Go Behind the New Rolling Stone Cover: Metallica

Death Magnetic is finally here, and so is the Metallica cover of Rolling Stone. Pick up the new issue today to find out what it took to make their heaviest record in decades, plus how they continue to deal with ego clashes and the fallout of Some Kind of Monster's group therapy sessions. Check out the feature below, and also take a look at the online-exclusive interviews with each of the bandmembers.

But first, click above for a behind the scenes look at James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo at their Rolling Stone cover shoot at their home base, where Ulrich admits, "It's a good summer to be Metallica."

• Louder, Faster, Stronger: How Metallica Conquered Bad Habits, Group Therapy and Ego Clashes to Make Their Heaviest Record Ever
• Photo Gallery: Three Decades of Metallica
• James Hetfield: "There's More Dedication From the Four of Us Than Ever Before"
• Lars Ulrich: "If We Don't Get Along, Everything Else Is Irrelevant"
• Kirk Hammett: "I Was Ready To Start Working On a Solo Album"
• Robert Trujillo: "It's Like You're Caught Inside a Massive Set of Waves"

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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