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The adage “If it’s too loud, you’re too old” doesn’t apply to 85-year-old Margaret Priebe, a Florida resident who just this weekend embarked with her son to see Metallica’s World Magnetic tour stop in Tampa. Priebe’s story became Internet lore in the weeks leading up to the show: According to the St. Petersburg Times, Priebe was first introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame metal band nine years ago when she heard a song off their orchestral S&M album on the radio.

Check out our report from World Magnetic’s leg launch in Nashville.

While most senior citizens would’ve quickly fled to talk radio, Priebe fell in love with what she heard. Last year, while battling cancer, Priebe stocked her iPod full of Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne to help her through her recovery. The story of the head-banging octogenarian eventually made its way to Metallica themselves, as the band welcomed Priebe backstage to meet them prior to their Tampa concert. (more…)

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For five years, Metallica’s own LiveMetallica Website has offered up high-quality downloads of the band’s concerts spanning from 1982 to their current World Magnetic tour. However, fans were only able to purchase concerts as a whole, as opposed to the a la carte song options popularized by iTunes. Perhaps the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ hookup with Apple earlier this year rubbed off a little bit, because Metallica announced yesterday on their official Website that single song purchases are now available on LiveMetallica.

Keeping with tradition, single MP3s carry a 99-cent price tag, while purchasing the entire concert will remain $9.95, making purchasing the full show more wallet-friendly in the long run. The high-quality FLAC download will also remain $12.95. LiveMetallica features over 269 shows and, as the band points out, no two set lists are the same. If you haven’t checked out LiveMetallica yet, we recommend you do so, as there’s also dozens of free downloads of concerts spanning the band’s entire career. (more…)

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“Are you ready for this?” Metallica frontman James Hetfield growled from the stage of Nashville’s Sommet Center Monday night, at the official kickoff of the band’s latest U.S. run. “Metallica is mighty grateful to be alive, and here celebrating life with loud, heavy music.”

Loud and heavy it was — heavy enough to comically shake from the rafters all the heart-shaped confetti remaining from Taylor Swift’s show there two nights before — as Metallica burned through a big cache of songs from their latest, speed-metal tradition-bearing Death Magnetic album and a healthy share of similarly muscular, propulsive early work.

The band’s two-hour-plus Stateside opener, coming after months of overseas dates, kicked off with an aggressive, laser light-flanked “That Was Just Your Life” and “The End Of The Line” from Magnetic, Hetfield following up by telling the crowd, “We appreciate you. Here’s some old stuff.” (more…)

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Jason Newsted’s 15-year stint playing bass for one of heavy metal’s biggest acts came to an end nine years ago, when he exited Metallica for “private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love.” On April 4th, when Metallica are inducted into Cleveland, Ohio’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Newsted will be there to accept rock’s highest honor, and he’s even agreed to reunite with drummer Lars Ulrich, frontman James Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett (along with current bassist Robert Trujillo) for an impromptu set he promises will include “at least one song about Satan.” (Revisit the band’s career in Metallica: Through the Years in Photos.)

Since splitting the band to form the short-lived Echobrain, Metallica fans have wondered whether Newsted has ever regretted leaving the band. With less than a week to go before the Rock Hall, Newsted tells Rolling Stone the answer is absolutely not.

“I tell you very honestly, 1 billion percent, I have never regretted leaving Metallica,” Newsted says. “It was the right thing for everyone. It was the right thing to do for the camp, that’s it. I’ve never told anyone that I wanted to go back or anything like that, not once. (more…)

On April 4th, Metallica will march into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when they’re inducted alongside Run-DMC and Jeff Beck. But tonight on Fuse, the band charts its journey to the Rock Hall in a new special called Metallica: In Their Own Words (it airs at 9 p.m.). The doc mixes brutal onstage footage with the band’s reflections on its lengthy and prolific career. Click above to check out a clip from the show, where frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich muse on staying on the road for 20-plus years. (Get reacquainted with the band’s career in Metallica: Through the Years in Photos.)

“When people talk about longevity they go right to the Rolling Stones,” Hetfield says. “No disrespect, they’re not doing what we’re doing, it’s that simple,” Lars Ulrich adds. Hetfield continues, “They’re not head-banging, they’re not playing 100-miles-an-hour songs.” (more…)

Photo: Natkin/WireImage

Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is excited about his trip to Cleveland, Ohio, in two weeks. And why shouldn’t he be? The band he spent 15 years slapping his bass for, the mighty Metallica, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4th, and for the first time in nine years, “the Black Album band will be back together and mow the shit down,” as he puts it.

That’s right. Newsted has confirmed for Rolling Stone that he’s going to be onstage with the band he left back in 2001, along with guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the man who replaced him, bassist Robert Trujillo. Newsted says former bassist Ron McGovney will also be on hand for the honors, as will Ray Burton, the father of the man Newsted replaced, the late Cliff Burton.

“There’s three bass players getting inducted, and James, Lars and Kirk,” he says. Former guitarist Dave Mustaine, who now fronts Megadeth, will not be inducted, however. “Its not my decision. I have nothing to do with that. It was decided by the band, and I think it was just a hard-and-fast rule… anyone who has recorded on any Metallica recordings that have been released to the public as an official release were invited to the induction. So, that’s kind of that.”

According to Newsted, it was Ulrich who made the “very recent” call, inviting him to Cleveland for the induction. (more…)

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Metallica have debuted the video for their Death Magnetic cut “Broken, Beat and Scarred” on their official Website (it’s not embeddable just yet, so click on over to get a look). Directed by music video vet Wayne Isham and filmed at a pair of December 2008 California concerts, the video gives a stage-eye view of what it’s like to experience the soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Famers perform during their never-ending Death Magnetic tour. “Broken, Beat and Scarred” will be released as a single starting April 3rd, where it’s backed by live versions of “End of the Line,” “Of Wolf and Man” and “Stone Cold Crazy.” Unfortunately, the single will only be released abroad, so check the import section of your local record store if any of those still exist by April 3rd.

In other Metallica news, the digital-only package The Complete Metallica has been pushed back from March 31st to April 14th. The set will first appear on iTunes, then branch out to other digital music services on April 28th and feature 163 tracks from every studio album, live albums, soundtrack cuts and more, but doesn’t include the Live Shit: Binge & Purge box set. (more…)

A week before James Hetfield and Co. are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the metal icons’ Guitar Hero: Metallica video game hits stores, on March 29th. The new addition to the GH franchise boasts 28 controller-shredding songs taken from Metallica’s voluminous catalog as well as band-approved acts including Motorhead, Slayer and Mastodon (check out our sneak preview here!). Rolling Stone sat down with frontman James Hetfield at SXSW a few hours before Metallica’s epic “surprise” show to find out how he likes his pixellated persona, whether he thinks Death Magnetic sounds better on video game or record and if he believes encouraging kids to pick up plastic instruments is hurting their chances of learning real ones.

Which member of Metallica is the best at playing Guitar Hero?
Oh, I don’t know. I think we’re all equally bad.

As a guitarist, how are you at using the guitar controller?
The initial thought was, “This is gonna be so easy.” And then I picked it up and tried doing it. And it was like [makes plunking sound]. “Are you kidding me? You guys suck! You’re supposed to follow me!” I gotta be on with the lines. And Metallica’s not as on with the lines as some other bands. Especially having Lars as a drummer [Laughs].

How do you feel about the criticism that games like Guitar Hero are keeping a generation of kids from picking up actual guitars?
That’s an interesting backlash. I think Guitar Hero is a great gateway drug to real music. If you’ve got the music bug, nothing’s gonna stop you. It’s your destiny to express your gift. (more…)

Photo: Getty

Confirming “the worst kept secret in rock n’ roll,” Metallica officially revealed that there will be an all-Metallica Guitar Hero game “released in the first half (!?) of 2009″ on their Website this weekend. According to the band, gamers will have the option of playing as Metallica themselves, with a “career mode” that echoes Metallica’s own rise to heavy metal stardom. The game will house roughly 28 Metallica songs, plus songs from “buddies” like the Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Slayer and Queen.

The game will also contain new Guitar Hero features like an “Expert+” mode that requires faux-drummers to emulate Lars Ulrich and master two bass kick drum pedals. (more…)

Metallica have unleashed their new video for the Death Magnetic epic “All Nightmare Long.” While the band doesn’t actually show up in the video, the nine-minute clip could be the best Metallica video since “One,” and possibly even the best video of the year. Combining the a Grindhouse-esque worn film look with equal parts Russian educational documentary, Watership Down style animation and Re-Animator, the video tells the story of a strange spore that falls to Earth that first heals wounds and revives dead pets but eventually leads to a zombie takeover in the former USSR. (more…)

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Metallica’s massive world tour behind Death Magnetic is still in its infancy, but Lars Ulrich has visions of it lasting beyond next year. “We’re booked up through August of next year, and right now we’re sort of laying out Fall of ‘09 and the Spring of ‘10,” he says. “We’re waiting for a few other countries to be actually formalized as nations so we can be the first band in. We’re also waiting for the polar caps to stabilize so we can go play there. There’s talk about some other planets too.” As of now the band is on planet earth, playing American arenas for the first time in four years. “It’s great to be back indoors,” says Ulrich. “We’re right in the thick of it in the middle of the arena. It completely exposes every nuance and that adds a real tone of vitality and excitement.” (more…)

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Nearly a decade after suing Napster for posting their music online, Metallica are contemplating the possibility of an Internet release for their next album. “We’re free of our record contract,” Lars Ulrich tells Rolling Stone. “We have that element of complete freedom with the next record, so we can do whatever we want. We could do an Internet thing or even put it on Andy Greene’s record label.” (I, for one, think that’s a great idea). They’re in no rush to head back into the studio however. “I wouldn’t hold my breath for another Metallica record,” Ulrich says. “I’m still decompressing and coming down from the whole experience of the last one, but if we spit one out every four or five years that’s not so bad.” (more…)

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The icy home of the Phoenix Coyotes got a blast of hot metal as Metallica kicked off their tour Tuesday night at Glendale, AZ’s Jobing.com Arena. True to form, the metal godfathers arrived on stage to the sounds of “The Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, followed by the buzzsaw that is “That Was Just Your Life.” Though the songs are new, the Death Magnetic tracks fit seamlessly into the rest of the band’s catalog, and the months of road testing made those tunes feel both well-worn and razor sharp.

• Photo Gallery: Metallica Shred Through Death Magnetic, Dance With Coffins at Tour Kickoff in Arizona

Much to the pleasure of the black-clad, devil horn-thrusting crowd, the quartet performed extended versions of deep cut classics like “Master of Puppets,” “Fight Fire with Fire” and “The Four Horsemen,” tunes that on previous tours were reserved for medleys. (more…)

An odd complaint has cropped up around the release of Metallica’s much-anticipated chart-topping album Death Magnetic: fans think it’s too loud. A number of online message boards have been bombarded by fans who think the group kept sound levels so high that the quality was compromised. Though the band and management stand by Death Magnetic, that hasn’t stopped fans from signing petitions and sharing the less-loud mixes made available for Guitar Hero. Click below for more on the latest battle in the “loudness wars,” including the criticisms levied by the mastering engineer on Death Magnetic.

• Fans Complain Metallica Disc Is Too Loud

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Though he admits that he was joining “the coolest band on the planet,” Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s entrance into the band was about as intimidating as could be. “It was intense. I had to learn the catalog of music, 22 years of music. And I had to learn the St. Anger album,” explains Trujillo. “‘We’ve never played this material as a band, but you’ve gotta learn it. And your first gig is going to be at San Quentin State Penitentiary.’” Click below for more from Trujillo, including what songs he played at his Metallica audition and which member of the band was his champion.

• Q&A: Metallica’s Robert Trujillo

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