While everyone is in lockdown, we’re all thinking of things to do. Many bands and musicians have stepped up considerably with online shows or posting of unreleased concert material from the past. And Metallica have been particularly active during the quarantine. They’ve been sharing old concert footage every Monday, entitled ‘Metallica Mondays.’ They’ve done a really cool, laid back rendition of their classic barnburner ‘Blackened.’ And they’re also working on a charity called ‘All Within My Hands.’
But that’s not all. It looks like the band just might be gifting us with a new album. Nothing’s for certain of course. But Lars Ulrich has stated that there’s a ‘very good chance.’ During a Twitter interview Ulrich went into detail: ‘The people that make all the software and stuff that we use to record are sitting right now trying to figure out how Lars, James, Kirk and Rob can make a Metallica record from four different locations in four different states. That’s obviously something we’re very excited about.’ He later went on to say, ‘Will there be a Metallica quarantine record? I can’t tell you because I can’t tell you how long the quarantine will last. But if you and I and the rest of the world are still sitting here six months or a year from now, I can say there’s a very good chance.’
And so far, the way things are looking, it likely is going to be another six months or so. So the question then becomes, ‘what direction are they going to go in?’ Their new rendition of the classic thrasher ‘Blackened’ might be a clue. It’s a stripped down, semi-acoustic version. Played in half time, it captures the mood of the state of the world. And I think that would probably be the direction of a new album. It certainly seems like something James Hetfield would want to do. Maybe sprinkled with some classic thrash pieces. Also, after listening to the sound quality and mix of the new ‘Blackened,’ it seems like this may be the future of recording. Each member is in their own home and the mix sounds excellent. As if they were in a studio performing the song. It’s absolutely possible to do an album in that manner with today’s technology. That could just become a standard for all recording artists for the foreseeable future. Hopefully Metallica will deliver yet another excellent album.
