In a message wishing their fans happy holidays, Metallica gave the best gift of all: a preview of new music.

In the clip, frontman James Hetfield appears accompanied by a finicky cat named Tabs. “Happy holidays from Tabs and all of Metallica here in the studio,” Hetfield says. “We thought we’d give you a little bit of ear candy for the holidays.” Tabs then presses play on a roughly 10-second clip featuring a blast of guitar and just a snippet of Hetfield’s vocals. You can watch the clip by signing up for the Metallica newsletter over at the band’s website.

Metallica are working on their long-awaited proper follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic. (They released Lulu, a collaborative album with Lou Reed, in 2011.) They dropped a new single dubbed “Lord of Summer” last year. The forthcoming album is expected sometime in 2016 or at the beginning of 2017.

“Well, you know, we’re moving forward,” guitarist Kirk Hammett said in an interview back in November. “We’re hoping that the album will be released next year. It’s pretty much more along the same lines as Death Magnetic -- kind of like that direction… Eventually, you will see a new Metallica album, and it will most likely be in 2016, and at the very worst, at the beginning of 2017."

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