Yeah! The eventual arrival of Metallica's new album is one of 2016's most heavily anticipated moments as the thrash act has been in the studio for months preparing their follow-up to 2008's Death Magnetic. Updates on their progress have come in recent months and now drummer Lars Ulrich might have the juiciest news yet.

"I’d say it's mostly done," Ulrich told Rolling Stone. He continued, explaining how the band's process varies from the typical group, stating, "There are all these other responsibilities that have to be taken care of. Life in Metallica these days is not only about making a record; it's about these things and we played a show at AT&T Park and he does this, I do this. We have all these sort of different things that we turn to. But the record gets worked on where there's absolutely nothing else going on."

Before revealing the progress, he acknowledged Metallica's notoriously long droughts between albums, joking, "The record is well on its way. It may come out any century now, actually. There's a saying: where there's life, there's hope." Ulrich expanded on his previous statement about the band's schedule, saying, "In all seriousness, it’s actually what we like. It works for us. It's not just record, tour, record, tour. We like to do. We’re doing the Record Store Day next week and doing all that stuff. There's lots of stuff going on all the time, but the record is almost done."

Metallica will serve as ambassadors for Record Store Day 2016 on April 16, reprising their role from the event's inaugural year. On April 15, the trash behemoths will release remastered versions of Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning, which will also be made available in deluxe edition box sets. Both Ulrich and James Hetfield can be seen unboxing the luxurious sets here. The next day will see the release of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica! – Live at Le Bataclan – Paris, France – June 11th, 2003.

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