Metallica have been speaking about their new album, revealing that the recordings hark back to their 1980s origins.

The hard rock outfit have been working on the follow-up to 2003's St. Anger for some time, pausing this summer for a series of big live shows.

They appear to be nearing completion on the "more melodic" record, which is being helmed by super-producer Rick Rubin.

Drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed that the songs have a number of "silly working titles," including "19," "10," "German Soup," "Glass Cow," and "Black Squirrel."

He explained: "These new songs echo some of our stuff from the '80s--long, epic journeys through different musical landscapes, heavier, but a lot more melodic."

Speaking about the decision to work with Rubin rather than traditional collaborator Bob Rock, Ulrich continued: "For our sanity, our own creative survival, we needed to work with a different set of circumstances and dynamics. So we've been stripped of our defence mechanisms, and it's been very invigorating to be challenged again. Rick's taken everything we've known about making records and completely turned it upside down."

yahoo.com