Metallica are developing an official podcast. 

The band has teamed up with Amazon to create The Metallica Podcast. The first eight episodes of the series (Volume I) will be devoted to taking a behind-the-scenes look at their breakthrough 1991 self-titled album, also known as The Black Album.

The band uploaded a teaser clip on  Thursday featuring snippets of the band discussing the album. 

Says Lars Ulrich in the clip:

“This album was the right combination of songs, right combination of producer with the right combination of desire, tenacity, [and] lineup of ideas.” 

Adds James Hetfield:

“The insanity that we do just to keep our own sanity, people identify with it and the fact that they’re not alone and we know that we’re not alone is what makes it all happen for me.” 

A release date for The Metallica Podcast has not been announced yet. 

Metallica will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Black Album this year with a number of special releases. In June, the band announced that they would be remastering and reissuing the album through their Blackened Records label for the occasion, releasing it in 2xLP, standard CD and 3xCD expanded editions, as well as as a limited edition deluxe box set that includes the 2xLP, a picture disc, 3 live LPs, the album on CD, 14 bonus CDs, 6 DVDs, a hardbound book and more memorabilia. They are also putting out a covers album titled ‘The Metallica Blacklist,’ which features more than 50 artists putting their spin on the original’s classic tracks. Both will be released on September 10. 

In addition, the band will be releasing a couple of books in the next few months. In June, they announced a black and white coffee table book, titled Metallica: The Black Album In Black & White, for release on October 19. That will feature photos from photographer Ross Halfin, who documented the making of ‘The Black Album’ and its subsequent world tour. A biography of the band, The 24.95, was announced in July for release on August 15. 

The Black Album is the best-selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era (which began compiling sales data in 1991), selling more than 16 million copies in the US. Featuring iconic singles like “Nothing Else Matters,” “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Sad But True” and “Wherever I May Roam,” it is also considered one of the most influential and important albums of all time.