Metallica Two-CD Set Celebrates the Ground Already Covered

*** METALLICA

“Garage Inc.”

Elektra

Despite Metallica’s hefty metal accomplishments, its music is forged from a wide array of influences, and with this two-CD set (due in stores Tuesday), the group proudly shows off its roots. A sequel to the 1987 “Garage Days Revisited” EP (which is included in its entirety here), this collection features all the outside material Metallica has tackled over the years, plus 11 newly recorded.

The most striking tracks not only shed light on Metallica, but also put an illuminating spin on the artists who originally performed them. The quartet gives Bob Seger’s haunting “Turn the Page” a bristling edge that sharpens the poignant bite of the song. The Gothic undercurrent that smolders in Metallica’s work flares up in its wicked version of Nick Cave’s brooding “Loverman”; the musicians also delve into the lighter side of gloom with a romp through the Misfits’ hummably rambunctious Goth-punk paean “Die Die My Darling.” S

This may merely be a diversion while Metallica contemplates its future musical direction, but it packs all the substance of a full-fledged album.