Former Metallica Producer Bob Rock Calls Band's New Album 'Landmark,' but Won't Work with Them

The last time Bob Rock worked with Metallica was just after the new millennium, when he produced the recording sessions that eventually turned into the group's 2003 album St. Anger. But he still counts the band as one of the best in the world, and thinks they have something special up their sleeve more than a decade later.

"I think they've got a landmark record in them — and it's probably brewing right now," Rock told The Eddie Trunk Podcast, via U-G.

Since St. Anger, Rock has worked on projects with The Offspring, Michael Bublé, 311, Bush and Nelly Furtado —among others — but he claims that few of them were on par with Kirk Hammett and Co.

"I didn't do a lot of bands like Metallica after I did them," Rock said. "Why? This is as good as it gets; I'm with this.

"I'm not going to mention names, but when I don't believe a guy, when I know it's bulls--t, I have a tough time. I've done records like that and they don't work for me."

No matter how much time he spends apart from Metallica, Rock remains on good terms with them.

"I see the guys and it's like the day after," he says. "When you spend 15 years with somebody and we've gone through the things they've gone though and I've gone through, they're a big part of my life."

Still, they are not likely to work together again in the future.

"I don't see it happening," he said. "I think they've got to keep moving forward. With [their 2008 album] Death Magnetic they went back to their roots, which was great. I get where they went and they had to go there."

Check out the title track from St. Anger:

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Metallica