Skullcandy and Metallica team up on Death Magnetic headphones

Now isn't this tie-up worthy of all the "awws" you can muster? The poster child for anti-Napster propaganda has teamed up with Skullcandy to deliver a pair of cans to commemorate the band's ninth (and surely most awesome) studio album, Death Magnetic. Two limited edition models will be made available -- the $69.95 Hesh and $49.95 Lowrider -- and those prices include "free" downloads of the aforementioned disc. The Hesh cans (pictured) possess a fatter, more comfortable headband with 50mm drivers, while the Lowrider includes 40mm drivers and a fold-up headband for portability. No telling how long it'll be before these disappear, but we're hearing this strange rumor that pre-loaded clips of Hetfield play underneath your tunes to subconsciously encourage you to uninstall your BitTorrent client. Not like that's even fathomable or anything.

[Via MusicRadar]

[Fred @ Sep 19th 2008 11:24AM]

Wow, Metallica really whored themselves out once they realized there was money in not fighting the interwebs. Can't wait to see what other crap they'll slap their name on!

[Rob @ Sep 19th 2008 11:42AM]

Ever heard of a rock band in silly outfits and painted face called "Kiss"?
They've done it for decades, and still doing it without a single ounce of shame. Metallica is no different.

[JC @ Sep 19th 2008 11:42AM]

Do these headphones block me from listening to my downloaded Metallica MP3's?

[JerkfacedFed @ Sep 19th 2008 11:48AM]

yes, the headphones have special death magnetic drm that block the signaling to your brain

[zargon @ Sep 19th 2008 11:50AM]

The thing about Kiss is they did it from day one pretty much, they marketed the hell out of themselves. They never pretended that they were all about the music, they were in it for the money, which I respect.

In the long run, I don't think it matters too much, everyone is in it in for the money. However, there have been some groups out there that have been anti sell out and then sell out themselves, those are the groups I can't stand.

[killermojo @ Sep 19th 2008 11:25AM]

Cash out harder guys!

[tbone @ Sep 19th 2008 11:29AM]

i wouldn't be caught dead wearing those cans

[avester @ Sep 19th 2008 11:43AM]

Because of Skullcandy or Metallica?

Probably both...

[Hotrod @ Sep 19th 2008 11:31AM]

"I cant hear ya, are you talkin to me?
I can't hear ya time to meet my lord, I can't hear ya talk to 2x4!"

[matefrio @ Sep 19th 2008 11:32AM]

Save your money and get some Grado SR60s. Your ears will thank you.

[MC Double Def DP @ Sep 19th 2008 11:32AM]

If i was 14 I would think they're cool.

[tekdroid @ Sep 19th 2008 11:32AM]

Nahhh, the real die-hards source the headphones with the Napster logo with a circle and cross going through it, Ghostbusters style.
I would settle for the 'RIAA loves you' and 'Jesus hates file-sharers' editions.

[FuzzyCat @ Sep 19th 2008 11:32AM]

Ahh that reminds me must download their new album. Not that I want to listen to it.. I just ave to download it... apparently it's the law or something...

[kal326 @ Sep 19th 2008 11:37AM]

Hey this is James Hetfield FROM Met.... oh wait, wrong sellout....

[Smylie @ Sep 19th 2008 11:38AM]

I bought a pair of the non-Metallica Hesh headphones this week, and they are by far the greatest-sounding headphones I've ever owned. They're definitely larger than my iPod's original earbuds, but who cares what the people on the bus and subway think about them.

[telepheedian @ Sep 19th 2008 12:19PM]

Go pick up a pair of decent Sennheisers. Skullcandy might sound a bit better than the headphones that come with the iPod, but even Bose beats them on the price-to-performance ratio.

[John @ Sep 19th 2008 1:05PM]

I'd suggest Beyerdynamics over Sennheiser, not because of sound quality, since they're both good, but because I've yet to find a sennheiser headband that didn't seem like it had a grudge against my head.

[jorvay @ Sep 19th 2008 1:50PM]

the Dollar store ear buds that came with my original gameboy in 1989 sound better than ipod headphones. Sennheiser, Grado, Shure, whatever... There are tonnes of better cans on the market, and some at rather fair prices (i got my $100+ senns on ebay for $50 a couple years back).

[Kerabatsos @ Sep 19th 2008 11:41AM]

Do these headphones have a secret distortion-removing circuit, so I can actually listen to Death Magnetic without my ears bleeding? Whoever mixed the CD needs to be shot...or at least given a stern talking-to.

[BuddyBoy @ Sep 19th 2008 11:57AM]

+1

I downloaded a single off iTunes and it was smashing off the clipper. They had to remaster it and issued a refund.

Rick Rubin + Metallica should be ashamed.

[tb @ Sep 20th 2008 12:16AM]

today at work we listened to it with the precision meter on the control station in the studio, and the VU were not even moving, jsut staying around -3, -4 dB steady, pretty coherent with the images floating around of the huge squared/clipped to death(magnetic) waveform

it's too bad as i think the songs behind the distortion are pretty nice, probably the nicest in 15 years or so IMOHO

[dBs @ Sep 19th 2008 11:42AM]

Wow, you know Metallica has sold themselves too much when they're backing a headphone named LOWRIDER.

[Rob @ Sep 19th 2008 11:44AM]

I still remember my high school years when some kids would write "Metallica Sucks" on the walls. It was funny. I guess those kids were right then. Tiffany and Debbie Gibson FTW !!! lol ....

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 19th 2008 1:37PM]

Actually, we wrote that because we were listening to bands like Nirvana, NIN, Radiohead, Ween, REM, Stereolab... you know, those "alternative" groups that only us losers liked in the late 80's-early 90's. ;p

Now that I'm older, I'm amazed by how the music industry has "suffered", even though there are so many more ways to find bands than the radio or friends' mix tapes. I do question why Metallica would release such a poorly engineered album. It's like they don't want to be listened to...

[jorvay @ Sep 19th 2008 1:55PM]

The music industry may have suffered, but more artists with a greater variety of music have more exposure and are selling more music and more importantly, selling more tickets. The suffering has been mainly on the corporate/traditional distribution side, or for those 'artists' that can't put on a live show to save their lives.
I think I like the new order better.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 19th 2008 4:11PM]

I agree with you, Jorvay. If a band can't make a decent living playing live music, then there's something fundamentally wrong.

[wiregr @ Sep 19th 2008 11:51AM]

Skullcandy makes shitty headphones, Metallica makes shitty music. It's a match made in heaven!

[doubleu606 @ Sep 19th 2008 12:07PM]

Funny that 8 years after the fact (or whatever) the first thing people associate with Metallica, more specfically Lars, is being a Napster cry-baby! Myself included. I love it!

[Organic_Shadow @ Sep 19th 2008 12:15PM]

You know, my Skullcandy headphones aren't that bad, but seeing this all of the sudden makes them feel super cheap. It can be tiem for boes nao like teh grown ups?

[olsonick @ Sep 19th 2008 12:25PM]

Wow, I thought 30 bucks was expensive for the lowriders sitting on my desk...

and yes, save up for the grados. he was right.

[Alex @ Sep 19th 2008 12:31PM]

Maybe Death Magnetic will sound decent using these headphones?

I still prefer my old AKG headset.

[Alex @ Sep 19th 2008 12:33PM]

Maybe Death Magnetic will sound decent using these headphones?

I still prefer my old AKG headset.

[JJ @ Sep 19th 2008 12:39PM]

Any and everything from Skullcandy Sucks.
I've never heard a worse sounding pair of cans. Even the buds are awful.

[587eeceb @ Sep 19th 2008 1:05PM]

Hey Rob, Metallica DOES SUCK!!!! They are a bunch of crybabies for sure. If you want good headphones, get yourself a pair of Shure E500PTH earbuds. There's nothing else like them.

[Azayzel @ Sep 19th 2008 3:42PM]

I won't agree that Metallica sucks, because they're actually one of the original rock bands that are still producing albums. Sure, they've changed their method over time, but most of their music still rocks. Their new album is a bit on the very-old school Metallic side, too much screaming so only about half the songs are decent in my opinion.

As to Sure being good headphones... I bought a pair last year and only kept them for about 2 weeks. Their sound quality is so so, better than stock, but not to warrant their price. I replaced them with Bose earbuds that are the best sounding earbuds I've ever owned. I also recently picked up a set of on-ear Bose cans; to me, they sound better than any other headphones I've tried in-store & out. Haven't tried this brand, but what do you expect for $40-50?

[huh @ Sep 19th 2008 1:06PM]

Hmm, maybe they can team up with the Aum Shinrikyo cultists for a really comprehensive product.

[Chris @ Sep 19th 2008 1:20PM]

The new album has the most ridiculously limited dynamic range I have ever heard. Read a bunch of the listener reviews. Other than that its a decent album. Oh, also, don't waste a perfectly good 40 bucks on these things. They truly sound like cans. TIN cans.

[Rex @ Sep 19th 2008 1:43PM]

I cant wait to illegally download some Metallica tunes and listen to them on these sweet headphones. LAME!

[587eeceb @ Sep 19th 2008 1:45PM]

Oh, I did forget to mention that the Shure earbuds are rather expensive but they're worth every penny you have to save to pay for them. They'll even make Metallica's crap that they call music sound decent if not actually good. When you actually play good music through them though it really sounds awesome.

[Chris @ Sep 19th 2008 1:55PM]

Skullcandy sucks. I bought a pair of limited edition headphones like these and they broke, guess what, Skullcandy doesn't warranty limited edition headphones.

[Jason @ Sep 19th 2008 2:21PM]

Fuck you Metallica, you can lick my ballz!

Plus, those headphones look like they're for some guy in his 40's who still wants to be 'hip' when he's hanging at the bus stop. He can show off his stupid looking cans and 1990's Discman to the kids with their iPhones and Zunes.

[Neebs @ Sep 19th 2008 2:30PM]

...I like my Skullcandies well and fine.

[Stephen Lang @ Sep 19th 2008 2:42PM]

The headphones are lame, but at least they're cheaper than the Dre ones.

The new Metallica album is pretty good though, engineering issues aside.

[offroadering @ Sep 19th 2008 2:51PM]

Okay guys,
Headphones with Metallica on it.... nothing new here.
off subject a bit but heres my 2 cents:
When the whole napster thing went down, Metallica just did what they thougth was right.
Now that someone showed them the books, and that no money comes from record sales,
and the fact that this technology is not going away, They dont care, they said it, they dont
care if you download it for free! The record company on the other hand, yeah, i disagree with them.
otherwise i have and always be a fan of good music.

[Gaucho @ Sep 19th 2008 5:07PM]

I never really felt bad for the artist in terms of losing money from record sales. But I do feel for the people on in the fine print, like the lyricists. Having said that I am a bit of a hypocrite . . . :/ but whatever, can't fight the future. On a related note I'm going to have a wrenches and crowbars available to purchase for the inevitable robot uprising next year. As a doomsday special, 1/2 off pointed sticks if you pre-order within the week.

[Skeezle @ Sep 19th 2008 3:33PM]

Metallica hasn't made decent music since '...and Justice For All.'

They suck and are corny - I am embarrassed to have been a fan at one time.

[captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Sep 19th 2008 3:57PM]

Download the Guitar Hero 3 Rip of Death Magnetic, the mixing is so much better its like listening to Beethoven on a crappy wal-mart radio and than going into your acoustically minded room with a pair of $30,000 floor speakers and listening to the same song.

Okay, maybe not THAT extreme, but the difference is very noticeable.

As for, ...and justice for all being the last good album, take a listen to death magnetic. its like metallica decided to cover themselves doing ...and justice for all but couldn't remember how any of the songs went so they made new ones. thats not to say that its the greatest metallica album ever.. its not.


Metallica needs to just stop getting crappy sound engineers and they need to re-master st. anger and give it guitar solos it so very much needs.

[AndrewP @ Sep 19th 2008 3:33PM]

These have been available on the skullcandy site for at least two weeks now.

[ac14 @ Sep 19th 2008 4:51PM]

yes exactly what we need. more loud headphones to produce deaf pepole so we can hit them with our hybrids and get the manufacturer sued.

[Nate DiDonato @ Sep 19th 2008 5:05PM]

Metallica = metal for dummies. plain and simple.

If you want sub-par thrash with radio-friendly, watered-down melodies/drums/guitar solos, then listen to Metallica. There are plenty, plenty, PLENTY of good metal bands out there for those of us looking.

Metallica, however, GOT ME into metal. I heard a few songs on the radio, and my friend bought Load. We backtracked (getting all of their older albums), sidetracked (getting CDs by related bands like Megadeth and Flotsam), bought a bunch of power metal (Helloween, Gamma Ray) and more bay area thrash (Exodus, Testament), and that was the start. I'm sure many of you have similar stories.

...then I started a metal band, and we've been alive for 10 years :)

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