MISSION: METALLICA

Metallica have launched a new web site called Mission: Metallica. It basically is giving fans a (probably heavily doctored) documentary of the making of thier new album, as they are finishing it up. I don't think it will be the wart-and-all affair that the fascinating film Some Kind Of Monster was. But I don't think that that is their vibe this time around. I think finally James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich have come to terms with each other, and Robert Trujilo has fit into the band perfectly, and given them a great shot in the arm.

Anyway, Mission: Metallica is a pretty forward-thinking idea that a more hip band would get more credit for. But since their battle with Napster, lots of people will always hate them. I didn't disagree with Metallica - stealing is stealing. I think they may have suffered more for Lars always being on camera as the anti-Napster poster boy. But really, the band have always been generous with fans - there are always taping sections at shows. They just didn't want people to be able to take their studio outtakes and post them to the web. It was more quality control than anything else.

The St. Anger album came with a special code - as long as you paid for the album, you could get access to a vault of free, downloadable Metallica bootleg recordings. It's funny that this never gets mentioned. I asked Lars about it, and he kind of shrugged. He knew that people's perceptions of him are set in stone, there's nothing he can do about it.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the new album. Earlier today, I listened to Kill 'Em All - what a classic. They'll never do an album like that again, but I think with Rick Rubin, they at least have a new kind of quality control that they didn't in the past. A non-musician who knows what he likes, and whose instincts have been proven time and time again.