Metallica will go back to the past before they head to the future and re-issue their old albums on vinyl.

The announcement at Metallica.com states that "While we're finishing up the new album, we told the dudes at the record company we thought it might be cool to dust off the old tapes and get all retro with some vinyl re-releases... First up are the first two albums (duh!?), "Kill ?Em All" and "Ride the Lightning," coming out on April 15 in North America and pretty fucking close to that in the rest of the world".

The good news for old fans is that even if they have the old stuff on vinyl, there will be some modifications to help entice you to maintain Metallica's wealth. "There will be two versions...one like the original on a single disc spinning at 33 1/3, the other a two disc, 180 gram vinyl, 45 rpm package all in a double gatefold," they say. "The music was half speed mastered from the original analog tapes at Mobile Fidelity to bring you audiophile quality.

Both versions will be available in the online store here and over at Met Club".

So what's next? "Oh, and in case you were wondering, "Master" and "Justice" will obviously be next and should be coming out on vinyl in June".

Metallica will reactive as a live band on May 28 in Poland.