Yesterday UK bloggers The Quietus posted a preview of the new Metallica album after hearing it at an invite-only session in London. Their coverage -- which you can still find here -- is a relatively fair piece that discusses the hardship of being a Metallica fan some twenty years after their epic, "...And Justice for All."

The Quietus contributor "Bob Mulhouse" is circumspect about the album's prospects, saying, "This album could be good, or it could be mediocre – too much depends on the other four songs to make a call at this point." Nothing out of the ordinary for a record review after a one-time listen.

It came as something of a surprise then to find that the internet had been expunged of any coverage of the event. We emailed The Quietus editor Luke Turner about what happened. He gave this response:

The story behind the removal of the article runs as follows: Metallica held an album listening party for selected music journalists in London this Wednesday past. One of the writers was kind enough to write a piece about the album which, if you were lucky enough to read it before it was taken down, was full of praise about a return to form. At no point was the writer ask[ed] to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The Quietus and other websites ran pieces on the album, but were quickly contacted by Metallica’s management via a third party and told to remove the articles. The Quietus kept our article up the longest and, as no non-disclosure agreement had been signed, [was] not prepared to remove it merely due to the demands of Metallica’s management. We only eventually removed the article earlier today to protect the professional interests of the writer concerned (the piece was written anonymously). Seems Metallica’s fear of the internet shows no sign of abating.

Interesting, huh? We're still waiting for comment from Metallica's camp, and will post their response when we receive it. Developing...

Related:

• The Quietus New Metallica Album Preview
• Mission: Metallica Trailer [YouTube]
• "Metallica Coming to Guitar Hero" [Game Invasion]
• Photos: Best, Worst '90's Rock Bands
  

Message Edited by blindedbythehype on 06-06-2008 03:33 PM