Although it was Lars Ulrich that was interviewing Miley Cyrus for Interview magazine, the Metallica drummer still had plenty to say about the state of both the touring industry and his band. Ulrich spoke candidly about what a post-covid road trek looks like, "Obviously, it’s a whole new world out there. We’ve been talking with our team about covid protocols, and it seems like the safest, most peaceful place you could be these days is onstage. The phone doesn’t ring, nobody can bother you. You’re alone up there. . . You leave all the horse*** behind when you walk out on that stage. It’s the greatest feeling."
Ulrich touched upon Metallica's early club act recalling, "We began as a cover band. When we first started playing in L.A. back in the early ’80s, we did nothing but obscure covers. We didn’t play Van Halen and Journey and Kiss songs, we played a bunch of cool, underground, British metal songs. Out of that setlist came our own sound. We didn’t have the patience to curate our vibe, we just wanted to get out there and play."
He went on to say, "Playing other people’s material, and reinterpreting it — with respect, obviously, to the original vision — is so freeing. You don’t have to be so precious about where to put the double chorus, or whether to go to the bridge before or after the solo. All these things that you drive yourself nuts over in your own songs just melt away."
Ulrich took time out to praise the various artists — including Miley Cyrus — spanning multiple genres that tackled Metallica's music on the new covers collection, The Metallica Blacklist: "It’s amazing to look at this list of 53 artists who have come together and taken the time to record all these songs. There are all these versions of 'Nothing Else Matters' by different artists. To hear the song filtered through everybody’s voices, approaches, and visions is an incredible thing. We know we’ve been around for a while. We can certainly feel it in our bodies, but at the same time, our spirit is young. And our spirit is always about the next album."
Regarding Metallica's future, Ulrich admitted, "When the press and fans are gracious and respectful enough to say, 'Oh, this is classic Metallica,' or, 'We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of this album,' we sit there like, 'Holy f***. We still think all our best years are ahead of us.' When people ask me, 'What’s your favorite Metallica album?' I say, 'The next one.'"
Lars Ulrich told us a while back that the members of Metallica have gotten along consistently well ever since getting through the turbulent days of the early 2000's: ["I mean, look, we don't wake up in the morning and call and see how the others slept. I mean, we don't spend 24-7 together. But the time that we share is definitely, to me, feels as solid and as mutually respectful as it's ever been."] SOUNDCUE (:15 OC: . . . it's ever been)
Metallica next performs on November 4th at Hollywood, Florida's Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Says Band Gets Along Well :
