METALLICA: The Billboard Cover Story is online now at Billboard.com and sees drummer Lars Ulrich and frontman James Hetfield talking about a number of topics including the Back To Black Friday (November 26th) release of Live At Grimey's, a new nine-track live set to be sold exclusively at independent retail outlets and at the band's website.

Ulrich says that their new live album may not live up to the classic live albums of his youth, such as THIN LIZZY's Live And Dangerous and Double Live Gonzo! by TED NUGENT.

According to Hetfield, Grimey's is indicative of Metallica's support "for the kind of smaller mom-and-pop shops" he shopped at while growing up outside Los Angeles, in Downey, Calif. "I remember not being able to bike far enough to get to the big record stores," he says. "But there was this tiny place that was pretty close-it was more like where you'd go to take violin lessons. Every once in a while they'd have something cool, though. I actually bought my first single there."

When asked how things changed for the music buyer since then, Hetfield remarked: "There was a mystique and an anticipation you don't get as much any more. Anticipating the new JUDAS PRIEST record or the new SCORPIONS record-that was great. Or even when you had to order something: an ANGEL WITCH or VENOM record. Then you finally get the call, and you're like, "Oh, it's there!"

About the current era of music, Ulrich says that "the awesomeness of the internet-the whole world (is) at your fingertips. You can follow your favorite bands on a day-to-day basis and see their set lists from the far corners of the world. In Metallica's situation you can even hear the show six hours after it ends. When I was 11, if I'd had the opportunity to follow DEEP PURPLE or URIAH HEEP all over the world, that would've been huge. I'm happy that kids still want to envelop themselves in music and get so close to their favorite bands. That's a very cool thing-it's just different from how it used to be. I tell my kids, 'I was on that fucking train to Copenhagen every morning and all you have to do is click a mouse!' They could care less."

As for future plans, Metallica is scheduled to play Brazil's Rock in Rio festival next September, and writing for the follow-up to Death Magnetic should begin sometime in the first half of the year. The other night in Adelaide, Australia, the band members even threw around some new riffs in the tuning room.

Ulrich says Metallica is nearing the fulfillment of its current record deals all over the world, which means the band has some "interesting decisions to make" about how (and with whom) it will sell its music in the future. He's not worried, though. "Given the slow pace at which we write albums," he says with a laugh, "it's not something we'll have to deal with any time soon."

Read the entire article at this location.