If you are frustrated by talk of a Metallica album not arriving before 2015, you're not alone. Frontman James Hetfield is equally anxious to have a new album to support, but the reality of the situation is that the band's schedule is keeping them from getting to it.

Hetfield told Billboard, "I want it done yesterday and [Orion Music + More] and this movie is keeping us pretty busy at this point and it's taking a lot of time and effort. We've been touring some obscure places. I guess basically what we're trying to do is pay for this movie, so touring is keeping us from getting in there and finishing the record. Right now the focus is the movie."

The frontman adds that the group has begun sorting through their "riffs CD," but admits, "We've gone through maybe one-tenth of the material ... We've got enough for an album. We just haven't had enough time to really focus on it and dial it in and start whittling it into these masterpieces hopefully."

But first up for the band is finishing their 'Metallica Through the Never' 3D film. Hetfield confirms, "The film is not done, but we're extremely close. There's editing, dialing, sounds, mixing, things like that that have to happen. But it's pretty complex. It's like three movies in one ... So there's a lot of different dynamics happening within this movie, and every time we go and see it and tweak here and there. It's like putting a song together -- only it's a little more expensive."

The film is expected to premiere in IMAX theaters this September.

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