In a new interview with Alternative Press, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett discusses the band’s forthcoming new album, their follow-up to Death Magnetic, released back in 2008. Read an excerpt from the Q&A below:

Q: Hardcore Metallica fans know how closely Lars Ulrich collaborates with you on the solos. Has this newfound confidence changed the dynamic between the two of you as you’re working on songs for the new Metallica album?  

A: “I feel like I have more ideas that come out in the moment now. I’ll go in with 10 or 12 ideas about what I’m going to play, the red light goes on, the backing tracks sound killer and all of a sudden I change my mind. “I want to play this now!” If Lars wasn’t there kind of giving me suggestions, all of the guitar solos would sound like a cross between Jimi Hendrix and Michael Schenker. I kid you not. [Laughs] Lars offers an objectivity that I can't get myself. I need that because of my obsessive compulsiveness. I have never been at a loss for ideas. Sometimes it's hard for me to pick the best idea out of 10 good ideas. When someone who hasn't been in the room for the last two hours walks in, they're going to offer a lot better perspective on which one is the best. Lars is very good at doing that. And he’s into doing that! Which blows me away. He’s a drummer and he is so into my lead guitar playing.”

Q: You’ve been in the studio but you have yet to officially announce a producer.

A: “We’re pretty much doing it with Greg Fidelman. He is in the mix. As far as what the final outcome will be, I don’t know. We have not brought in any [other] producer and it looks extremely [unlikely] we’d bring one in this late into the project.

Q: Even when Fidelman works as an engineer, my understanding is he’s very integral. Some producers just drop by here and there. He rolls up his sleeves.

A: “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.”

Read more at Alternative Press.

Metallica are anticipating a very busy 2016, and although they have no tour dates scheduled, Lars Ulrich tells Rolling Stone that will change once they get past one big hurdle.

"I think it will be a pretty in-your-face year, at least the back half of it," says Lars. "Obviously, we've gotta finish the new record now. But thankfully we're quite far along. Hopefully we should be able to knock that on the head this spring, I would guess. So we will be gearing up and playing shows and doing all that fun stuff again soon."

Read more at Rolling Stone.

Metallica recently issued the following update: "Join Lars for an exclusive screening of the upcoming release Everybody Wants Some, the new film from acclaimed award-winning director Richard Linklater. Lars and Richard will be hosting the screening this Tuesday, March 15th at 7:00 PM at the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco and we have ten pair of tickets to give away to lucky Fifth Members."

Go to this location for details. Check out the trailer for Everybody Wants Some below.

Record Store Day recently announced Metallica as its Ambassador for 2016. An update from the band reads: “We are extremely excited to be spearheading this event we are so passionate about in such a personal way. To find out more about our connection to this cause and three special releases coming out in conjunction with it, check out the Record Store Day story and video  (streaming below) at Metallica.com.”

The band continue: “Get ready for the return of everyone’s favourite sale of the year. That’s right, it’s Garage Sale time! We’ve searched our shelves high and low to bring you the best offers on some of our favourite products. You know these items don’t last long, so head over to the Met Store this Thursday, March 10th at 1 PM ,PST to find special offers on exclusive Met Club merch, last of their kind products, and rock bottom prices on so much more.

“Lucky random orders will receive goodies like official shirts or guitar picks from The Night Before or even used guitar strings we snagged from the studio! And with all the merch flowing in and out of our doors, we’re bound to pile up a few items with minor flaws here and there, so we’re also offering a “mystery grab bag” shirt for only $2.99 that is the perfect add on to any Garage Sale order!

“And before the Garage Sale starts, be sure to hit up our St. Patrick’s Day Sale for some green gear and avoid getting pinched this year! Head over to the Met Store for 20% off “Whiskey In The Jar” and “No Leaf Clover” shirts along with barware to help you celebrate in style. Sale ends Monday, March 14th at 9:00 AM PST.”

Metallica is no stranger to Record Store Day, this year set for Saturday, April 16th, a special day in support of independent record stores and record store culture worldwide, now in its ninth year.

"Independent record stores are part of Metallica's DNA," said drummer Lars Ulrich. "They have been pivotal in shaping each one of us into the music fanatics we've all become. We could not be any prouder to be Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2016 and are looking forward to screaming from every rooftop the next few months about everything independent record store and beyond."

Throughout Record Store Day's near-decade lifespan, Metallica's support has been more than noteworthy with in-store appearances, (remember Mountain View, CA Rasputin Records in 2008, when the band met their fans for hours to kick off the very first Record Store Day) and a healthy handful of special releases. In fact, members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo made big news just last year when the band's cassette-issued demos collection, No Life Til Leather, ended up as Record Store Day 2015's highest seller. As well, Trujillo's lauded biopic, Jaco, about legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius, was RSD 2014's Official Film and a special Record Store Day exclusive version was released on DVD for Black Friday 2015, including a bonus CD featuring tracks from Trujillo himself.

This year the band's official release will fit into a wider theme of Record Store Day 2016, highlighting the relationship between US record stores and their French counterparts, between Record Store Day and 'Disquaire Day', between music-loving humans in the US and France, following the tragic events in Paris in November 2015. Metallica will release Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica! - Live at Le Bataclan. Paris, France - June 11th, 2003, a CD featuring a live recording from the club, with the band, Record Store Day and independent record stores donating proceeds to benefit Fondation de France's Give For France charity (details here).

The live recording setlist includes: "The Four Horsemen”, "Leper Messiah”, "No Remorse”, "Fade To Black”, "Frantic”, "Ride The Lightning”, “Blackened" and encores: "Seek & Destroy" and "Damage, Inc.”.

For now, let's all get ready for another great Saturday in April, when we celebrate the culture of the independent record store with Metallica.

For the full Ambassador statement, check out the newly relaunched Record Store Day website here.