Metallica's Lars Ulrich defends 'Lulu' and puts negative reaction down to 'ignorance'
The band's much-derided collaboration with Lou Reed
Last updated 15th Mar 2023
Lars Ulrich has issued a strongly worded defence of Metallica’s much-derided 2011 album with Lou Reed, ‘Lulu.’
Released to largely negative reviews from critics, Metallica and Lou Reed’s collaborative record was also a commercial failure by ‘tallica’s lofty standards, peaking at No.36 in the UK and US, and selling less than 300,000 units worldwide since it came out 12 years ago.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has defended ‘Lulu’ in multiple interviews over the years, and, writing in Lou Reed's newly released posthumous book ‘The Art Of The Straight Line: My Tai Chi’, he has doubled down on his stance.
Admitting that he’s still baffled by the reaction to ‘Lulu’, Ulrich said (via an excerpt on Loudwire): "What the f--- is it about 'Lulu' that it got that kind of reaction? I can't quite figure it out, but years later, it's aged extremely well. It sounds like a mother----er still.
“So I can only put the reaction down to ignorance ... It took our fans to a place I wish they would go more often. Maybe it would be a better time to release it now with what's going on outside in the world, the chaos. I don't know, but I am very proud of this record.
“James (Hetfield) and I would be figuring out ways through a piece of music and then Lou would look over and go, 'That's it. I'm not doing another f---ing take of that.' That's not the way we usually worked, but it was so beautiful and great, the whole thing."
In the wake of Lou Reed’s death aged 71 in 2013, Lars Ulrich told The Guardian: “I played the record for my kids yesterday in the car, and it sounded as relevant and more intense than ever; it sounded incredibly potent, very alive and impulsive.
“Twenty-five years from now, you're going to have millions of people claiming they owned the record or loved it when it came out, of course neither will be true. I think it's going to age well—when I played it yesterday it sounded f---ing awesome.
“In some ways it's almost cooler that people didn't embrace it, because it makes it more ours, it's our project, our record, and this was never made for the masses and the masses didn't take to it. It makes it more precious for those who were involved.”
Featuring the singles ‘If Darkness Had a Son’, ‘Screaming Suicide’ and ‘Lux Æterna’, Metallica’s new album ‘72 Seasons’ is released on Friday 14th April 2023.
Metallica recently acquired a majority stake in a vinyl pressing plant to cope with the ongoing demand for their vinyl releases.
The heavy metal legends follow its release with world tour dates that include two headline slots at Download Festival this June. The final tickets are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
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