Metallica to begin writing new album in 2011?

If Lars Ulrich has anything to say about it, the band will begin writing music sometime in 2011. However, knowing the pace of Metallica, we likely won't see a new album until at least 2012 (if that).

Death Magnetic is surprisingly well written, so lets hope all these Big Four shows have reignited the flame and the band delivers at least one more album to remember them by. I haven't listened to Death Magnetic for awhile, so here's a refresher.

*Video removed, will try and put up a new one here shortly.

CLIFF 'EM ALL: Tribute to a bass legend

Growing up, Cliff 'em All was the first Metallica videotape I owned (had the VHS copy), and it still is my personal favorite. Sure the quality was a little weak at times, but there is something special about seeing the members of your favorite band making a beer run in their youth. And the live performances during the Master of Puppets era, while on tour with Ozzy, were very cool too.

Why bring up Cliff 'em All today? Because it is the anniversary of Cliff's death, in which the metal world lost an inspirational bass player and songwriter. Burton's songwriting contribution to Master of Puppets and the entire metal scene is amazing and will never be forgotten. Cliff may be gone, but his legacy will live on with all the metal greats.

Here's to Cliff jamming out with Ronnie James Dio in Heavy Metal Heaven.

Not Quite Metal: Killing Joke's influence on the music world

I'll admit, I didn't even really give Killing Joke a proper listen until I heard Fear Factory's cover of "Millenium" on the lackluster 2005 album Transgression.



I thought enough of Fear Factory's cover to check out the English post-punk band (who had a mix of punk, prog and industrial sounds) and picked up a copy of 1994's Pandemonium.

Proof Metallica Still Kicks Ass

Put this in your pipe and smoke it!

Metallica: Live In France

Well, this recording is probably more epic than the usual live shows the band puts on, but you have to admit the band is on fire while playing Blackened for the upcoming DVD recorded in France (Francais Pour Une Nuit).

Metallica: Putting Metal Up the Haters Asses!

There are those instances when a band just nails a song live. This recent performance of Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" is one of those instances. Badass!

Metal Rumor Report: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax Tour

Apparently in UK's Metal Hammer magazine Kerry King mentioned that Lars Ulrich had been contacting people from the above mentioned bands about getting a tour together.

Now the odds of this happening are slim-to-none, but just imagine how amazing that tour would be... and probably expensive. Plus who would headline? I would imagine they would all have to work it out so they played about evenly or there would be some infighting for sure from the get-go.

Also King already dealt a blow to Anthrax by saying:

"I said in this day and age, I know we had that time together, but how do you leave out MACHINE HEAD? There's better options than ANTHRAX and that's nothing against ANTHRAX, but they've just been in pieces for quite some time and that doesn't make as much sense to me."

Look for updates as they become available.

UPDATE #1: Scott Ian is game, in a recent interview he was quoted as saying the statement below.

"There's this big rumor that we're gonna do METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER and MEGADETH next summer in Europe, and this is supposedly coming from the METALLICA camp. So whether it's true or not, I'm really excited about it, and I'll say right now that we will absolutely do it. So we're in. [laughs]"

Thursday Night Dance Party

The merengue version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Courtesy of metalsucks.

Metallica Perform Dyer's Eve Live

It's not perfect, but who would have expected this one???



Also check out pictures of this exclusive vinyl release from Megaforce Records of the colored vinyl for "Feel the Fire" coming out on May 12. Also being released is the "Fuck You and Then Some" album. These are limited to 500 copies, so vinyl collectors be on the watch!

Metallica at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame

Metallica was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday April 4, 2009, marking the second time the awards ceremony recognized the contributions of a heavy metal band (the first being Black Sabbath).

"Master of Puppets" was the first album I heard from the band and it is what got me into metal. To this day it is still one of the greatest metal records ever and the guys in Metallica deserve every bit of recognition they get for the contributions made to the metal scene.

The Metal Masters:


Red Hot Chili Pepper's bassist, Flea, inducted the band into the hall of fame. He kind of rambled on for awhile in his speech, but he had many kind words for the band and Cliff Burton (RIP).

Cliff Burton's father briefly took the stage in a cool moment and thanked one of the band's biggest fans, Burton's mother. Another highlight was when James Hetfield mentioned bands that should be inducted into the hall of fame, including Judas Priest, Motorhead, Rush and more.

Check out some videos of the band playing "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman" below, with BOTH Rob Trujillo and Jason Newstead on bass. This is probably the most bass you will ever hear from Metallica!





Also included is a video of Lars and James giving acceptance speeches and a guitar jam with Jeff Beck (who was also inducted), Joe Perry, Kirk Hammet, James Hetfield and company. Together they perform the Yardbird's classic, "Train Kept a Rollin'."

UPDATE: Better video below with over 40 minutes of footage, including all the acceptance speeches and performances with Metallica. Easy to skip around on too. I left the two live videos up above in case you just want to hear those (plus those sound better I think). James Hetfield's speech was the best in my opinion.

Here's to Metallica for rocking for so many years!

What Don't Kill ya, Make ya More Strong: Metallica Unleashes Broken Beat and Scarred Music Video

Check it out at Metallica.com.

The video is a live recording of the band and it really showcases the energy these guys have right now. You can hear Rob Trujillo's bass and backing vocals unlike on the album!

"Broken Beat and Scarred" is one of my favorite tracks off "Death Magnetic" and this video just reminds me how good the band is live.

I will post the actual embedded video once it is up so you can view it directly from the blog also.

UPDATE: Video posted. Also I heard Rob Trujillo will NOT be playing with Metallica at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, but instead it will be Jason Newstead!

I guess this could be because Metallica is mainly getting in for the Black Album, but I know I would like to see them both play. It's nice of Trujillo to step back and let Newstead jam though. Both are class acts.



UPDATE: I thought I would share a recent video of Jakhals Frank interviewing James and Lars from Metallica for a Dutch TV show. Funny interview from a guy who isn't afraid to ask the band the tough questions.

Guitar Hero: Metallica = Best Guitar Hero Yet!

Today the complete track listing for Guitar Hero: Metallica was announced and I was surprised and excited to see all of the songs that made it on there.

It's no secret I am a Metallica fan-boy, but even those that only occasionally enjoy their Metallica should be impressed with the song options.

Here is a sample of what's to come and you can check out the complete song list via Blabbermouth.

Metallica songs:

+All Nightmare Long
+Creeping Death
+Disposable Heroes
+Dyers Eve
+No Leaf Clover
+Mercyful Fate (medley)
+and many more

Other bands:
+Diamond Head- Am I Evil?
+Judas Priest- Hellbent for Leather
+Mercyful Fate- Evil
+Alice in Chains- No Excuses

Any video game that gets kids into Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head and Samhain is cool in my book.

Even if you haven't played Guitar Hero and put it off as a toy, believe me, it is plenty of fun to play when gathering with friends and a few brews.

Metallica releases All Nightmare Long video!

Metallica released their second single off the album Death Magnetic called All Nightmare Long.

It seems to have some sort of sci-fi vibe going on and is very different, not something anyone expected Metallica to put out I'm guessing!

I'll let you judge for yourself whether you love it or hate it. Either way, good tune!