James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica claim that their relationship is ‘the best it’s ever been’

Sonar FM conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich before the band’s April 1 performance at Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago. The discussion is currently shown below.

Ulrich replied, “I think being autonomous and independent has always been in the METALLICA spirit,” when asked about what it has been like for the band to self-fund their projects since launching their own record label, Blackened Recordings. We’ve never really had a sense of belonging to any one group. We have always felt somewhat alone; we have never felt like we are a part of a movement or a wave. I believe that James [Hetfield, vocalist of METALLICA] and I bonded via music when we first met, but we’ve always felt a bit left out and alone. I’ve always felt like a loner. Thus, having a band makes you feel like a part of something. We thus cherish what we have, and I believe that we have always felt that we don’t really belong anyplace. 

Naturally, when I mention that, people sаy things like, “Oh, you’re in the biggest band in the world,” or something similar, but that doesn’t really meаn anything. I still feel like we sort of live in our own little universe and never fully fit into anything. Of course, however, having so many friends and supporters alongside us makes everything worthwhile. However, having self-reliance and autonomy is a wonderful state to be in, as it prevents you from feeling as if you owe anybody anything.”

The 2004 documentary “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,” which followed the band through the three most turbulent years of their long career—addiction, lineup changes, fan backlash, personal turmoil, and the band’s near dissolution while recording the “St. Anger” album—also featured Ulrich’s discussion of how his relationship with Hetfield has changed since then. “I think it’s the best it’s been so far,” he said. I believe that there is a lot more collaboration going on than there was in the past because we all know where we are, a lot more about one another, and how far we can push each other. We’re not battling to win this disagreement anymore. We try much harder to see each other’s point of view and hardly quarrel about anything. We call it maturing. [Giggles] It is, therefore, in a really excellent position and has essentially matured more than it has in a long time.”

Beginning in Baltimore, METALLICA’s “WorldWired” 2017 tour will go through 25 cities’ stadiums before coming to an end in mid-August. AVENGED SEVENFOLD and VOLBEAT will provide the majority of the support for the foursome on their first North American tour since 2009; GOJIRA will fill in for the latter group for the last six dates.

Starting on September 4 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and lasting until November, this is the first leg of “WorldWired” in Europe. Following a pause, the journey will resume in Bologna, Italy, on February 10, 2018, and continue until May, when it will conclude in Helsinki, Finland.