Radiohead fever strikes again. The band announced that their eighth studio album, entitled “The King of Limbs,” will be released digitally this Saturday for those who make pre-orders. Apparently the band has jumped ship on the “pay-what-you-want” model they famously implemented for the 2007 release of “In Rainbows,” but Radiohead’s manager Chris Hufford has described the release as a “logical progression.”

NME points out that fans can only speculate which tracks will appear on the album, since the band has been relatively quiet about it’s content. All we know right now is when it’ll be available and the various formats of the release. It’s slated as the world’s first “Newspaper Album,” meaning that Radiohead diehards can expect the luscious, drool-worthy packaging the band is known for.

Album art for Radiohead's "The King of Limbs"

“Newspaper Album” details:

• Two clear 10″ vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
• A compact disc.
• Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
• The Newspaper Album comes with a digital download that is compatible with all good digital media players.
• The Newspaper Album will be shipped on Monday 9th May 2011. You can, however, enjoy the download on Saturday 19th February 2011.
• Shipping is included in the prices shown.
• One lucky owner of the digital version of The King of Limbs will receive a signed 2 track 12″ vinyl.

As noted above, there’s also a digital only pre-sale where fans can buy a 320kbs MP3 download for $10 or an uncompressed WAV download for $15. These downloads will become available this Saturday, while standard CD and Vinyl records will be in stores March 29^th and the deluxe packaged “Newspaper Album” will be issued May 9^th.

As we count down the days to the digital release, it’s evident that Radiohead have mastered the art of creating an intriguing experience for their fans. Again, we see them packaging their music as a high-value collectible while controlling and monetizing its leak. Much like records used to be, we’ll be listening to the music the day it comes out, creating a collective listening experience rarely seen in today’s technology driven landscape. Pre-order the album here in whatever format you wish, just make sure you have cookies enabled (can you say marketing research?)

Where will you be this Saturday?