Band records stripped-down version from their homes
Metallica has gotten together remotely in quarantine to record a stripped-down version of “Blackened.” Each of the four members filmed and recorded their parts in their own homes and released it on social media on Friday (May 1st).
“Here’s a little something we cooked up over the last few days. Hope you’re all safe & sound. Have a great weekend,” the band shares with the video.
The original version appears on the band’s fourth studio album …And Justice For All.
Last week, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich participated in a Zoom “fireside chat” with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff in which he revealed the band could record a new album during the quarantine.
“A lot of that will do with how long the stay-at-home orders are in place and a lot of that will have to do with if there’s a second wave of the virus,” Ulrich shares. “Who knows what our world will look like six months from now? But obviously, the one thing that you can depend on with creative people, for better or worse, is that they can’t sit still for very long and I can tell you that on one of these weekly Metallica Zoom sessions we are talking about how we can just be a band again.”
The band has largely been inactive since frontman James Hetfield re-entered rehab earlier this year, forcing the cancelation of their Australian tour. The band had also planned to headline five Danny Wimmer Presents festival shows, performing two nights back to back at each, but two were canceled due to rehab and then the rest due to COVID-19.
As of press time, the group has rescheduled South American tour dates for December 2020. The six city trek was set to for April, but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Greta Van Fleet will still be support on the tour running December 4-20th.
Metallica has stepped up to assist those who’ve been affected by the coronavirus pandemic through its All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH). The group shares that Feeding America, Direct Relief, Live Nation’s Crew Nation, and The USBG National Charity Foundation will all receive grants totaling $350k.
The group is making the most of social distancing by offering Metallica Mondays where fans can stream complete live shows on their Facebook page and YouTube channel. Every week, the group will stream a different complete different show from their Live Metallica archives.
