Metallica album won't happen this year - Ulrich

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says the band's long-awaited tenth album won't be recorded until early next year – but he's not even certain it'll happen that soon.

He’d already suggested the follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic wouldn’t be released until 2015, although he’d also said work would begin in the coming weeks.

Now Ulrich tells La Viola (via Blabbermouth): “We’ve got some good ideas. Our biggest problem is not the ideas, our biggest problem is time.

“Metallica is busier than ever – it just seems like there’s more and more going on and the days get shorter and shorter. But hopefully we will be done writing this year. Next year we should record and hopefully have a new record out maybe next year.

“We’ll see. Hopefully next year.”

The band have been playing new track Lords Of Summer on their By Request tour, which comes to the UK when they headline Sonisphere in July.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.