Writers Group Film Corp. announced March 22 that through its wholly owned Front Row Networks subsidiary, it had acquired the footage and would convert the two-dimensional concert films to 3D.

But Metallica says it never heard of the project or the company and issued a press release titled “Metallica Warns Their Fans To Beware Of The Front Row.”

“Metallica owns and controls its recorded performances and Creeping Death Music owns the vast majority of any music embodied in Metallica Recordings,” the band’s attorney, Peter Paterno, stated in today’s announcement. “Pretty much any legitimate business would have contacted us to see how Metallica felt about it. Maybe these guys just forgot.”

But Metallica’s announcement stops short of actually threatening legal action against the company. Although the Writers Group Film Corp./Front Row Networks press release states that the company acquired the footage, it doesn’t say where the films came from and this could be one of those cases where someone other than the band owns the rights and will distribute it regardless of the band’s wishes. Who knows? This could end up in court or on your DVD player.

Either way, we’re betting today’s rebuttal from Metallica isn’t the last we’ll hear of this issue.

Click here for the Metallica website, here for the Front Row Networks website, and here for the latter’s press release.