Metallica's album Death Magnetic was released in 2008, arriving on September 12 through Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Vertigo Records elsewhere.
It was Metallica's ninth studio album and followed St. Anger, which had been released in 2003. The band recorded Death Magnetic between March 2007 and May 2008 at studios including Sound City in Los Angeles, Shangri-La in Malibu, and Metallica's headquarters in San Rafael.
The album marked a major production change: Rick Rubin produced it, with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich credited as co-producers. This ended the band's long collaboration with Bob Rock, who had produced or co-produced several earlier Metallica albums.
A common mix-up is confusing the album's release year with the World Magnetic Tour, which began in October 2008 and continued through 2010. Death Magnetic debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and topped charts in numerous other countries.