METALLICA  has announced that "Death Magnetic" their first new album in five years will drop on September 12th.

 Interestingly enough, that's a Friday and typically, new albums are released on Tuesdays in the U.S.  There's no word on WHY they're unleashing it on a Friday.

 In other Metallica news . . . this past Friday, they shot a music video for their new single, "The Day That Never Comes".  It has a STRONG war theme . . . but they're NOT taking sides politically.

 Singer JAMES HETFIELD says, quote, "The one thing that I wasn't keen on here was Metallica plugging into a modern war or a current event [that] might be construed as some sort of political statement on our part.

 "There are so many celebrities that soapbox their opinions, and people believe it's more valid because they're popular.  For us, people are people . . . you should all have your own opinion."