EIGHT OF rock’s hottest bands have contributed to a special re-recording of Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’ in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the classic album’s release. ‘Remastered’, which features exclusive recordings by Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, Fightstar, Machine Head, Funeral For A Friend, Chimaira, Mastodon and Mendeed – will be given away free with Kerrang! issue 1102, which goes on sale April 5! “The ‘Remastered’ album is our way of saluting Metallica’s finest hour,” says K! editor Paul Brannigan. “‘Master Of Puppets’ is a flawless, inspirational and hugely influential album, and putting together this world exclusive tribute has been a labour of love for the K! team and all the bands involved. We promised Kerrang! readers a number of special treats over the course of our 25th birthday year, and we’re incredibly proud of ‘Re-Mastered’, which is the most exciting free CD in the magazine’s history. Put simply, EVERY Kerrang! reader needs to hear this album.” “It’s a real honour to be part of this,” says Trivium frontman Matt Heafy. “At first we thought everyone was going to go for ‘Master Of Puppets’, but we asked and got in there first! That album is one of the most inspirational ever made, and James Hetfield is one of the most inspirational players ever. He’s the main reason I perform and I play the way I do.” Heafy also reveals that the Floridian metallers had no reservations about tackling the album’s classic title track. “I don’t want to sound like a cocky asshole, but I wasn’t worried about choosing this song at all,” he says. “Hetfield used to hit the high notes pretty fucking high back in the day, so for me, the most fun was recording the vocals. I hope that when Metallica hear it they realise that they’re the main reason why we’re here today. If they do like it, it’ll be such a triumph for us!” Machine Head open the album with a scorching version of ‘Battery’. For frontman Robert Flynn, his love of Metallica goes back to 1984, when he was a 15-year-old fan hanging out with his favourite band at the Kabuki club in San Francisco’s Bay Area. “James Hetfield was my idol back when ‘Ride The Lightning’ was released and I got his autograph,” explains Flynn. “I wanted to buy him a beer but I was too young! When I first heard that album, I loved ‘Battery’ right off the bat,” he adds. “It was so ahead of its time. Even by today’s standards the technicality and the complexity of the musicianship is astounding. Playing ‘Battery’ ain’t easy man – it’s fucking hard!” You can check out Machine Head’s ‘Making of ‘Battery” video clip at www.machinehead1.com. If all that wasn’t enough, a very special guest has written the sleeve notes for the album – none other than Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. “It’s awesome to think that some of you guys weren’t even born when we recorded ‘Master Of Puppets’!” laughs Ulrich. “When we started thinking about Kerrang! honouring ‘Master Of Puppets’ with this tribute album, and saw the artwork and the line-up of bands we realised it was a big deal. We’re honoured that it’s a record that’s perceived as a milestone and a record that’s been so inspiring to so many people, both fans and young bands like Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine. We’re as excited to hear this as you guys are!” Kerrang!’s ‘Remastered’ features the following tracklisting: Machine Head – ‘Battery’ Trivium ‘Master Of Puppets’ Mendeed ‘The Thing That Should Not Be’ Bullet For My Valentine ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ Chimaira ‘Disposable Heroes’ Fightstar ‘Leper Messiah’ Mastodon ‘Orion’ Funeral For A Friend ‘Damage, Inc.’. ‘Remastered’ is only available with Kerrang! issue 1102, on sale on April 8. Reserve your copy now to avoid disappointment! You’ll be able to buy copies individually from Kerrang.com from tomorrow (March 23).