New Metallica Album.com

Concert fans in Southern California are getting a lesson from the old school these days. First, Roger Waters brought his floating pig and Pink Floyd laser show to the desert grounds of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and today KROQ-FM (106.7) will announce that Metallica, those graybeards of thrash metal, will co-headline the station’s annual Weenie Roast on May 17 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Other performers include the Offspring, the Raconteurs, Rise Against, Pennywise, Bad Religion, the Bravery and Flogging Molly.

It was 25 years ago this summer that Metallica released “Kill ‘Em All,” the album that announced that this intended to be the hardest, fastest and loudest band in the world. (more…)

This summer’s Ozzfest will consist of two separate two-day (Saturday/Sunday) events — one of which will be held in Dallas — in late July/early August, with Ozzy Osbourne headlining one day and Metallica headlining the next.

Not only are these two bands been announced for the Dallas show, but so has recently re-united thrash metalliers Rigor Mortis. The band has announced that they will play in the Dallas Ozzfest on August 9th, with Metallica rumored to close that show out. (more…)

The band has asked for the amount of $1.6 million to present their show on the national stadium ‘Vasil Levski’ in Sofia, Bulgaria. (more…)

See NBC 11 report on Metallica on record day here.

Hetfield: “Record stores are disappearing, and we want them to stay.”

“You can call it old school, or we’re dinosaurs, or whatever, but I grew up going to a record store, hanging with my friends, just going through stuff. We weren’t texting each other, what was the new thing.”

Hammett: “It was a place to meet other like-minded individuals. You’d see someone in the heavy metal section that you never saw before. I would go up to them and say, ‘Hey, man, you’re into metal? I am too.’” (more…)

Rolling Stone caught up with Metallica at their Record Store Day signing event in northern California late last week. Drummer Lars Ulrich dialed us up to discuss the event and chatted about recording with Rick Rubin, bonding with his kids over Guitar Hero and learning to love the Web.

You went through four boxes of Sharpies signing autographs on Record Store Day. Can you talk about that marathon meet and greet?
I think the intense energy and all the love carried us through. I didn’t even take a pee break! It’s probably the longest we’ve gone for as long as I can remember. We used to be like, “Where’s the beer? Fire up the Misfits!” It would be a lot more reckless. Now it’s more personal and less about you and your beer needs. It’s funny. You’re at home chilling out in your backyard, being a parent, and driving your kids around town and you conveniently forget. At 9 a.m., I spent ten minutes wiping the shit off my nine-month old. At 12 p.m., I was in the dog park cleaning up dog shit. Then you get into a car drive down to Mountain View and go, “Holy shit!” By 2 p.m., they’re saying how amazing you are. It’s easy to forget in your own little bubble. (more…)

More than 400 fans of heavy rockers METALLICA spent three days camping out in a rain-soaked parking lot to make sure they got the chance to meet their heroes on Saturday (19Apr08). (more…)

Metallica didn’t perform an impromptu parking lot set as some had hoped they would Saturday during the first annual Record Store Day, yet cheers rang out, tears fell and metal reigned during an epic six-hour marathon of autograph-signing, chatting and pictures.

Ending a grubby, shivering, boozy three-day parking lot camp-out for 400 fans, Rasputin Music and DVDs in Mountain View, CA near San Jose opened its doors at 10:30 a.m. to give away hundreds of RSD commemorative posters, T-shirts, and CDs. Songs from Master of Puppets, Kill Em All and Ride the Lightning played. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and 2003 addition on bass Robert Trujillo arrived individually by black towncar at 2 p.m. to commune with the black-clad throng, assembled from as far away as Australia and Japan. The screaming, bird-flipping hordes chased each car into Rasputin’s loading area, and surrounded the strip-mall building, awaiting a chance to asked their idols about American tour dates (“September,” said Hetfield) and vocals on the new album (“I’m working on ‘em,” Hetfield promised). Others asked when they could hear the first new Metallica album in five years, produced by Rick Rubin (“This fall,” said Trujillo). (more…)

Independent retailers coast to coast hope so, and they’re banding together Saturday to spread the message on the first Record Store Day, with deep discounts, exclusive items for sale, goodie giveaways and visits from noted musicians.

The day’s biggest event will take place right in the Bay Area at 2 p.m. April 19th, as Metallica stops by the Rasputin Music store at 630 San Antonio Ave. in Mountain View.

Four hundred fans will get in to “shake and howdy” with the metal masters of Marin, making their first in-store appearance in nearly a decade. The store is asking folks not to start lining up for wristbands till 8 a.m. (though I imagine a few people may choose to ignore that suggestion).