Make no mistake about it. The month of November 2016 belongs to Metallica, as the band's Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct album has been overwhelmingly voted by Loudwire's readers as the November Release of the Month. The biggest competition came from Superjoint's Caught Up in the Gears of Application and Sixx: A.M.'s Prayers for the Blessed, Vol. 2, but the result was not really in doubt.

After an eight-year span between releases, Metallica fans have been chomping at the bit for new music and the early response has been mostly positive. The lead single "Hardwired" arrived with a great, punk-infused thrashy energy that was indicative of what was to come. Speaking with Full Metal Jackie, bassist Robert Trujillo credited producer Rick Rubin who started transitioning Metallica toward a reunion with their thrash roots on their last album.

"For us it’s exciting and I think one of the most important things is having that energy to create and the inspiration, at a time usually in a lot of bands careers where they start getting bored with music or their creative ideas stop flowing and there’s no shortage of that with Metallica today. In fact our problem is it’s the process of elimination, we’ve got too many riffs and we’ve got to jam them out to see what survives. And some of the things that doesn’t survive could be the best riff on another band’s album," said Trujillo, who added, "I think that having that youthful energy to create and being excited about it is what keeps us — at least on this new record — has kept things fresh. And hopefully creating a body of music that’s relevant, old fans and new fans can relate to and be inspired by and hopefully that transitions into them wanting to see us live and experience the music on that level."

Meanwhile, Metallica have made an album that unites rather than divides. Speaking with the BBC, James Hetfield revealed that the band has strayed from politics and religion for subject matter. "We all have our own beliefs but, at the end of the day, we’re trying to connect with people and it seems like political views don’t do that as much as music does,” says the singer.

The Greg Fidelman-produced Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct arrives as a double album due to its length, with the band delivering a number of epic songs on the two-disc effort. Fans have already been treated to "Moth Into Flame," which has already risen into the Top 10 at radio, as well as one of those epic songs in "Atlas, Rise!" And while the song hasn't been released as of yet, the band confirmed that the song "Murder One" was inspired by their longtime hero, late Motorhead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister.

In addition, the band has made a deluxe edition available with a third disc that includes their "Lords of Summer" one-off track between albums, along with the "Ronnie Rising Medley," two other new songs, and a wealth of material from their Rasputin Music in-store and the live debut of "Hardwired" from their Minneapolis show earlier this year.

Metallica's Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct is due Nov. 18 via the band's own Blackened Recordings and is currently available to pre-order in a variety of options at this location. The band is also starting to map out their touring support of the album. Stay tuned here for a look at all of their tour dates.

Once again, congrats to Metallica, as Hardwired ... to Self Destruct has been voted by Loudwire's readers as the November 2016 Release of the Month.

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