New Metallica Album.com

25 years after Metallica first stormed the music world with Kill ‘Em All, this double disc set follows the trail of destruction from Cliff Burton to their creative and commercial zenith. A first class critical team reviews and assesses the band, their music and the madness, complemented by a second disc packed packed with the best performances of a career at the top. Order now. Release date June 10, 2008.

Following a year-long collaboration between Randall Amplifiers and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, Randall has unveiled the KH-15 Signature Practice Amp. The KH-15 is the latest Kirk Hammett addition to Randall’s gear line-up since they announced partnership during Winter NAMM 2008.

The practice amp features two channels – one clean, and one custom overdrive with boost for extra gain. The rest of the spec includes 3-band EQ (bass, middle and treble), spring reverb, front 1/4″ headphone jack and rear CD/tape input. The KH-15 will set you back $129.90.

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Billabong has hooked up with Metallica to produce a limited-edition design co-op boardshort.

The hot ticket item will hit stores in coming months and the band was “heavily involved” in the design process, deciding exactly what went to the market.

The Metallica trunks come in an all-white and an all-black color scheme with the rockers’ album cover art spliced through the iconic Metallica rock logo across the back. Metallica symbols from the band’s history are also heat embossed into the fabric.

The trunks carry an unique plectrum-shaped wax comb in the pocket with the band name etched in the plastic.

The Billabong Metallica limited-edition design co-op boardshort will be available from Billabong stores and leading retailers.

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John Mayer thinks that “Guitar Hero was devised to bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it. And having done both, there’s nothing like really playing guitar. I mean, what would you rather drive, a Ferrari or one of those amusement-park cars on a track?” See, guitars mean a lot to John. “It’s my flotation device, because I now exist in this celebrity sort of world. But I don’t feel like anybody’s been able to truly knock me off my legs, because I have a trade. You can’t just walk onstage and start playing guitar ’cause you thought it looked neat. With guitar, you get out what you put in, and it’s the ultimate shield for other people trying to fuckin’ take away your heart and soul. It’s a completely exposed craft. There is no facade.” When John stops getting to nail celebrities, he’ll still gonna be able to show up at a bar and wail for his pretzels. Can Guitar Hero players say that? Maybe someday he’ll be as awesome as Kirk Hammett, who recorded one of his “favorite guitar solos in the world.” On Load. (more…)

Metallica is fueling the rumors online of and all-Metallica Guitar Hero Game (or at least add-on pack) with the following mysterious post to their MySpace blog entitled “METALLICA GUITAR HERO GAME. . . FACT OR FICTION?”:

“An all Metallica Guitar Hero game . . . fact or fiction? Idle internet gossip, wishful thinking, or the real deal? Let’s just say that perhaps, just maybe, if you’ve already mastered “One” on GHIII there might be a pile of ‘Tallica songs in your future.

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It seems that sometimes being a financial analyst can lead you to hot video game stories no one else knows about. Such is the case for Edward Woo, an employee of Wedbush Morgan, who was looking through Activision’s most recent SEC filing and discovered that the company is launching Guitar Hero: Metallica in Fiscal 2009. Given Activision’s fiscal calendar, that means the game could drop anytime between now and March 31 of next year.

The big mystery right now is if the game will be guitar only, or feature all the peripherals that Activision is planning to add in the upcoming Guitar Hero World Tour. The song list is also unknown (God help us if they put anything from St. Anger on there), as is whether it will be a solely Metallica-laden disc or if it will feature other bands much like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

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The next artist to get top billing in the Guitar Hero franchise is Metallica, as Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo uncovered the fiscal 2009 release of Guitar Hero:Metallica in a recent filling with the SEC. Said to ship by March 31 of ‘09—the end of Activision’s financial year—it appears that the metal outfit will get Guitar Hero: Aerosmith style treatment with a heavy dose of heavy rock. Metallica’s “One” was already featured in Guitar Hero III, with additional tracks already available on Rock Band.

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Show Highlights:

*It has been four years since Metallica played in Poland. The last time was on May 31, 2004.

*Devil’s Dance. Here are a few bits about this heaaaavy, groovin’ song: The last time it was played, it was played with a symphony orchestra behind it. That date was November 23, 1999 at Madison Square Garden in New York…nine years ago. The last time the “regular” version was played was 10 years ago… on July 19, 1998 in Mansfield, MA.

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Metallica’s latest foray into “bleed the fans of every last drop” has just launched and it’s called Mission Metallica. The bands latest ‘mission’ allows fans to watch several commercials over the coming months until the album is released in September. Most bands would upload their videos to MySpace or Youtube from their studio sessions…not corporate giants Metallica. Metallica wants you to pay up to $124.95 to watch them create their latest studio opus.

One would think Metallica would use a bit of tact and give what fans they have left a bone. After the mountain of a shitstorm they caused going after fans for filetrading, it is time Metallica offers an olive branch and let all fans view the studio footage without paying up to $124.95. -thegauntlet.com

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...)

The last three shows (Wiltern*, Tucson, and Irvine) are now available for download at LIVEMETALLICA.COM. The European shows are next and you can pre-order any or all of them at a 10% discount right now.
*All profits from the sale of the Wiltern show will benefit the Silverlake Conservatory of Music.

This latest Rock Band download offering is a special collection of singles featuring the nine tracks showcased in the Euro version of the game including some of Europe’s heaviest hitters: UK’s Blur, Muse and Oasis, German rockers Tokio Hotel, Die Toten Hosen, H-BlockX and Juli, and French natives Les Wampas and Pleymo. In addition to having the best localized European content available to both continents, Harmonix and MTV Games are also giving European users complete access at launch to the entire Rock Band downloadable content catalog of more than 110 songs to date, which includes tracks from some of the greatest U.S. rock bands such as Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Boston, The Grateful Dead, Queens of the Stone Age and more. (more…)

Remember Napster? Remember how stoked you were that you wouldn’t have to waste your allowance buying CDs that sucked most of the time anyway? Remember how pissed you were when Lars Ulrich and Metallica tried to shut down Napster because “I Disappear” was available for download before its release date? Yeah, me too, but I guess Lars and the boys thought we forgot.

Metallica has taken its first steps toward cashing in on the online music business by launching the website Mission:Metallica. The website is intended to take fans into the depths of the recording process for Metallica’s forthcoming album, the proverbial olive branch after forcing St. Anger on us all. (more…)

So MissionMetallica.com is finally live. Here is the deal. Sign up for a membership to get riffs from the new album, fly on the wall footage of rehearsals and recording process, chances to win backstage passes, tour info and probably some recordings, etc.. The platinum membership gets you a CD delivered to your house on release day and there are various levels you can get from 24.98$ for the digital download version only to the full blown multi LP, CD, and download package for 99.98$. I think they have quenched some of the thirst the rabid fans had. But they have also successfully headed off a lot (not all) of the illegal downloading that is sure to happen. By playing on the fans need to have something now and by bundling the CD in with the extra stuff, alot fans will have effectively bought the cd before it was even released or for that matter, even before its has been completed. Those who want to wait for it to hit the torrent sites and search for tidbits on the net can get by without paying. But those who really can’t wait and can shell out at least 25 or 35 bucks will have bought the cd and Metallica will get their money, and in many cases more than the average cost of a cd balancing potential losses in illegal downloading. Pretty smart huh?…or will it blow up in their face?…