Slowly but surely, Metallica are making progress on their next album. During a recent interview in which Robert Trujillo discussed his Jaco Pastorius documentary, the bassist told Rock Cellar Magazine that the band is sorting things out at the moment.

"We're just blueprinting everything right now. There are a lot of ideas, a lot of song bodies. You gotta go through the process," says Trujillo. "For me personally I'm really excited about what we've been able to jam out. I don't like to make predictions, but I'd like to think -- at least for me -- that I'm really happy with what's happening instrumentally. So let's see how that journey continues. Writing a Metallica song is a journey and a process and it takes time, but that's what's special about it."

The bassist, who joined the veteran band in 2003, says it's been fun seeing how the guys work on music since his arrival. "One of the things that I've noticed since I've been in the band is that as players, Lars, James and Kirk truly enjoy making music and performing. When they put their instruments on, in a lot of ways they become teenagers again," says Trujillo.

He adds, "Some bands burn out at this stage and can't write cool jams anymore, but that's not a weakness in Metallica right now. We still have a lot of fun making music and jamming."

Metallica have spent a good portion of 2014 sorting through their wealth of musical ideas in the studio while also working in a number of tour dates around the world. But the band is definitely looking at moving things forward on their next album in 2015.

You Think You Know Metallica?

More From Loudwire