NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ SIRIUS XM Radio) - SIRIUS XM
Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced that legendary rock band
Metallica will host their own music channel on SIRIUS XM. Mandatory
Metallica will be broadcast on SIRIUS channel 27 and XM channel 42 and will debut on Saturday, March 14 starting at 6:00 pm ET and run through Monday, April 13 at 3:00 am ET. The launch of SIRIUS XM's Mandatory
Metallica channel coincides with the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.
"Metallica is one of the most influential and distinctive bands in the world," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. "We are thrilled to broadcast Mandatory Metallica for SIRIUS XM listeners and give Metallica fans a place to go to hear all the music, interviews and rarities with this incredible rock band all in one place for thirty days."
Mandatory Metallica will air Metallica music 24/7 as well as new songs from their recent release, Death Magnetic, which debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum in less than three weeks. The channel will also feature interviews with Metallica guitarist and singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.
In addition to interviews with all four band members, Mandatory Metallica will air exclusive interviews with other artists sharing their personal insights about Metallica's influence on music, including Linkin Park, Slipknot, Disturbed, Guns N' Roses, Chris Cornell, RUSH, Ashes Divide, Black Stone Cherry, Five Finger Death Punch, Atreyu, Cinderella, Mastodon, Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Triumph, Tesla and others.
Mandatory Metallica will offer fans exclusive access to the band and their music. The limited-run channel aired exclusively on XM in 2008 and will be available to SIRIUS subscribers for the first time. The channel will feature virtually every Metallica song ever recorded, plus rare live cuts from the band's personal archives.
In addition to their own SIRIUS XM channel and recent record release, Guitar Hero will launch "Guitar Hero: Metallica" featuring music from the band's 25 year career as well as special hand-picked guest acts on March 29, 2009. The band will also be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009. Death Magnetic, the band's 10th studio album, was released worldwide on September 12. For more information about Metallica's new album, go to www.metallica.com.
Mandatory Metallica continues SIRIUS XM's practicing of creating exclusive limited run artist-branded channels dedicated to iconic musicians. In addition to the current broadcast of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Radio and Paul McCartney's Fireman Radio, SIRIUS has previously offered limited run channels such as Rolling Stones Radio, AC/DC Radio, Led Zeppelin Radio, The Spectrum of John Mellencamp, The Who Channel, Radio R.E.M., Coldplay Nation, ABBA Radio, Neil Diamond Radio, Jay-Z Nation, Garth Brooks Radio and Duran Duran's Red Carpet Radio among many others.
For more information, please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com