Lars Ulrich spoke to Revolver magazine about Metallica’s forthcoming ninth studio album, tentatively due in the spring via Warner Bros. Records. “This stuff is certainly a lot more dynamic and a lot more varied than the last couple of go-rounds,” the drummer said. “There’s a lot of light and shade in these songs. There’s heavy, fast, nutty stuff, and then there’s some slowdowns and musical interludes. It’s pretty different from ‘St. Anger’, and it’s pretty different from the ‘Load’ stuff. This stuff is not the one-dimensional punch in the face that ‘St. Anger’ was. This is probably a little more like those couple of albums back there in the decade that begins with an ‘8.’”

Asked whether the album’s material represents a return to the “old school,” Lars replied, “I hate to be that specific, because six months from now people are gonna go, ‘What the fu**? Lars lied to us!’ But it feels that way to me. It’s been no secret that Rick [Rubin, producer] suggested to us that we use a couple of those records as reference points ? that we spend some time kind of accessing that headspace. So when we would come to forks in the road, sometimes the exercise became, ‘What would we have done at this point in 1985?'”

Drummer, Matt Sorum of Velvet Revolver, is good friends with Lars Ulrich and is one of the first to get an inside listen to Metallica‘s new album. Here is what Matt had to say about what he’s heard so far:

Lars [Ulrich] is a good friend of mine. He played me the demos from San Francisco, and I turned and looked at him and I said, ‘Master that shit and put it out.’ It’s ridiculous. The demos were sick. Eight-minute songs, all these tempo changes, crazy fast. It’s like, ‘Dude, don’t get slower when you get older, but don’t get faster!? How are you gonna play this live?’ And then me and Lars were out partying all night, and he had to go in the studio the next day and do this stupid like nine- or ten-minute song, and I was laughing at him ? because he played me the demo of it, and it was [sings really fast drum part], so fast. I called him, and said, ‘Dude, how are you feeling?’ He was like, ‘Dude, I’m hurting.’ They’re cutting everything to tape, no fuckin’ ProTools ? live, no clicks. Bitchin’. I dig it. I’m really excited for them.

Over the weekend Lars Ulrich, metallica drummer, talked about metallica’s upcoming new album. Ulrich said that the band plans on rapping up the album in either October or November. Metallica drummer also predicted the album to hit stores in February 2008. Here is what Ulrich had to say about the new album:

“It doesn’t sound like ‘St. Anger’ to me. It’s a little early to kind of put in a soundbite exactly. But it doesn’t sound anything like ‘St. Anger’. It’s probably a little more dynamic, and a little more varied, and it has lots of different nutty Metallica stuff on it. I don’t know.”

Bullet for My Valentine have been forced to pull out of their upcoming support slot with Metallica at Wembley stadium on July 8 as well as their own ‘secret’ Jeff Killed John show on July 3. According to an official statement, frontman Matt Tuck was due to have a tonsillectomy mid July but, due to unforeseen complications, the operation had to be brought forward at the advice of his doctor. “Matt is recovering well but has been ordered not to sing for a minimum four week period, which means that the band have no choice but not to play the shows listed above,” says the statement. “If I’d known my tonsils were going to cause me to miss shows like these I’d have fucking ripped them out myself long ago,” says Tuck. “I am totally gutted at not being able to play these shows and the only consolation the boys and I can take from it is that we are now fully focused on the album and we’ll be back in the studio as soon as the doctors say I can sing again. I truly can’t wait for you fuckers to hear it!” Bullet’s as yet untitled new album will be released through Sony BMG in September. [via Kerrang]