New Metallica album "out in September"

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said on England's BBC Radio over the weekend that the band's new album is tentatively going to surface in September. Ulrich was a guest on Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's music program on BBC 6 Radio and revealed that the band was "just finishing up" the yet-to-be-titled CD, adding, "We've got six weeks left and it should be out in September, that's the idea right now." As for the contents of the album, Ulrich said, "I like what I've heard so far. I'm not one of the great sellers of 'the new record's the best thing we've ever done and it s***s all over the last record and it's way heavier'...I like it and I'm one of Metallica's harshest critics. So far it feels pretty good but there's still plenty of time to f*** it up, so let's see what happens."

The band has scheduled a slew of European festival dates for May, June and July, and will play a single U.S. date, a headlining slot at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee, on June 13th.

Metallica will reissue its classic early albums on vinyl this spring. Its first two discs, 1983's Kill 'Em All and 1984's Ride the Lightning, are due first on April 15th, with others arriving in June.