photo by Jon Wiederhorn

One of the great lyrics of 2008: "What don't kill ya make ya more strong" from Metallica's "Broken, Beat & Scarred."

It's actually a grammatically incorrect re-phrasing of the Friedrich Nietzsche axiom "That which does not kill us makes us stronger," but it gets the point across in colloquial terms and is as relevant today as it was when it was first spoken. Moreover, it's a slogan of optimism for anyone who feels abused, beaten down, undervalued or betrayed. Feel like sh-t today? Drink heavily tonight. Shake your hangover off tomorrow and come back the next day less naive and more informed, with a realistic perspective on your misfortune and a bit more insight on the selfish nature of mankind. ("Click "more" for more about the philosophy of Metallica and to watch the band's new video "Broken, Beat & Scarred." Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Metallica had a surprise for fans at the band's February 25 show in Nottingham, England. During the first show of their current European tour, the group debuted the new sing "The Judas Kiss," the seventh track they've played from latest album Death Magnetic since they began touring the disc. Click "more" to watch professionally filmed footage of the nine-minute long clip. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

When Metallica toured for their poorly received 2003 album St. Anger, the band only played two or three new songs. It was almost as if they were aware that the tunes weren't quite up to snuff and they'd be better off rocking the crowd with a set full of classics. They easily could have done the same with their Death Magnetic tour and swaggered away victorious. Instead, at the first of three sold-out New York area appearances, they played over 60 percent of the new album Death Magnetic and were rewarded with fist-in-the air sing-alongs from the crowd. Read more...

photo by Jon Wiederhorn

Last night we hauled ass out to The Nassau Coliseum, home of the New York Islanders, to catch the first of three New York-area shows by Metallica, Machine Head and The Sword. Unfortunately, we missed the Sword because we had to pick up our Metallica photo pass and once we had it we weren't allowed in the venue with our camera. But the upshot of having a photo pass is you get to be at the very front of the stage for three songs of each band's set, so, as much as we dig The Sword, the sacrifice was worth it. Click "more" to see a gallery of photos of Metallica and Machine Head. And check back later today for a full review of the show. Read more...

One single shot of James Hetfield, which is more than you'll see in Metallica's new video

Seeing that Metallica's newest album Death Magnetic is, in many ways, a throwback to the ferocity and complexity of 1988's ...And Justice For All, it's not surprising that the band has returned to the narrative silent film style of their first video, "One," for the nine-minute "All Nightmare Long." However, the band may have delved too far into the concept and strayed too far from the music.

The story line is pretty cool, combining elements of horror movies like "Reanimator" and "Night of the Living Dead" and cold war films such as "Fail-Safe." The plot involves some alien or meteor explosion in Russia that reveals a new scorpion-like life form whose DNA is capable of reviving dead tissue. Following years of research, the entity is used in a lethal biological weapon, which is dropped from a hot air balloon on the U.S. in an effort to contain America's use of nukes on the Soviets. The contagion quickly spreads and zombies spread across the nation, consuming all in their path.

The biggest problem with "All Nightmare Long" is it doesn't feature any shots of the Metallica -- not even as zombies. Also, the story doesn't really parallel the lyrics of the song. So, in the end it's kind of like blaring Death Magnetic while watching a creepy old movie on the Sci-Fi Channel. That the video is nine minutes long only adds to the dissociative process. Damn fine song, though. Click "more" to watch the mini-movie and let the carnage begin. Read more...

photo by Lyndsay Siegel

Instead of our usual Friday audio podcast, we've ramped it up a little bit in commemoration of our 20th anniversary celebration of "Headbangers Ball." We've put together a video podcast for you, and not just any video podcast, a video podcast with Metallica founder Lars Ulrich that was shot at the band's San Francisco practice space/hangout/home studio Metallica HQ.

During the interview, Ulrich talks about the birth of and enduring influence of "Headbangers Ball," referencing ex-host Riki Rachtman and some of the highlights of the program; the uniting force of the program; and the importance of Metallica's "One" video, which broke the band into the MTV world.

Ulrich also discusses the tremendous success of the band's new record Death Magnetic, the perceived "failure" of its last album St. Anger, the decision to revisit elements from past releases for the new disc, what producer Rick Rubin brought to the band and the challenge and importance of relinquishing control and rolling with the punches. Click "more" to stream or download the interview and watch a couple live clips. And don't miss the rest of our "Headbangers Ball" 20th anniversary celebration, which concludes Saturday night with a two hour special that runs from 10 to 12 a.m. EST on MTV2 and features special guests Dee Snider, Riki Rachtman and Jamey Jasta. Read more...

all photos by Lyndsay Siegel

Wanna see where Metallica magnetically go when they're thinking about Death? Interested in checking out the decor of the place where they've come up with some of their most captivating and complex musical ideas since 1988's ...And Justice For All? You won't find any of drummer Lars Ulrich's Jean-Michael Basquiat paintings there or posters for the warts-and-all 2004 documentary "Some Kind of Monster." But many of the band's creature comforts are right here: frontman James Hetfield's Lazyboy (in which we sat), an electric chair (in which we didn't sit), a surreal painting of guitarist Kirk Hammett's idol Jimi Hendrix, the severed head of Lady Liberty from the ...And Justice For All tour, memorabilia the band has collected from fans over the decades and boatloads of recording equipment and instruments.

Click "more" to see exclusive photos we shot inside Metallica HQ, and tune in to MTV2 next week during our "Headbangers Ball" 20th Anniversary, in which we take over the network for a week of video premieres and special programming, including the "MTV Essential: Metallica" (premiering Monday at 11 p.m.), which takes a look at the evolution of the biggest band in metal from their beginnings to the present. The program features new interviews with the band talking about their top-charting album Death Magnetic, and footage from their performance at this year's Rock Am Ring festival. And don't miss our exclusive video interview podcast with Lars Ulrich, which will premiere right here October 24. Read more...

In an age when so many people are getting their music online, artists are having to come up with inventive ways to convince fans to buy their CDs. One method is the tried and true "bonus CD." The idea here is that DVDs take much longer to copy online and require much computer space than CDs, and that, if the visual accompaniment is enticing enough, fans will decide the complete product is worth their hard earned cash.

Then there's the "free t-shirt with CD purchase" promotion used by acts including In This Moment, which, let's face it, is really more like "free CD with t-shirt." During the Metal Masters tour, Judas Priest actually offered offered a free lawn seat ticket to fans who bought physical copies of their epic double album Nostradamus. And finally, there are acts like Metallica, who feel cutting edge packaging and art work are enough to lure consumers to buy their CD. Read more...

If you haven't somehow already acquired a copy of Metallica's new album Death Magnetic, click "more" to stream six out of the ten songs. Read more...

Well, here's a day we thought would never come. It's been five years since Metallica released the turbo-charged video for "Frantic," which featured "Wildest Moments Caught on Video"-style footage of a car plowing through an RV and lots of sped up shots of a wired dude in a club. For the long-awaited follow up, "The Day that Never Comes," Metallica hooked up with director Thomas Vinterberg to shoot a narrative video about the harsh reality of war. The clip features a jeep hitting a landmine, a soldier tending to his buddy's wounds and footage of military men in the desert, guns drawn, senses on full alert.

"Our goal was to step outside of the usual every day music video box and into to the world of film," writes the band on its Web site. "We shot it outside of Los Angeles a month ago and we hope that you are as blown away by Thomas' vision as we are."

Click "more" to watch Metallica's music video return. Read more...