Metallica looking for February release for new album

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich told Belgium's Studio Brussel on Sunday (July 1st) that the band completed basic drum, guitar and bass tracks for its new album in May and will return to the studio in August to begin laying down vocals, guitar solos and overdubs. Ulrich added that the band hopes to complete the project by October or November and release it in February of 2008. The drummer was vague about the sound of the new material, but emphasized that it did not sound like the group's controversial 2003 effort, St. Anger, saying, "It's probably a little more dynamic, and a little more varied, and it has lots of different nutty Metallica stuff on it. I don't know...One thing I can tell you is that (the songs) are quite long."

Metallica is currently on a three-week European summer tour, playing a set that leans heavily on the group's first five albums. At least one date has featured a full performance of the band's 1986 Master of Puppets album, which it also played on last summer's European jaunt.

After the turmoil Metallica went through while making St. Anger, Ulrich recently told us that the group is trying to having a good time these days whether its recording or touring: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "It's just about, like, having fun and wanting to do it, and as long as everybody gets along, and as long as we come up with s*** that keeps challenging ourselves and is fun to play and it's, like, a good vibe, you know...and then going out and playing, like, 15 nutty shows in Europe in front of, like, a gazillion people, and playing, like, you know, 'Orion' in its entirety or, you know, 'Disposable Heroes,' it's all fun."

Metallica plays on Tuesday (July 3rd) in Athens, Greece. The band will join the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and others at London's Live Earth concert on July 7th before headlining Wembley Stadium on the 8th.
Submit the above story to:

Del.icio.us   Digg   reddit   StumbleUpon   Facebook