"Hey everybody, Happy Holidays from Tabs (the cat) and all of Metallica here in the studio," says frontman James Hetfield in the clip. "We thought we'd give you a little bit of ear candy for the holidays."

Hetfield and his feline friend then hit play on a 12-second snippet of a new song by the group as they continue to work on the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic."

Guitarist Kirk Hammett recently shared an update on the project, telling 103.3 The Edge in Buffalo, NY, "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. And, you know, we'll see.