Metallica's 11th Album: 10 Things Fans NEED To See

Metallica are known as a thrash metal band through and through, but their musical palette extends far beyond just the 8 minute thrashers. Since the band have been giving straight thrash on their last few releases, it may be a good opportunity to break out the acoustics for a couple tunes.

Before the metalheads get up in arms about this, Metallica have shown their ability to tackle unplugged material pretty well in the past. While Load and Reload are a bit contentious in the metal world, some of the standouts on those records are the unplugged tracks like "Mama Said."

Even when the band did charity gigs, the version of "All Within My Hands" on acoustics is far more beloved than the actual version found on St. Anger. Even some of their covers in this setting have been fantastic like Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" or Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms."

It may not be wise to release an entire record of acoustic cuts, but 1 or 2 slower songs would keep the record from sounding too homogeneous. Even if you only listen to the thrashier moments of Metallica, these softer moments are on the record to offset the abrasive tone of the other tunes.

You might not be able to headbang to it, but a stripped down song could be a great way to subvert the expectations of the metal faithful.