During last year's Record Store Day, Metallica made news when their demos cassette, No Life Til Leather, ended up being the biggest seller on a day dedicated to vinyl. This year, they'll be all over the event on April 16 as RSD has revealed the metal four-piece will serve as this year's official Record Store Day ambassadors.

The band said in a statement: "We had the thrill of kicking off the very first Record Store Day by meeting many of you at an in-store appearance at Rasputin Music in Mountain View, CA in April of 2008. Eight years later, with many successful Record Store Days in the history books, we are humbled and honored to announce that we are 2016’s official Record Store Day Ambassadors! This year on April 16th we’ll be joining forces with over 1,400 independent record stores in the States to celebrate our favorite neighborhood music shops."

For this year's RSD, Metallica will release reissues of the classics Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning along with a new live recording from the Paris venue, Le Bataclan, where terrorists killed nearly 100 people during an Eagles of Death Metal concert in November. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica! – Live at Le Bataclan. Paris, France – June 11th, 2003 will be available on CD with Record Store Day and independent record stores donating proceeds benefitting the Fondation de France's Give For France charity (details here).

Drummer Lars Ulrich spoke about the importance of indie record stores. "Independent record stores are part of Metallica's DNA," said Ulrich. "They have been pivotal in shaping each one of us into the music fanatics we've all become. We could not be any prouder to be Record Store Day Ambassadors for 2016 and are looking forward to screaming from every rooftop the next few months about everything independent record store and beyond."

Stay tuned to Diffuser for all your Record Store Day 2016 needs.

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