''Beyond Magnetic'' is the second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released to coincide with the band's 30th anniversary shows, in which they released a new song for all four days of the shows. It was originally released as a digital download exclusively on iTunes on December 13, 2011. All four songs featured on ''Beyond Magnetic'' were recorded for the group's ''

Death Magnetic ''Death Magnetic'' is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since '' ...And Justice for A ...

'' sessions but had not been released. ''Beyond Magnetic'' was released on CD on January 30, 2012 internationally and on the following day in the United States. As of September 2016, it has sold over 210,000 copies in the U.S.

Release

The band stated the following about the EP: On January 3, 2012, Metallica announced that ''Beyond Magnetic'' was to be released as a CD on January 31 in the U.S. and January 30 internationally. It was also announced that the EP would be released on vinyl, and would be made available on April 21 in celebration of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

Reception

Reviews of ''Beyond Magnetic'' have been largely positive.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, and reviewer Stephen Erlewine called the EP "as potent as its 2008 parent".

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

, however, found the album "pointless", because the band's best material had already been packaged together successfully for ''Death Magnetic'', leaving "a half hour of rough cuts" behind "for good reason." During its first week of release, ''Beyond Magnetic'' sold 36,000 copies and peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album has sold 210,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.

Track listing

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Personnel

Metallica

* James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Just a Bullet Away" *

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

– lead guitar, rhythm guitar on "Just a Bullet Away" *

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash ban ...

– bass * Lars Ulrich – drums

Production

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

– production * Lindsay Chase – production coordination * Kent Matcke – production coordination (at HQ only) *

Greg Fidelman Greg Fidelman (born September 4, 1965) is an American record mixer, engineer and record producer. He is a frequent collaborator of producer Rick Rubin, and has worked with many bands in various genres, including Metallica, Slayer, High on Fire, B ...

– recording * Mike Gillies – recording * Sara Lyn Killion – recording assistant * Joshua Smith – recording assistant * Adam Fuller – recording assistant *

Vlado Meller Vlado Meller is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz, metal, dance, opera, Broadway, and classic ...

– mastering

Artwork and design

* Anton Corbijn – photography

Studios

Sound City Studios Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

– recording * Shangri La,

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

– recording * HQ,

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

– recording * Masterdisk – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

*
''Beyond Magnetic''
at Metallica's official website {{Authority control 2011 EPs Metallica EPs Albums produced by Rick Rubin Warner Records EPs ITunes-exclusive releases Record Store Day releases Thrash metal EPs Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio)