Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich called in to KROQ's "The Kevin and Bean Show" on Monday, May 5th to officially announce the band's participation in the station's annual Weenie Roast on May 17th at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in in Irvine, California. During the seven-minute segment, Ulrich spoke about the recording sessions for the band's new album and their upcoming touring activities. A couple of excerps follow:
Discussing the status of the new album:
"Knock on wood, this week should be our last week in the studio, and then we're gonna come and hang with you guys next week and then see some friends in Tucson also next weekend. Then we're off to Europe and start, basically, playing outdoor festival shows in Europe as part of our annual summer vacation in Europe. Then the record should come in September."
Addressing rumors that the album will be released in October:"We're planning on putting this baby out at some point in September, like I said, unless something [drastic happens], what they call in the music business an 'act of god.'"
On the MissionMetallica.com web site, which will go live next week:"Yeah, it rolls next Monday, May 12th. It's basically… the whole kind of 'get a free DVD with the album and watch the making of the album' and all that type of stuff. We thought, instead of doing the usual DVDs and all that, why don't we just do it on the Internet and people can kind of tune in every day, watch clips, contests, get updates for what's going on with the record and kind of watch the last couple of months of songtitles, album titles, final mixes, some broadcasts from the tour in Europe. So it's kind of a little bit of a countdown type of thing. It should be fun."
On when fans can expect to hear new material:
"I mean, obviously, you'll probably hear about it about five minutes after we finish playing it — thanks to the Internet, which we appreciate. I would say that based on the rehearsals in the last week, we're obviously playing a bunch of new songs, and at some point very, very soon we're gonna start playing some new stuff live. Whether that's gonna happen in Irvine in a couple of weeks or not, we haven't quite figured that one out yet, but it'll be pretty soon, trust me."
source: blabbermouth.net
