On April 21, independent record shops across the country will roll out the red carpet for customers with the annual parade of exclusive goodies known as Record Store Day. While it’s still too early to put together a list of the special releases fans can look forward to, we know at least one thing: Metallica will be going ‘Beyond Magnetic’ again.

According to a post at the band’s official site, the ‘Beyond Magnetic’ EP will receive its third release for Record Store Day. After starting life as a digital-only purchase and then heading to CD, the four-song collection will be available on vinyl. And that’s not all: “To add to the fun,” explains the post, “this is no ordinary black vinyl release, but instead will be on silver vinyl with an exclusive Metallica sticker included in the package.” It will be available “at your favorite local record store and on Metallica.com.”

As previously discussed here on the site, ‘Beyond Magnetic’ is a collection of unreleased rough mixes from the sessions that produced 2008′s ‘Death Magnetic’ album. Initially a free release for the band’s fan club, it’s made a slow march through various formats; according to the post announcing the Record Store Day tie-in, ‘Beyond’ is also headed for an international release.

It’s part of what’s shaping up to be a busy 2012 for Metallica: they’re in the studio working on new material, and also planning on headlining the Orion Music + More Festival in June, during which they’ll perform ‘Ride the Lightning’ and ‘The Black Album’ in their entirety.

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