Metallica Releases Album for Download…Metallica

Ah, how it’s fun to chuckle at the confused state of the music industry. The suited office jockeys mumble in bewilderment as they pour another office scotch. Do we like downloading, or hate it? Can we capitalize on it, or will we get ripped off? Will burned CDs even play in my Ferrari?

Formerly anti-digital-age rock dinosaur Metallica is finally taking a stab at the rascally new whipper-snapper medium and releasing their entire new album, Death Magnetic, as a download for Guitar Hero III: Ledgends of the Rock, to coincide with the album’s official release on September 15, E! News reported Tuesday.

“We are so psyched that we'll be the first out of the gate with this simultaneous release,” the band posted on their Web site, even using the new-and-catchy ‘90s vernacular, ‘psyched.’ “Who knows, maybe a few years from now this will be the norm when your favorite band's new record comes out.”

The album will also be available for download with the fall release of Guitar Hero: World Tour, where users will be able to shred Death Magnetic guitar, drums and vocals. Rumors are even out that the new album will be sold via download sites like iTunes. Whether Napster will choose to replace every digital album copy with Kenny Loggins’ The Best of Friends remains to be seen.