Ulrich further elaborated in March 2016 when he said that the band hoped to finish production of the album during the spring. This was compounded by the band playing a new riff at the show, which ended up being from the song "Murder One". On February 6, 2016, during their "The Night Before" show at AT&T Park prior to Super Bowl 50, James Hetfield said that the band was nearing the end of the recording process, and Ulrich said that the album would be released soon. In November, Hammett said that the album was expected to be released in late 2016 or early 2017. In October 2015, the band unveiled a new website with an introduction from Ulrich containing footage from the studio of the band working on new material. In March 2015, Ulrich told Rolling Stone that twenty songs had been written for the album, and that he hoped some of them could be played at their shows later in the year. A Black Friday exclusive single featuring the "First Pass Version" and a live version limited to 4,000 copies was released later that year on vinyl. In March 2014, Metallica began a tour called "Metallica By Request", in which fans requested songs for the band to perform, and a new song, titled " Lords of Summer", was written for the concerts and released as a "first take" demo in March 2014. Trujillo and Kirk Hammett later confirmed the band's intention to enter the studio. It would stun me if the record came out in 2013." In a July 2013 interview, Ulrich told Ultimate Guitar, "2014 will be all about making a new Metallica record" he said the album would most likely be released during 2015. We've been in the studio with Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we're going to be recording during most of next year." In an interview with Classic Rock on January 8, 2013, Lars Ulrich said regarding the album, "What we're doing now certainly sounds like a continuation ". He said: "The writing process for the new Metallica album has begun. In October 2011, bassist Robert Trujillo said that the band had returned to the studio to begin writing new material. to Self-Destruct received generally positive reviews from critics, and in 2020 Lars Ulrich ranked it as his favorite Metallica album. The number one ranking marked the second time in history that any band of any genre would have six consecutive albums debut at number one, following only Dave Matthews Band. This was Metallica's sixth consecutive studio album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, and topping the charts in 57 countries. to Self-Destruct was produced by Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed Death Magnetic. It is also their first studio album released through Blackened. It is their first studio album in eight years following Death Magnetic (2008), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in the band's career. to Self-Destruct is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as a double album on November 18, 2016, by their vanity label Blackened Recordings.