The big news in Metallica land, according to a message on the band’s official Web site, is that “there is nothing new to report.” Oh, we disagree. Judging by the pictures posted yesterday on their Web page, the San Francisco metal gods are hard at work on their ninth album, the follow-up to 2003s St. Anger. The photos show Lars Ulrich air-drumming in the recording room, a shaven James Hetfield thrashing about, wearing a Motörhead shirt. The band assures fans: “Work is continuing and all is good in the Metallica hood.” Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver, a friend of Ulrichs, recently heard prospective songs and told Rolling Stone that “It’s ridiculous. The demos were sick. Eight-minute songs, all these tempo changes, crazy fast.” There’s still no indication of when the Rick Rubin-produced album will finally be completed, but it’s nice to have proof of progress.
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