Apparently Metallica’s forthcoming new Rick Rubin-produced full-length will be titled Death Magnetic:

Last week, a mysterious image popped up on Metallica’s Web site — an image that continued to morph over the next few days. It began June 9 with just two letters, D and C, in the middle of four sideways Metallica M’s arranged to look like magnetic rays. Each day, more letters were added. Because the band had promised it would soon divulge the title of its forthcoming album (due in stores this fall), several fans accurately surmised that the image would eventually reveal the LP’s name. Some guessed the title would be Magnetica. On Saturday, just before the band’s set at Bonnaroo, the image changed for the last time, providing fans with the answer they’d been waiting for. It seems that Metallica have named their next record Death Magnetic.

Metallica is notorious for having issues with the internet when they were successful in ending Napster. Metallica recently invited music journalists and bloggers to a private listening party of their new album. There were no disclosure agreements signed or even spoken of. The event was reported on a number of different blogs and the new tracks were discussed.

Metallica got angry and sent notices to all the blogs to take down the posts regarding the band or legal action would be taken. Bad idea to piss off bloggers who have a loud voice on the internet.

Metallica is being honored with their own version of Guitar Hero in 2009. Song selection might be a problem for the band, especially deciding whether to feature any of their new material. The Metallica version of Guitar Hero will probably include mostly tracks from the new album to up record sales.

Choosing the entire album Kill ‘Em All is unlikely but seems like it would make the most Metallica fans happy. Ride The Lightning may be a better choice for Guitar Hero because the featured songs are perfect for smashing buttons on a plastic guitar. This album could potentially be problematic on a game that plenty of youngsters play because it discusses the death penalty, etc. This would probably have to have a mature rating, limiting sales. Master of Puppets would be a better choice for Guitar Hero because after coming out, it reached a large and diverse audience. Metal fans who consider Master of Puppets the best metal album of all time could have a problem with it entering the video game world, but who knows? And Justice For All will most likely be included, or at least the popular track “One.” For now we’ll just have to wait and keep playing the Aerosmith edition.

In what is interesting news to some, Ozzfest, which was once a lucrative touring festival, and later a “free”, half- assed touring festival, has now been downsized to a one day metalfest of sorts. My guess is bands finally realized that paying upwards of $80,000 to play for free on a nationwide tour is not worth it anymore. On the positive side, the lineup for one day show (held in Dallas, Texas at Pizza Hut Park) will feature performances from some pretty impressive bands; Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Serj Tankian, Hellyeah, Jonathan Davis and others. Kids that love outdated music and washed up, used-to-be-in-a-big-band-but-have-to-play-less-important-solo-music are stoked.

A trailer for Metallica’s new Mission:Metallica website features a sneak preview of some of the new songs on the band’s forthcoming Rick Rubin produced album. Metallica are of course one of most bad ass bands of all time, and even if they fucked off on the last couple of records, any true Metallica head still has hope that James Hetfield will pull a few Puppets-era riffs out of his ass and make this new record hard as f. Plus the band finally canned Bob Rock, which is definitely a start. Now if they could just start slamming Jaegermeister and writing “EET FUK” on their guitars again they’d really be getting somewhere!

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich hints that the band could follow Radiohead for an eventual digital release. With only one more album to go on their Warner Brothers Records deal Metallica looks like they’ll be leaving the major label game.

From Cnet:

“We want to be as free (as) players as possible,” Ulrich told Rolling Stone during the band’s Northern California appearance for Record Store Day. “We’ve been observing Radiohead and Trent Reznor and in 27 years or however long it takes for the next record, we’ll be looking forward to everything in terms of possibilities with the Internet.”

No, he’s not endorsing peer-to-peer sites, but there’s no mistaking what Ulrich meant. The group is considering whether to follow the lead of Radiohead and Reznor, leader of the band Nine Inch Nails. Those acts sent shock waves throughout the music industry over the past six months by distributing albums over the Web without the aid of a record company. They also offered digital versions of the albums for free.