 NEW YORK (Elektra press release) - With palpable anticipation building for the release of their first Elektra studio album in six years - the long awaited St. Anger - Metallica continues to amaze as one of the most innovative and forward thinking bands in the history of rock. The proof this time around is the unique live performance DVD they'll be offering as an added component of the St. Anger release, scheduled to hit stores June 10. The live, spontaneous performance, filmed and recorded - as Metallica likes to say - in 'shitty 5.1 sound, balls out, at Metallica HQ' - features the band playing all - tracks in sequence from St. Anger. Never before has an artist designated a live DVD performance of a new album to simultaneously accompany its new studio release.
The live DVD will be included as a part of St. Anger's total package at no additional cost to fans for as long as the album is sold. A spokesperson for Elektra says the idea to create such a unique offer was hatched with typical Metallica 'aw-fuck-it-ness': "Metallica is a band that always over-delivers to their fans. This performance captures them in their most comfortable setting, in the studio where they recorded St. Anger. The band literally went into the next room, picked up their instruments and played, live, the album they had just finished recording. It captures them at their informal, raucous best." This unique companion to Metallica's 8th studio album is just another example of the group's refusal to accept the status quo. Metallica enters their third decade as music's preeminent rock band. Since their inception in 1981, the group has broken countless records, becoming the #5 top selling artist in the soundscan era, garnering numerous awards - including six Grammys - and selling more than 85 million albums worldwide, achieving gold or platinum certifications in more than 40 countries.
 The band's most recent honor will be officially bestowed upon them by MTV on May 6th at MTV's third annual mtvICON tribute event, as the network recognizes Metallica for their 20-plus years as music innovators. Metallica will hit the road on July 4th on their Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, trekking throughout the U.S. with none other than Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit among others, on what is sure to be billed as THE rock juggernaut of the year.
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