An unreleased track by heavy metal legends Metallica leaked online yesterday (December 6th). A demo recording of the song, entitled ‘Hate Train‘, was recorded for the American band’s 2008 ninth studio album Death Magnetic, but was not included on the final cut of the record.
Metallica performed ‘Hate Train’ for the first time at a show in San Francisco recently (December 5th), hinting at a possible return to the song for the four piece’s next album. The song sounds relatively similar to the material that was eventually included on Death Magnetic, featuring heavy and melodic elements in addition to more thrash elements than had been included on 2003’s St. Anger.
Death Magnetic was received relatively positively by the music press, as well as fans, but was criticised for its poor quality sound (thought to be down to the mixing process and influenced by the ‘loudness war‘). Metallica’s latest release, a collaboration with controversial rock veteran Lou Reed entitled Lulu, has almost entirely been condemned by fans, although some commentators have praised the album.
