Metallica fans feeling impatient to hear the group's upcoming Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct album can take comfort in the knowledge that no one's listened to the finished product yet — not even the band.

Frontman James Hetfield admitted as much during a recent interview with Philadelphia's WMMR, noting that even though the album has been assembled, they're still trying to figure out ways of making it better.

"You can call us perfectionists if you want, and I will too," explained Hetfield. "But there’s always something – you know, ‘Ah, this is a little too long-winded. Let’s cut this out. Let’s make this a little more potent.’"

Referring to himself and his fellow bandmates as "craftsmen," Hetfield continued, "We want to make this as sharp and potent as possible. So all the way up to the last minute, even running order, there’s always something we’re thinking about and trying to make it the best."

While some things surrounding the album still seem to be in a state of flux, fans shouldn't expect to see an adjusted track listing when Hardwired arrives in stores. "It is, by all means, done as far as songs go," continued Hetfield. "It’s just artwork and little things here and there we’re still working on."

Describing the record as "diverse," Hetfield hinted that its title track was a proper introduction, calling it "a summary of a lot of the feel around the album" and adding, "That’s definitely one of the shorter songs on the record. We’ve been known to have long songs and there’s a few of those."

Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct is due in stores on Nov. 18.

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