Metallica's New Album Being Produced by Greg Fidelman, Kirk Hammett Confirms

Published Mar 14, 2016

Apart from a short snippet near the end of last year, thrash metal legends Metallica have largely remained silent on where they're at with the follow-up to 2008's Death Magnetic . But a new interview with guitarist Kirk Hammett has revealed who will be behind the boards in producing the band's forthcoming record.Speaking with Alternative Press , Hammett revealed that the band are "pretty much doing it" with Greg Fidelman despite having not officially announced a producer yet. "As far as what the final outcome will be, I don't know," Hammett said. "We have not brought in any [other] producer and it looks extremely [unlikely] we'd bring one in this late into the project."No stranger to working with the band, Fidelman's credits include engineering and mixing Death Magnetic, as well as lending his talents to the band's oft-maligned Lou Reed collaboration Lulu . Apart from Metallica, Fidelman has also mixed, engineered and produced records from Slayer, High on Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, System of a Down, Johnny Cash and Adele."Greg is a real pleasure to work with. Even though he can be a bit of a taskmaster, he listens to you," Hammett said. "He's super-flexible. He knows how to crack the whip without fucking pissing people off."On why the album is taking as long as it has to record, Hammett said it's been hanging on each member's schedule."Hey, for us, life has its demands. We're trying to make an album and go on tour, trying to be a band, but we all recognize that if someone has a family situation, that takes priority over everything," he said. "That's another obstacle for Greg Fidelman. He's always joking about it, but it really takes a lot of, like, you know, tap dancing and juggling."One can only hope Fidelman doesn't let the new record fall victim to the "loudness wars." Before the new record arrives, Metallica are set to reissue two of their classics the day before they celebrate their title as ambassadors of Record Store Day 2016 on April 16, when they will also issue their Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica! - Live at Le Bataclan. Paris, France - June 11th, 2003 live album.