Kirk Hammett of Metallica, by Victoria Anderson

In an interview with Alternative Press, Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett revealed that Greg Fidelman is the de facto producer of the bands new album, which is said to be currently in the final phases of recording. Recently performing their first show of 2016 at CBS Radio’s The Night Before concert event at Super Bowl 50, both James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich claimed on stage that there would be a new Metallica album released during 2016.

Kirk commented on Fidelman’s level of involvement:

“We have not brought in any [other] producer and it looks extremely [unlikely] we’d bring one in this late into the project.”

“The title ‘producer’ itself is a bit ambiguous. It differs from person to person. You can call Rick Rubin a producer, but he’s not the [same] type of producer as Bob Rock, who is there for every note. At the same time, Rick Rubin gets stuff done. Greg Fidelman is a different type of producer in that he’s with the engineer always looking to try and move the project forward. And that’s different from, say, Dr. Dre, who is the type of producer who is actually making backing tracks, producing music, writing music. In the hip-hop world, Dre is a producer. It’s so ambiguous. If you go by the traditional term, we’re doing it with Greg, pretty much.”

“Greg is a real pleasure to work with. Even though he can be a bit of a taskmaster, he listens to you. He’s super-flexible. He knows how to crack the whip without fucking pissing people off.”

Hammett also commented on the difficulties of making an album for Metallica at this point in their career:

“The hardest part” about recording Metallica is coordinating the bandmembers’ schedules so that the production process can move forward at a comfortable pace. “Hey, for us, life has its demands,” he said. “We’re trying to make an album and go on tour, trying to be a band, but we all recognize that if someone has a family situation, that takes priority over everything. That’s another reason why [the new album] is taking so long. That’s another obstacle for Greg Fidelman He’s always joking about it, but it really takes a lot of, like, you know, tap dancing and juggling.”

The new Metallica album will be their 10^th album of original music, not including live albums, compilations and covers. It will be the first new full length album from the band since 2009’s Death Magnetic. Fidelman may be seen by fans as a controversial, but safe choice for the band in the producer’s chair. Known for his work with Slipknot and Slayer, Fidelman came under fire from fans for the sound quality (clipping) associated with the Death Magnetic finished product.

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