Dogmatic

I remember a time where a new Metallica release would have me marking off X’s on a calendar. The anticipation was beyond enormous as the band’s first three albums were classics of the highest order. One by one they landed. ‘Kill ‘Em All’, ‘Ride The Lightning’ and the masterful ‘Master of Puppets’.

They were lauded as the best thing to happen to Metal since the glory years of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

Rightfully so. Metallica were a very, very special band.

Having been a fan of the band from even before they had a record deal of any kind - I always held them close to the heart but recently, as with many, I have grown to despise them and that pretentious twat of a godawful drummer - Lars Ulrich.

But… even after the abomination that was ‘St. Anger’ - I remained curious to see what they could possibly deliver next.

So after hearing the first track today, I’m feeling that tingle again. It sounds promising. Real promising.

So, without any further adieu… check it all out below:

Metallica: The Day That Never Comes (Windows Media)
Metallica: The Day That Never Comes (Real Media)
Metallica: The Day That Never Comes (MySpace)

James Hetfield told MTV.com that the clip won’t be making any lofty political statements about the war in Iraq. Instead, it’s a statement on humanity, helmed by acclaimed Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking. Hetfield said that when he was writing the song’s lyrics, he never envisioned the video would look anything like this.

“That’s the beauty, I think, of writing vague but powerful lyrics — that someone like a movie director can interpret it in his own way and obviously, someone creative is able to take the metaphors and apply them to whatever he needs in his own life,” the frontman explained to MTV.com. “The main [theme of the video] is the human element of forgiveness and someone doing you wrong, you feeling resentment and you being able to see through that in the next situation that might be similar and not take your rage or resentment out on the next person and basically keep spreading the disease of that through life.”

He added, “The one thing that I wasn’t keen on here was Metallica plugging into a modern war or a current event [that] might be construed as some sort of political statement on our part. There are so many celebrities that soapbox their opinions, and people believe it’s more valid because they’re popular. For us, people are people — you should all have your own opinion. We are hopefully putting the human element in what is an unfortunate part of life. There are people over there dealing with situations like this, and we’re showing the human part of being there.

“It’s the forgiveness part — that is key,” he continued. “Metallica has never plugged into any current event visually, but this one is kind of a hotbed. People have very high opinions about this war, and we’re trying to cut through all of that. The politics and the religion tend to separate people, and what we’re trying to do is bring it together with the common thread of resentment and forgiveness.”

Metallica’s new album, ‘Death Magnetic’, is scheduled for release on September 12.