Metallica Set ‘Blackened Friday’ Event for ‘Hardwired’ Release

Metallica will mark the November 18th arrival of their new LP Hardwired… to Self-Destruct with a Blackened Friday event and contest at independent record stores nationwide.

The event, a spin on Record Store Day’s Black Friday, kicks off at 11:59 p.m. local time at hundreds of record stores that will stay open until midnight to sell the heavy metal act’s new LP. Fans participating in the midnight sale will be eligible for free stuff like limited edition vinyl slipmats and posters, the band wrote.

The Blackened Friday contest itself begins the next day, with the grand prize winner receiving Hardwired… to Self-Destruct in a variety of formats, including the deluxe box set and a test pressing of the new LP.

The winner also gets an “Ask Me Where the Metallica Section Is” t-shirt as well as an “Exclusive Blackened Authorized Retailer Banner.” Ten runner-ups will get Hardwired as a double-vinyl as well as other exclusive items.

Enter the Blackened Friday contest and see a map of participating record stores at Metallica’s site. The band previously served as Record Store Day ambassadors in April.

In August, drummer Lars Ulrich spoke to Rolling Stone about Hardwired… to Self-Destruct. 

“Most of the songs are simpler,” Ulrich said. “We introduce a mood and we stick to it, rather than songs we’ve done where one riff happens and we go over here and then over there and it becomes a journey through all these different soundscapes. The songs are more linear. And by ‘less frenetic,’ I mean there are certainly less starts and stops in the songs. It cruises along a little bit more than the last record.”