The "beta" version of METALLICA's new web site, MissionMetallica.com, has officially launched, showcasing the kind of "making-of-the-album" features usually found these days on a DVD accompanying a CD release. METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told a Los Angeles radio station on Monday (May 5), "We thought, instead of doing the usual DVDs and all that, why don't we just do it on the Internet and people can kind of tune in every day, watch clips, contests, get updates for what's going on with the record and kind of watch the last couple of months of song titles, album titles, final mixes...So it's kind of a little bit of a countdown type of thing. It should be fun."

[UPDATE: The "beta" site has since been shut down, but the trailer and the teaser clip that were posted on the site have been released via YouTube and can be viewed below.]

MissionMetallica.com was originally scheduled to launch tomorrow (May 12). Ulrich also told the station, "Knock on wood, this week should be our last week in the studio," adding that the group expects to get its ninth album out in September.

METALLICA will top the bill for the annual "Weenie Roast" festival sponsored by Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM. The show, scheduled for May 17 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, will also feature sets from THE OFFSPRING, THE RACONTEURS, RISE AGAINST, PENNYWISE, THE BRAVERY, SEETHER, SCARS ON BROADWAY and more.

Ulrich said that fans can expect to hear new material "about five minutes after we finish playing it — thanks to the Internet," although he did not say how soon the band will begin playing some new songs live.