Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo recently spoke with City Pages about the band's new single, "Hardwired", and their highly anticipated new album Hardwired...To Self Destruct. An excerpt is available below.

CP: Your new single “Hardwired” is a really thrashy tune. Is that indicative of the new album's direction?

Trujillo: "I think so. 'Hardwired' is the perfect statement to lead into this body of music. I think this album sounds crushing. Sound-wise, it's got a lot of firepower. I'm excited about the songs, but I'm also excited about the sound quality of the record. Greg Fidelman did a great job with the production. It's really fun music, but it's also challenging. It can be a bit complex, but there's strong melodies. I feel we've matured in the right way as a band. We've had a lot of creative challenges over the years and as we've gotten older, we've been going for it."

CP: When Death Magnetic came out, a lot of people praised it as a return to Metallica's roots.

Trujillo: "Definitely."

CP: The new single seems to follow that theme. Is that conscious?

Trujillo: "With (producer) Rick Rubin it was great that he seemed to bring the awareness that Lars and James should reconnect with the thrash roots. It was important for Rick to get Metallica back into that style and energy. You pull from that and do something fresh with it. I feel it brought this band back, on a creative level, to a very special place. Now you get into this new body of music, we've grown from all the shows we've done, but also learning the Black Album top to bottom. Master of Puppets we did the same thing. We celebrated the 20-year anniversary, played the album in its entirety. Doing that rather than stepping away from the past, but embracing the past, and digging into it is something that helped us get to where we are now. Death Magnetic was a launchpad for what's happening. I'm excited about this, but I'm also excited about the future. We have a lot more riffs to share with the world. Hopefully it doesn't take eight years (laughs)."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

p>Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the long awaited new Metallica studio album, and follow up to Death Magnetic, will be released on November 18th. The double CD will include nearly 80 minutes of music.

In the new album trailer below, a snippet of the new track “Moth Into Flame” can be heard at the 2 minute mark:

A music video for the album’s lead track and first single, “Hardwired”, as well as a nine-minute video featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the writing and recording sessions for "Hardwired”, can be found below. Check out the “Hardwired” single artwork...

Says the band: “Hardwired… represents the next phase of our journey as Metallica and we are so excited to share it with you. If anyone was tuned into radio station 93X in Minneapolis earlier today, you heard the world debut of the first track, “Hardwired”, and we’re hoping you’ll hear a lot more of it in the coming days. Produced by Greg Fidelman, along with James and Lars, this is our 11th studio album and is available for pre-order in a variety of configurations including 12 songs on a double CD, vinyl, digital download, as well as a deluxe version with the riffs that were the origins of the album. Everyone who pre-orders the album through Metallica.com will receive an instant download of the song “Hardwired”.

“We cannot wait to hit the road to play these songs live and get in your faces once again, so strap yourselves in… INCOMING!”

Tracklisting:

Disc One
“Hardwired”
“Atlas, Rise!”
“Now That We’re Dead”
“Moth Into Flame”
“Am I Savage?”
“Halo On Fire”

Disc Two
“Confusion”
“Dream No More”
“ManUNkind”
“Here Comes Revenge”
“Murder One”
“Spit Out The Bone”

Disc Three (Deluxe Edition Only)
“Lords Of Summer”
“Riff Charge” (Riff Origins)
“N.W.O.B.H.M. A.T.M.” (Riff Origins)
“Tin Shot” (Riff Origins)
“Plow” (Riff Origins)
“Sawblade” (Riff Origins)
“RIP” (Riff Origins)
“Lima” (Riff Origins)
“91” (Riff Origins)
“MTO” (Riff Origins)
“RL72” (Riff Origins)
“Frankenstein” (Riff Origins)
“CHI” (Riff Origins)
“X Dust” (Riff Origins)

“Hardwired” video:

Making of “Hardwired”:

Metallica have confirmed they will perform at the 30th Annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California, taking place October 22nd - 23rd.

Organized by musicians Neil Young and Pegi Young, the Bridge School Benefit Concert is an annual, all acoustic, non-profit charity event held every October at Shoreline Amphitheatre. All proceeds directly benefit the operations of The Bridge School.

Acts scheduled to perform at this year’s event include: Neil Young + Promise Of The Real, Metallica, Roger Waters, Dave Matthews, case/lang/veirs, Willie Nelson, My Morning Jacket, Norah Jones, Cage The Elephant and Nils Lofgren.

More details at this location.