Metallica has been not so hard at work on their tenth studio album for quite a few years now and it seems in the last three years all we’ve heard from Lars and Co that it’s on the way…soon. But, in positive news they have finally put some kind of date stamp on the release, with Ulrich saying he can’t see it NOT being released in 2016.
Ulrich has told Billboard.com that the end is in sight for the currently unnamed release: “We’re getting there!” he said. “I think it’s going to get wrapped up soon. Unless something radical happens, it would be difficult for me to believe that it won’t come out in 2016. That’s what we’re going for. But obviously, the way we do things now is very different than the way we did things back in the days of Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning. Nowadays we like to do so many different things — we like to write and record but we also like to be Record Store Day ambassadors and put out deluxe reissues and go play at Rasputin’s and AT&T Park and all these other things.
“So, you know, writing and recording is now something that is part of the bigger picture rather than something that happens exclusively. And when it really comes down to it, the new record may actually have been written and recorded faster than the last one [2008’s Death Magnetic]. It’s just been spread out over a longer period of time, with these gaps in recording. Which is fine. I’m certainly not complaining about it. It’s just the way we work now. But anyway, the record — it’s definitely coming along. Nearing completion. Should be done soon…hopefully. (Laughs)”
In what is fast becoming Metallica’s Chinese Democracy album, we can only hope that unlike that album it will be worth the wait. It’s now been eight long years since the release of Death Magnetic and die-hard fans are champing at the bit for some new material. So there you have it set in stone, Metallica’s new album will be released in 2016…probably.
