New Metallica Album.com

This unique 2 DVD and book set draws on rare documentary footage of Metallica in performance and on tour, including their legendary performance at Woodstock, alongside the candid reflections of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Jason Newstead. Other themes explored in the film include the changing line-ups and personnel upheavals with Metallica, and we also hear directly from Newstead himself on why he finally quit the band. This compelling film review is drawn from Metallica’s own promotional interviews, television and radio archives. Tracks featured include: “One,” “Seek & Destroy,” “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Fade To Black,” “Enter Sandman,” and more.

To hear him tell it, Metallica’s James Hetfield wasn’t even aware that his band was eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It took Black Sabbath for him to realize it.

“I never thought much about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until we were approached to induct Black Sabbath in 2006, and then they asked us to play, which was like, ‘OK … we will!’ ” Hetfield laughed, talking to MTV News shortly before taking the stage for a “secret” SXSW Metallica set. “So we were there, and then they were saying, ‘You know, you guys are up for this in a few years.’ And I went, ‘Wow, really?’ And I started doing the math … ‘OK, 25 years after our first record … yeah, it’s now.’ And my first thought was ‘Man, it’s gone by very quickly.’ “

And so, when the Hall came calling earlier this year to tell Metallica that they’d made the cut, Hetfield wasn’t exactly surprised. But he was humbled.

“It’s very cool. I think we’ve paid our dues, and we’ve got a few fans who probably think the same thing,” he said. “There’s a lot of gratitude around it, the fact that we were acknowledged, and that, hopefully, we can help get some heavy music in. [Ideally] we’d kick the door open even further for some friends of ours — we’ve got a lot of friends that want to come in and be noted and represent a big part of rock and roll history.”

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Read more and see more videos from the night and event

The German-language television network 3SAT recently conducted an interview with METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield about the band’s new album, “Death Magnetic”, the “Some Kind of Monster” movie and the use of METALLICA’s music to torture Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prisoners. “Part of me is proud is because they chose METALLICA,” Hetfield said about the reports that the band’s song “Enter Sandman” was used during the interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani — known as the 20th hijacker on Sept. 11 — and that listening to the track brought al-Qahtani to tears “because he thought he was hearing the sound of Satan.” James added, “It’s strong; it’s music that’s powerful. It represents something that they don’t like — maybe freedom, aggression… I don’t know… freedom of speech. And then part of me is kind of bummed about it that people worry about us being attached to some political statement because of that. We’ve got nothing to do with this and we’re trying to be as apolitical as possible, ’cause I think politics and music, at least for us, don’t mix. It separates people, [and] we wanna bring people together. So, so be it. I can’t say ‘Stop.’ I can’t say ‘Do it.’ It is just a thing — it’s not good or bad.”

Watch 3SAT’s entire 26-minute chat with Hetfield in three parts. (more…)

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says he still can’t understand why no other metal band has overtaken the group’s popularity.The group, who have been together for over twenty years, have sold over 100 million albums worldwide since they formed.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ulrich said: “I was thinking the other day about how everyone expects us to continue to release albums that define the genre, to ’save’ metal. And that’s a lot of fucking pressure, really.

“Why hasn’t anyone dethroned us yet? We support all the great new metal bands, take them under our wing, but people still want us to carry the whole genre on our backs.” (more…)

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has commented on the premature release of the band’s new album, “Death Magnetic”, via a French record store. A shop in Paris reportedly sold a number of copies of the CD this morning well ahead of its official September 12 worldwide release date — with illegal “Death Magnetic” MP3 files making their way online by this afternoon.

During a guest appearance earlier today on “The Woody Show” on the San Francisco, California radio station Live 105 (KITS 105.3 FM), Ulrich stated about the French leak, “Listen, we’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”

Watch video footage of Ulrich’s appearance on “The Woody Show” in two parts below.

Part I,  Part II

In the first of an occasional Quietus series, Lars Ulrich puts himself through the Rumour Mill and answers Joel McIver’s questions on cocaine, whether ‘St. Anger’ was bobbins, and that little reviews hoo ha a few months back.

Lars, rumour has it that you’ve enjoyed a line or two of coke in your time.

“I don’t do that any more. That’s all done, thank you for asking! A couple of years ago I was like, ‘You know? Enough of this. I don’t need it’. It was literally something that happened one morning, like ‘Y’know? Fuck that’. I was very impressed with Noel Gallagher: as you know, I’m an Oasis fanatic, and Noel was like [adopts stentorian tone] ‘You know what? No more cocaine!’ and I thought, ‘If he can do it, everybody else can do it’. I had my fun with it, it was always more of a social thing. We were never like rolling around and spending days in bathroom stalls, and peeking out the keyholes of doors for days.” (more…)

A five-minute audio interview with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett conducted on August 15, 2008 at the 23rd Pukkelpop music festival in the village of Kiewit, near Hasselt (Limburg province), Belgium

METALLICA rocker JAMES HETFIELD is struggling to stay off alcohol as the band embark on another world tour.
The singer is a recovering alcoholic, who has managed 12 years without booze.
But he admits its a hard temptation to resist – particularly when the band is on the road.
Hetfield says, “The temptation to drink is with me for ever. When you’ve done something a certain way for so long, doing it a different way is difficult.
“You start to doubt yourself. I’ll never be cured. It’s one of those things that I’ll have to deal with all my life.” source

“OUR relationship is part of what makes Metallica special. If everything goes smooth all the time then something is wrong.

“You have to have friction as it creates energy, brainstorms, pro-activity and we go forward.”

Man-mountain James Hetfield is talking about his 27-year friendship with drummer and Metallica founder Lars Ulrich.

It’s one of rock’s most turbulent partnerships, a roller-coaster ride of egos, heavy boozing and over-indulgence. (more…)

Eicca Toppinen of Apocalyptica interviews Lars Ulrich at Ozzfest.  Listen here.