New Metallica album cover art revealed

Metallica has revealed the cover artwork for the band's upcoming ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, at its Mission: Metallica web site. The black and white etching features what appears to be an open grave, with lines emanating out from it and the band's logo and album title underneath. In an interview conducted in Norway on Wednesday (July 16th) by VG TV, frontman James Hetfield explained the meaning of the record's title, saying, "It started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like (Alice in Chains frontman) 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...just like a magnet, some people are drawn towards it, (and) other people are afraid of it and push away."

Hetfield added, "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."

Death Magnetic is due out in September, although an exact date has yet to be announced.

Metallica recently announced that every song on the album will be available to download for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the same day the CD arrives in stores.

The band is offering the record for sale in numerous configurations, ranging from a digital-only release to a deluxe "coffin box" that will come with a bonus CD, a DVD, a T-shirt, guitar picks and other goodies.

Metallica is currently on tour in Europe and is expected to begin a North American jaunt in October.
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