New Metallica album to be released on Guitar Hero games

Metallica’s new album is to feature on Activision’s Guitar Hero video games.

Gamers will be able to download and play every track from upcoming Death Magnetic on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and new Guitar Hero World Tour when the album hits retailers this autumn, a post on the band’s website said.

Metallica described the move as "a first in both music and gaming" and said they "are so psyched" about the simultaneous release.

"Who knows, maybe a few years from now this will be the norm when your favourite band’s new record comes out," the post added.

The news follows the release of an Aerosmith Guitar Hero game last month for the XBox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation consoles.

As well as providing players with "unprecedented" access to the band’s music, users are also able to "relieve rock ‘n’ roll history" by following events in the "band’s rise to rock royalty", the title’s developer Neversoft claims.