Metallica
Danny ClinchMetallica are giving fans a deep, deep dive on their history with a new career-spanning portal, The Metallica Black Box, that the band said will feature “memorabilia, photographs, sketches, clothing and footage straight from our personal collections, hoarded over the last 40 years.”
In a statement on the Black Box site, the band added, “We’ve been incredibly fortunate to travel to all corners of the planet, meet so many amazing people, and do things we once only dreamed of. And when you’ve been around for 40 years, you manage to collect a few things! Along the way, the four of us have hung on to many keepsakes, photographs, articles of clothing, sketches, and so much more, stashing these items away in attics, garages, and storage spaces. But no more as we’re excited to launch The Metallica Black Box! Debuting with The Black Album Exhibition, The Black Box will offer an ongoing deep dive into every era of our career from the early ’80s garage days up to today and beyond.”
Years in the works, the band said they are now officially “unboxing” their collections to pull their favorite, most significant and personally meaningful artifacts in a collaboration with Inveniem and Definitive Authentic. Among the promised features on the site — both virtual and physical — will be weekly livestream events, limited signed memorabilia and “progressively deeper” dives into their vaults.
More artifacts are slated to post before the end of the year as part of the Black Album Exhibition — a 30th anniversary celebration of the band’s self-titled album — and 2021 will bring new exhibits, including a 40-year retrospective and showcase of the many collaborations with graphic artists they’ve worked with during their four-decade career. Among the items available to check out now are “The Snake Pit,” an homage to their most loyal fans that includes classic laminates, archival photos, fan-made t-shirts and illustrations by artist Heath Miller from their 1991-1994 Black Album era.
Check out the announcement below.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
