10 Things Metallica Need To Get Right On The New Album

5. Learn From Lulu

Being pretentious and self-indulgent is fine. Most of the time one man's pretentiousness could be another's lack of understanding, however with 2011's Lou Reed-collaborating Lulu, Metallica took themselves into the rich-man's woodshed, and gave themselves a good flogging, without the need of anyone prompting their destruction. The resulting fan-disgust was walking in on such a horrible act, and attempting to stick around for the duration, just because you're a fan of either party. Now don't get me wrong, I can defend Lulu under the banner of experimentation and artistry, but what I had a huge problem with, was them using the Metallica name. As although Lars seems convinced that the 'Metallica brand' can be rudimentarily sewed into a pair of socks just as much as say, my skin, those of us with such skin-burns in the shape of their jagged 'M', would like to say otherwise. If the Lulu project was released under a different name, or was just 'Lou Reed feat. Hetfield, Hammett, Trujillo & Ulrich' the world would not have cared one jot, however by putting into association one of the great pillars of metal's timeless legacy, you start to wonder if the guys know what, and who, they represent any more.