Here’s an interesting marketing decision from a band whose manager once called YouTube “the devil”: Metallica has gone ahead and uploaded all of the original material from their new album, Hardwired… To Self Destruct, onto the streaming site in the form of 13 official music videos. (They figured it was going to wind up there regardless, presumably.) This collection is a nice mix of genre styles, including lots of performance pieces, some animation, and the obligatory post-apocalyptic fever dream. The most visually striking video is probably the Robert Valley-directed Lemmy Kilmister tribute, “Murder One.”
Here’s the full playlist of videos for your filthy, music-grubbing enjoyment.
Musically, the band is in top form for their tenth studio album, and their first one since their critically lauded 2008 album Death Magnetic. These quinquagenarians still play like they’re in their mid-to-late-30s, though they’ve clearly mellowed enough to submit to a toy instrument jam session with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.
Hardwired… To Self Destruct will be officially released tomorrow, November 18.