Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has revealed the identity of the producer of the band’s work-in-progress new album.
“We’re pretty much doing it with Greg Fidelman,” Hammett tells Alternative Press. “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.”
Fidelman previously worked with Metallica as the recording and mixing engineer on 2008's “Death Magnetic” alongside producer Rick Rubin, and 2011’s collaboration with Lou Reed, “Lulu”; his extensive resume includes projects with Black Sabbath, Audioslave, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer and more.
“He did the first Adele record, bro!,” adds Hammett. “He's done all sorts of stuff. Greg is a real pleasure to work with. Even though he can be a bit of a taskmaster, he listens to you. He's super-flexible. He knows how to crack the whip without pissing people off.
“If you ask Greg what the hardest part is about recording Metallica, he'll say each guy's schedule. Hey, for us, life has its demands. We're trying to make an album and go on tour, trying to be a band, but we all recognize that if someone has a family situation, that takes priority over everything. That's another reason why the new album is taking so long.
“That's another obstacle for Greg Fidelman. He's always joking about it, but it really takes a lot of, like, you know, tap dancing and juggling.”
Drummer Lars Ulrich recently said the new album would be completed sometime this year.
"I think it will be a pretty in-your-face year, at least the back half of it," he revealed. “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."
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