On second thought...

Metallica has decided to compromise the artistic integrity of its albums in return for materialistic gain from digital sales of its singles.

Metallica, perceived as the bane of Napster and heavy-metal foe of all things digitally downloadable, has cast aside principle and cast its lot with what it said, tongue in cheek, was an "upstart outfit who we feel may very well have a bright future" - Apple's iTunes, that is. The LA Times reports that the band, one of the few (along with the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead) to resist selling individual songs online, has relented.

"Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music," ABC News quotes the band as announcing on its website. "So, in continuing with the tradition of offering our albums for sale online (which we've been doing for a few years through various sites), as well as making our live concerts available for download in their entirety, we are now offering fans the opportunity to obtain our songs individually."

iTunes and Napster have begun offering the band's entire catalog of 10 albums (from 1983's "Kill 'Em All" to 2004's "Some Kind of Monster") in the U.S. and Canada. To entice fans, Metallica has added two previously unreleased live tracks on each of its first four albums.