a potential turning point in the bands sound. From the sound of things, Rubin’s golden touch could be just what the band needs to take their sound to the next level.

After entering the studio with 26 new songs on tap, Rubin helped the metal gods whittle the list down to 14. It’s likely that only ten songs will make the cut due to disc capacity. That should give some exciting indication of the length of these songs. (more…)

Metallica Allowing Fans To Pre-Order The New Album

METALLICA has issued the following update:

“Enough already…we’ve seen everything in this little preview of yours…let’s get on with it! Okay, okay…on May 27th Mission: Metallica becomes our way to bring you in and share with you not only the writing and recording process that’s been taking place in the last 18 months, but also what’s ahead between now and when the record is in your hands. And instead of waiting and releasing some “making of the record” additional DVD in a bullshit deluxe package when the album comes out, we figured why not let you be part of it up front?

“Here’s the deal…Mission: Metallica is your chance to be on the inside of the new album with fly on the wall video footage, riffs and excepts of the music, studio photos, cool contests, and some trips back in time to Lars’ vault with live downloads and rare photos. You’re going to be part of the experience over the next four months or so as we put the finishing touches on the album, including mixing, mastering, artwork, photo sessions, etc. (more…)

As record labels, bands and artists continue looking for new ways to sell music, metal masters Judas Priest and Metallica have opted for wider exposure through different online ventures. For Judas Priest, it’s ReverbNation’s TuneWidget. By using the widget, Judas Priest was able to pre-release the title track to its upcoming Nostradamus CD more than a month before the album drops. Now, before you go thinking this is just another online stunt, think again. Radio isn’t exactly friendly to bands like the Priest, making metal acts look for other ways to get the word out on new albums. And, by using the ReverbNation widget, it looks as if Judas Priest has found a viable alternative to airwave circulation. Initially, the band placed the widget on only four Web sites. However, fans could grab the widget and place it on their own Web pages, blogs and social networking profiles like MySpace. The end result was more than 200,000 impressions on launch day alone. Furthermore, the track was streamed once every two seconds during the first 24 hours of the promotion to listeners most apt to buy the album. (more…)

A billboard for Billabong, located in Manhattan’s Times Square, featuring Metallica, prominently displays September as the release date of the band’s forthcoming as-yet-untitled album. The ad is the only one of its kind, and comes on the heels of the Metallica Billabong shorts which were released a few months back. View.  (more…)

William Goodman of Spin.com conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich earlier today (Thursday, May 15) about the group’s much-anticipated new record, which, according to Lars, the outfit will cap next week with “a couple of nips and tucks” for release this September.

Here are some bullet points from Lars‘ comments about the forthcoming CD:
(Listen to audio of the interview here)

* The yet-to-be titled new record will drop sometime in September.
* The quartet will wrap production on the record next week, “by Wednesday or Thursday,” Ulrich confirms. (more…)

Metallica is “a couple of nips and tucks” away from completing its next album, which is still on target for a September release, according to drummer Lars Ulrich.

During a conference call yesterday (May 15) promoting this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival, which Metallica will headline on June 13, Ulrich told reporters that the group hopes to wrap up work on the album in time for the Memorial Day weekend holiday. Metallica recently met with a graphic designer to begin planning the package, though there’s no confirmed title for the album yet and the songs still have working names. (more…)