METALLICA's ROBERT TRUJILLO On 'Hardwired...To Self-Destruct': 'I Think This Album Sounds Crushing'

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo spoke with City Pages about the band's tenth studio album, "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct", which will be released on November 18 via Blackened Recordings. Asked if the disc's first single, "Hardwired", is indicative of the new album's direction, Trujillo said: "I think so. 'Hardwired' is the perfect statement to lead into this body of music.

"I think this album sounds crushing. Sound-wise, it's got a lot of firepower. I'm excited about the songs, but I'm also excited about the sound quality of the record. Greg Fidelman did a great job with the production."

He continued: "It's really fun music, but it's also challenging. It can be a bit complex, but there's strong melodies. I feel we've matured in the right way as a band. We've had a lot of creative challenges over the years and as we've gotten older, we've been going for it, you know?

Trujillo also talked about METALLICA's decision to return to its musical roots on 2008's "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired...To Self-Destruct". He said: "With [producer] Rick Rubin it was great that he seemed to bring the awareness that [drummer] Lars [Ulrich] and [frontman] James [Hetfield] should reconnect with the thrash roots. It was important for Rick to get METALLICA back into that style and energy. You pull from that and do something fresh with it. I feel it brought this band back, on a creative level, to a very special place. Now you get into this new body of music, we've grown from all the shows we've done, but also learning the Black Album top to bottom. 'Master Of Puppets', we did the same thing. We celebrated the 20-year anniversary, played the album in its entirety. Doing that rather than stepping away from the past, but embracing the past, and digging into it is something that helped us get to where we are now. 'Death Magnetic' was a launchpad for what's happening."

He added: "I'm excited about this, but I'm also excited about the future. We have a lot more riffs to share with the world. Hopefully it doesn't take eight years. [Laughs]"

"Hardwired...To Self-Destruct" will be issued on double CD, vinyl and digital download. A deluxe version will feature a bonus disc containing the riffs that formed the origins of the album along with "The Lords Of Summer", which the band debuted on tour a couple of years ago.