Metallica's forthcoming album Death Magnetic's title is a nod to the band's fallen peers, says vocalist James Hetfield.

Says the singer (as reported by NME.com):

"It started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like [Alice In Chains frontman] Layne Staley and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts. And then it kind of grew from there.

"Thinking about death... just like a magnet, some people are drawn towards it, [and] other people are afraid of it and push away.

"The concept that we're all gonna die sometimes is over-talked about and then a lot of times never talked about — no one wants to bring it up; it's the big white elephant in the living room. But we all have to deal with it at some point."

The album is released on September 22. Read a preview here.