Five Things That Could Go Right With the Metallica/Lou Reed Album

Sure, combining the powerful riffs of the world's most popular heavy metal band with the experimental sounds of the former Velvet Underground frontman seems like an odd match. But look what happened when rockers Aerosmith and rappers Run-DMC came together for 'Walk This Way' -- history was made and each group benefited from the unique collaboration.

Producer Rick Rubin recently revealed that Metallica are set to get cracking on a new studio album in the near future. Perhaps, working with one of the great songwriters and innovators in rock history will lead Metallica to explore new musical territories on their next disc. Or, maybe it lets them get the artsy stuff out of the way and return to their 'Kill 'Em All' thrash-metal roots.

According to an article in Rolling Stone, a couple of the album's song titles are 'Pumping Blood' and 'Mistress Dread.' We only hope that these tunes are as good as their names. We're crossing our fingers that 'Pumping Blood' is as heavy a song as you'd hear on 'Master of Puppets,' while 'Mistress Dread' is a gothic throwback to the Velvet Underground's 'Venus in Furs.'

Lou Reed has had a noteworthy solo career, but his Velvet Underground days were a time of musical genius. VU were so far ahead of its time, the music world didn't know what to do with them. We're hoping this disc marks a return to Reed's VU days, except with the added power of Metallica -- kinda like their joint performance of 'Sweet Jane' at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert.

No, we're not talking drugs! We're talking about Lou Reed's incredible Velvet Underground song 'Heroin,' an epic symphony of beautiful melody and noisy feedback. A marriage of that sound with Metallica's brawn can make for an intriguing collaboration -- something along the lines of Metallica's 'S&M' album with the San Francisco Symphony, but a little bit edgier.