On July 16, 2008, Hetfield commented on the album's title: Death Magnetic, at least the title, to me started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like Layne Staley and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts.
Hetfield je 16. srpnja 2008. godine o nazivu albuma izjavio: „Death Magnetic, barem njegov naziv, za mene je u početku bio neka vrsta posvete ljudima koji su propali u našem poslu, poput Laynea Staleyja i mnogih drugih koji su preminuli, u suštini — nekoj vrsti mučenika rock and rolla.