Metallica Sets New Record as Only Band with Five Albums Debuting at No. 1

Death Magnetic Tops the Billboard Albums Chart, Selling Nearly
490,000 Copies within Three Days
BURBANK, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Death Magnetic, the ninth studio album from multi-platinum
hard-rock band Metallica, is the best-selling album in the country
this week, debuting atop the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 1,
making Metallica the only band in chart history to have five albums
debut at No. 1.

Metallica breaks their tie with the Beatles, U2 and the Dave
Matthews Band, all of who have four No. 1 album debuts. Death Magnetic
is Metallica's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1,
following 1991's Metallica (known as The Black Album), 1996's Load,
1997's ReLoad, and 2003's St. Anger. Death Magnetic also scored big
around the world with No. 1 debuts in such diverse countries as
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey (which doesn't have an official chart but
the album was No. 1 on every retail chart). More No. 1 rankings are
expected this weekend as remaining charts roll in.

Released by Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Canada
and by Universal Music for the rest of the world, on Friday, September
12th, Death Magnetic debuted at No. 1 despite being in stores for only
three days, rather than the traditional seven. In addition to its
heavy sales at large-chain stores and digital retailers, Death
Magnetic also did blockbuster business among independent retailers,
such as the Boston-based Newbury Comics, the Phoenix-based Zia, and
Maine's Bull Moose, selling more copies in its first day than many of
this year's top releases did in one week, proving that Metallica is
connecting with its fans wherever they may shop.

Months before Death Magnetic hit stores, Metallica and Warner
Bros. Records launched a new website, www.missionmetallica.com, which
offered users a unique, ground-breaking look-in on the making of the
album with producer Rick Rubin via a treasure trove of exclusive
content, including the low-down from the band members themselves about
their progress in the studio via fly-on-the-wall video footage, audio
of riffs and excerpts of new songs, and exclusive new and
never-before-seen archival photos from the studio. In total, Metallica
posted 350 minutes of exclusive footage that reached nearly 10 million
people across 161 countries. They also streamed Death Magnetic for fan
club and Mission Metallica members the day before its release,
allowing hardcore fans to hear the album before anyone else and
creating a frenzy of positive word-of-mouth among Metallica's fan
community. The album also streamed on metallica.com and metclub.com.
Fan club and Mission Metallica members also got first crack at
purchasing tickets for the band's North American tour, fueling even
more excitement for the upcoming album.

In addition, Metallica interacted directly with fans who posted
clips of themselves performing Metallica songs on YouTube. Drummer
Lars Ulrich viewed fan-generated clips and posted a video that
personally expressed his appreciation. Ulrich's clip, which was posted
on September 4th, has already been viewed 1.2 million times.

Metallica also set a record for having the most radio stations in
history sign up for an exclusive FMQB broadcast of "The World Premiere
of Death Magnetic." The program, hosted by Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl
and Taylor Hawkins and featuring all four members of Metallica, was
heard on more than 175 stations across the U.S. and Canada. The first
single from the album, "The Day That Never Comes," is currently
hovering around the top of both Mediabase Mainstream and Active Rock
Charts. Seven more tracks from Death Magnetic have charted across
three radio formats, Alternative, Active Rock, and Rock -- a feat
rarely, if ever accomplished by a rock band/artist.

Reviews have praised Death Magnetic for its "compositions that are
nasty and complex" (New York Times), while Time magazine says that the
"songs fly by with the force of the world's angriest amusement-park
ride, and when they set you down, often after seven or eight dizzying
but tuneful minutes, giddiness is the only appropriate response."
British metal bible Kerrang! wrote that "Metallica once again sound
like one of the most exciting bands in the world" and have "managed to
harness their talent and instinct into a modern metal album that makes
a mockery of the modern competition."

Tickets for Metallica's first proper tour of the United States and
Canada in four years are currently on sale. The first leg of the tour
begins on October 21st and will cross North America through fall and
early winter before concluding on January 21st. Support bands are
Down, The Sword, Lamb of God, and Machine Head.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist
and vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica has become one of the most
influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having
sold 100 million albums worldwide and playing to millions of fans the
world over. They have garnered numerous awards and accolades,
including seven Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple
MTV Video Music Awards.

www.metallica.com

www.metclub.com

www.missionmetallica.com

Photos available for this release:

Photo Credit: Anton Corbijn

To view photos, go to www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release
ID: 166280

Warner Bros. Records
Brian Bumbery, 818-953-3203
brian.bumbery@wbr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008