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| Recorded = March 12, 2007–May 11, 2008 in [[Los Angeles, California]]
| Recorded = March 12, 2007–May 11, 2008 in [[Los Angeles, California]]
| Length = 75:00<ref name="Metal Hammer">{{cite web|url=http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/article/?id=48459|title=Metallica Album: Our First Impression|date=2008-06-11|work=News Article|publisher=Metal Hammer|accessdate=2008-08-03}}</ref>
| Length = 75:00<ref name="Metal Hammer">{{cite web|url=http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/article/?id=48459|title=Metallica Album: Our First Impression|date=2008-06-11|work=News Article|publisher=Metal Hammer|accessdate=2008-08-03}}</ref>
| Genre = [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]
| Genre = [[Thrash metal]], [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]]
| Label = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| Label = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| Producer = Metallica, [[Rick Rubin]]
| Producer = Metallica, [[Rick Rubin]]

Revision as of 22:06, 12 August 2008

Template:Future album

Untitled

Death Magnetic is the upcoming ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is scheduled for release on September 12, 2008 by Warner Bros. Records.[3] The album will be the band's first to feature current bassist Robert Trujillo, and the first to be produced by Rick Rubin.[4] It will also be their first studio album released through Warner Bros., although they still remain with Warner Music Group, which also owns Elektra Records, the band's previous label. The album will be promoted by the preceding single "The Day That Never Comes", released in August.

Starting on May 12, 2008 (2008-05-12), the future album has been heavily promoted on the specially dedicated website, entitled "Mission Metallica," which features daily updates of exclusive, behind-the-scenes sneak previews with photos and video clips from the studio.[5] On June 14, 2008 (2008-06-14), it revealed the album's official title, and on May 15, 2008 (2008-05-15), Lars Ulrich confirmed that Metallica recorded 11 songs for Death Magnetic, although only 10 will appear on the album due to the constraints of the physical medium.[6] On August 9, at Ozzfest, Metallica performed the song "Cyanide".

Writing process

Post-St. Anger period

As early as January 16, 2004 (2004-01-16), Metallica frontman and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield revealed that the band had roughly 18 songs that did not see release on their 2003 album St. Anger, and that they may be reworked in the future, if not potentially released as is. Hetfield also said that they had been playing new material during studio jams, but that there was no mention of plans for a ninth studio album as of yet.[7] On March 12, 2004 (2004-03-12), drummer Lars Ulrich reported that the band had performed thirty-minute jam sessions prior to live performances, and that the jams are recorded for future reference. Select music from the jam sessions may be used on the album, as Ulrich stated, "I definitely look forward to sifting through some of that stuff when we get back to the studio in January."[8] On that note, by October 2004 the band had already compiled nearly 50 hours of pre-set jamming, with hundreds of riffs, chord progressions and bass lines.[9] On September 30, 2004 (2004-09-30), Launch Radio revealed from an interview with Hetfield that the band hoped to return to the studio in spring of 2005 to begin recording their ninth studio album for Warner Bros. Records.[10]

On March 10, 2006 (2006-03-10), it was reported that the band was planning to use the following six months to write material for the album, in addition to the previous two months they had already been spending writing music. It was also revealed that Ulrich, Hetfield and Robert Trujillo were active contributors in the process at this point; guitarist Hammett was an infrequent contributor due to his wife's pregnancy. [11] Lars Ulrich also stated that the band was getting along much better in the studio than they did during the recording of their 2003 album St. Anger.[12] On April 16, 2006 (2006-04-16), Lars Ulrich revealed that the band had composed "six to seven" songs, (except for vocals), from their findings of the riff tapes recording during pre-sets of the Madly in Anger with the World tour.[13] He also said that by this point, the band's new material was reminiscent of "old school" Metallica works, and that it certainly does not feel like a St. Anger "part two".

On May 20, 2006 (2006-05-20), Kirk Hammett revealed that the band had 15 songs written and were writing on average two to three songs per week. James Hetfield also praised producer Rick Rubin for his production style in giving the band their own freedom and keeping the pressure at a minimum, despite the sessions becoming sometimes briefly unfocused.[14] On May 27, 2006 (2006-05-27), Metallica updated their website with a video featuring information regarding the album. Lars Ulrich, who spearheaded the video, said about the new album:

If you're in the studio, everybody presumes you're recording or making a record [...]. Last time there was no real separation between the writing process and the recording process. [With] St. Anger nobody brought in any pre-recorded stuff or ideas; it was just make it up on the spot, be in the moment [...]. So this time we are doing exactly what we did on all the other albums — first we're writing, then we're recording. The only difference is [...] that we're writing where we record. So we're writing here at HQ because this is our home, [...] we're writing in the studio.[15]

First "new songs" performed

File:Metallica Death Magnetic sessions Yeager 2.jpg
James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett rehearsing

During their Escape from the Studio '06 tour, the band debuted two songs, temporarily titled "The New Song"[16] and "The Other New Song".[17] Both songs are fast-paced and feature solos from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett.

"The New Song" debuted on the European leg in Berlin, Germany on June 6, 2006 (2006-06-06). The song, as performed, is approximately eight minutes long. The title was rumored to be "Death Is Not the End" as Hetfield repeatedly sings the line throughout the song.[16] This song would appear again in multiple Fly on the Wall videos on "Mission Metallica" website, showing the band partway through the song's recording, as noted by the slower tempo and lack of lyrics. "The Other New Song" debuted August 12, 2006 (2006-08-12) in Tokyo, Japan, and is much shorter, taking just below four minutes to perform.[17]

On January 17, 2007 (2007-01-17), Lars Ulrich stated in an interview with Revolver that the band would be conceiving the album much like they did their albums prior to working with ex-producer Bob Rock; they would sit down, write a select amount of songs, then enter the studio to record them. He also quoted current producer Rick Rubin by saying Rubin doesn't want them to start the recording process until every song that they are going to record is as close to 100 percent as possible.[18]

In January 2008 (2008-01), a statement was made by Stereowarning.com that the album would be delayed until September of 2008,[19] but was quickly denied by Metallica's management since an album without a defined release date can not be "delayed."

On April 15, 2008 (2008-04-15), LP versions of Metallica's first two albums Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning were released. Both LPs came with inserts directing fans to the link of the "Mission Metallica" website. According to the website, new information was to be released pertaining to the new album on May 12.

Recording process

File:Metallica Death Magnetic sessions Yeager 1.jpg
Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield during the Death Magnetic recording sessions
File:Metallica Death Magnetic sessions Yeager 3.jpg
Robert Trujillo, the band's bassist, sings in the studio

On March 5, 2007 (2007-03-05), Lars Ulrich revealed that the band had narrowed a potential 25 songs down to 14, and that they would begin recording those 14 songs on the following week. He also expanded on Rick Rubin's style of production, saying,

Rick's big thing is to kind of have all these songs completely embedded in our bodies and basically next Monday, on D-Day, just go in and execute them [...]. So you leave the creative element of the process out of the recording, so you go in and basically just record a bunch of songs that you know inside out and upside down, and you don't have to spend too much of your energy in the recording studio creating and thinking and analyzing and doing all that stuff. His whole analogy is, the recording process becomes more like a gig — just going in and playing and leaving all the thinking at the door.[20]

On March 14, 2007 (2007-03-14), the band's official website issued a statement: "Metallica left the comfort of HQ this week to descend upon the greater Los Angeles area to begin recording their ninth original album. This is the first time they've recorded outside of the Bay Area since they spent time at One-on-One Studios recording The Black Album in '90 and '91."[21] This was confirmed on July 24, 2008 (2008-07-24) on "Mission: Metallica", as a video surfaced showed the crew moving into Sound City Studios of Nirvana fame.[22]

On June 4, 2007 (2007-06-04), bassist Robert Trujillo revealed that only select portions of the two new songs debuted in Berlin and Tokyo respectively will be featured on the album.[23] To the surprise of fans, Metallica played "The Other New Song" once again on June 29, 2007 in Bilbao, Spain.

On July 1, 2007 (2007-07-01), Lars Ulrich stated that all backing tracks were done in May. He said that all that the album was missing were vocals and overdubs, which were to be recorded in August. They hope to have finished the album by October or November, when the album will be mixed.[24] He predicted the album would be out in February 2008. He also revealed that the songs they are working with are quite long. By December 2007, it was reported by Rolling Stone, that overdubs and Hetfield's vocals still had yet to be recorded. On January 21, 2008 (2008-01-21), through pictures on Metclub.com's "Top Secret" section, it has been revealed that Hetfield began recording vocals for the album.

On February 29, 2008 (2008-02-29), according to Sterlingsound.com, it was discovered that Ted Jensen from Sterling Sound Studios would be mastering the new record. Supposedly, he signed on to do it on August 24, 2006 (2006-08-24). Their name has since been removed from Ted Jensen's list of projects, however.[25] According to Blabbermouth.net and other sources, Greg Fidelman, who has served as an sound engineer, has also been tapped to mix the album.[26] In an interview with a Turkish television station prior to Metallica's concert in Istanbul this year, James Hetfield confirmed that an instrumental will appear on Death Magnetic. He made no specifications as to which track the instrumental will be.

On August 10, Metallica officially announced that they finished working on Death Magnetic.

Release

Beside the free access to "Mission: Metallica" website, marketed as Experience 1 – which includes footage of writing and recording of Death Magnetic, riffs and excerpts from it, exclusive photos and live tracks – three different commercial packages of the album were revealed as "Mission: Metallica Platinum" options, along with an additional collector's edition:[27]

Experience 2:

  • Digital download of Death Magnetic at 320 kbit/s, ringtones, two live shows, additional 2 hours of exclusive "making of" footage, 250 photos – plus all the above (from Experience 1);

Experience 3:

  • A physical copy of Death Magnetic CD – plus all the above (from Experiences 1–2);

Experience 4:

  • A set of Death Magnetic on 5 vinyl LP albums, in a 180-gram box, with 5 individual sleeves, a "Mission: Metallica" lithograph – plus all the above (from Experiences 1–3).

The Box Magnetic – Death Magnetic (Death in a Coffin):[28]

  • A collector's edition white coffin-shaped box, in three different sizes (M, L, or XL), which includes: the Death Magnetic CD in a special carton box, the additional CD with 10 demos of the songs from the album[28], a DVD of even more "making of" footage not seen on "Mission: Metallica", an exclusive t-shirt with a Death Magnetic logo, a flag, guitar picks, a fold out coffin-shaped poster with the members of Metallica[28], and a collector's credit card with a code for a free download of a European show in September.[29]
  • The box set is already available for pre-order in: United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Finland, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden.

On July 17, 2008 (2008-07-17), the album's cover art was revealed through the "Mission Metallica" site. The cover features an empty coffin with a black and white design around it (representing iron filings in a magnetic field) with the Metallica logo at the bottom.

Digital premiere through video games

In an October 2007 (2007-10) interview with the creators of the Rock Band video game, it was stated that Metallica has given rights to MTV Games, the game's publisher, to have the first single off Death Magnetic available for playability on the game before the album's release.[30] The band have since revealed the first album's first single to be "The Day That Never Comes."

On July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14), it was revealed at the Microsoft E3 demonstration, that the entire Death Magnetic album would be made playable for the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at the time when the album is released, and later in October, in the new Guitar Hero game, Guitar Hero World Tour.[31]

Album title

On July 16, 2008 (2008-07-16), James Hetfield commented on the album's title:

Death Magnetic, at least the title, to me [...] started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like Layne Staley and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts. And then it kind of grew from there, Thinking about death… some people are drawn towards it, and just like a magnet, [and] other people are afraid of it and push away. And the concept that we're all gonna die sometimes is over-talked about and then a lot of times never talked about — no one wants to bring it up; it's the big white elephant in the living room. But we all have to deal with it at some point.[32]

Track listing

  1. "That Was Just Your Life"
  2. "The End of the Line"
  3. "Broken, Beat & Scarred"
  4. "The Day That Never Comes"
  5. "All Nightmare Long"
  6. "Cyanide"
  7. "The Unforgiven III"
  8. "The Judas Kiss"
  9. "Suicide & Redemption"
  10. "My Apocalypse"

Media impressions

In a 2007 interview with Rolling Stone, Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum described his impressions of the unfinished songs:

Lars is a good friend of mine. He played me the demos from San Francisco, and I turned and looked at him and I said, 'Master that shit and put it out.' It's ridiculous. The demos were sick. Eight-minute songs, all these tempo changes, crazy fast. It's like, 'Dude, don't get slower when you get older, but don't get faster!? How are you gonna play this live?' And then me and Lars were out partying all night, and he had to go in the studio the next day and do this stupid like nine- or ten-minute song, and I was laughing at him — because he played me the demo of it, and it was [sings really fast drum part], so fast. I called him, and said, 'Dude, how are you feeling?' He was like, 'Dude, I'm hurting.' They're cutting everything to tape, no fuckin' Pro Tools — live, no clicks.[33]

Six of Death Magnetic's ten tracks were revealed to members of the UK music press at a listening party on June 4, 2008 (2008-06-04), where it was confirmed that there are two eight minute songs present on the album.

The album's first single, "The Day That Never Comes", is described as the most downbeat track on the album, and is said to be reminiscent of their 1990 Grammy-winning epic breakthrough single "One;" Rock Sound has also compared it to the likes of Thin Lizzy.[34] The band have reportedly abandoned the solo-free approach that they followed on St. Anger, returning to complex, multi-layered arrangements such as those typically found on ...And Justice For All.[35]

Thrash Hits was one of the first websites, along with The Quietus to comment on Death Magnetic[36], suggesting "it is a vast improvement on 2003 album St Anger". Metal Hammer has noted on Death Magnetic's "sharp riffs" and "uncharacteristic bouncing grooves," and compares the band's sound throughout these six tracks to other bands including Slayer, Led Zeppelin and even Rage Against the Machine.[1]

While Metallica was on the first leg of its 2008 tour in Europe, a third party at Metallica's management Q Prime demanded that media impressions and blogs be taken down for reasons undefined. However, when notified upon their return to the United States, the band was reportedly angered by their management's demands, and drummer Lars Ulrich rectified this issue by posting as many links as Metallica could find on their official website, along with an apology.[37]

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog #
Austria[3] September 12, 2008 — Compact disc —
Finland[38] Universal Music Finland Compact disc, digipak, deluxe carton box —
Germany[3] — Compact disc —
Japan[39] Universal Music Japan Compact disc, deluxe carton box UICR-1077
North America[3][40] Warner Bros. Compact disc —
Switzerland[3] — Compact disc, deluxe carton box —
United Kingdom[41] Mercury Compact disc, deluxe carton box —
Poland[28] September 15, 2008 Universal Music Polska Compact disc, deluxe carton box 65293232

References

  1. ^ a b "Metallica Album: Our First Impression". News Article. Metal Hammer. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  2. ^ "The Day Has Come". News Headline. Metallica.com. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e "METALLICA: 'Death Magnetic' Release Date Announced". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  4. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2006-02-20). "Rick Rubin Producing New Metallica Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "About Mission:Metallica". missionmetallica.com. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  6. ^ Goodman, William (2008-05-15). "Breaking News: Metallica Tells All About New Album". News. Spin Magazine Online. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  7. ^ "Metallica's Hetfield Talks About Dave Mustaine, Exodus And Follow-up To 'St. Anger'". Blabbermouth.net. The New Zealand Herald. 2004-01-16. Retrieved 2004-03-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA's ULRICH Is Looking Forward To Returning To The Studio In January, reported by Blabbermouth.net March 12 2004. Last accessed July 18 2007
  9. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA Bassist Says There Are More Than 50 Recorded Hours Of New Music To Sift Through, reported by Blabbermouth.net October 15 2004. Last accessed July 18 2007
  10. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA Frontman Wishes 'St. Anger' Songs Were Shorter, reported by Blabbermouth.net September 30 2004. Last accessed July 18 2007
  11. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA To Spend Six Months Writing Before Commencing Recording Process, reported by Blabbermouth.net March 10 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  12. ^ Blabbermouth.net. LARS ULRICH: No Therapist Needed On New METALLICA Album, reported by Blabbermouth.net March 20 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  13. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA Continue Work On New Album, Attend QUEEN Show In California, reported by Blabbermouth.net April 16 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  14. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA's HAMMETT: 'We Have Fifteen Songs' Written For Next Album, reported by Blabbermouth.net May 20 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  15. ^ Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA's ULRICH: 'We're Actually Not Recording Right Now' , reported by Blabbermouth.net May 20 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  16. ^ a b Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA Debut New Song At Berlin Concert, reported by Blabbermouth.net June 6 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  17. ^ a b Blabbermouth.net. METALLICA Performs Another New Song At Japan's SUMMER SONIC Festival, reported by Blabbermouth.net August 12 2006. Last accessed July 18 2007
  18. ^ Revolver. METALLICA's LARS ULRICH On New Songs: 'We're Trying To Be As Self-Critical As Possible' , reported by Blabbermouth.net February 19 2007. Last accessed July 18 2007
  19. ^ Stereo Warning: Metallica album delayed again until September
  20. ^ "Metallica to Record 14 New Songs Starting Next Week; 2008 Release Expected". News. Blabbermouth. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  21. ^ "...And Recording for All". News Headline. Metallica.com. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  22. ^ "Fly on the Wall Video". Mission: Metallica. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  23. ^ "Metallica Bassist Trujillo: New Album Is Dynamic, Heavy and Groovin'". News. Blabbermouth. 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  24. ^ "Metallica's Lars Ulrich: New Album to Arrive Next Spring". News. Blabbermouth. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  25. ^ Launch Sterling Sound
  26. ^ "Metallica's New Album to Be Mixed by Greg Fidelman". News. Blabbermouth. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  27. ^ "Mission:Metallica Platinum Packages". missionmetallica.com. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  28. ^ a b c d "Death Magnetic (Death in a Coffin) rozm. XL" (in Polish). EMPiK. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  29. ^ "The Box Magnetic (Death in a Coffin)". metallica.com. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  30. ^ Ultimate Guitar October 30, 2007. Last accessed December 9 2007
  31. ^ IGN: E3 2008: New Metallica and REM Songs Coming to Guitar Hero
  32. ^ "HETFIELD: TRUJILLO Has Written More On New METALLICA Album Than NEWSTED Had In 14 Years". News. Blabbermouth. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  33. ^ Metallica’s New Album: “Ridiculous,” “Sick,” “Bitchin’” Says Matt Sorum, reported by rollingstone.com July 25 2007. Last accessed July 25 2007
  34. ^ "METALLICA's New Album Previewed: ROCK SOUND And METAL HAMMER Offer Their Opinions". News. Blabbermouth. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  35. ^ The Quietus - first listen to Metallica's new album
  36. ^ Cutmore, Henry (2008-05-06). "Metallica's new album: the verdict". Thrash Hits. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  37. ^ "Reviews..." metallica.com. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  38. ^ "Metallica : Death Magnetic". Record Shop X. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  39. ^ "Metallica / Death Magnetic". cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
  40. ^ "The Last Piece of the Puzzle". Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  41. ^ "Death Magnetic: Metallica: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
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