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Metallica with Lamb of God & The Sword
Pengrowth Saddledome
Thursday, December 4 - Thursday, December 4

More in: Rock / Pop

His band’s CDs have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart a record five times. The latest one, Death Magnetic, sold one million copies in three weeks in the United States alone. So why is Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich rushing backstage in Phoenix, Arizona, before the opening show of the band’s new world tour to chat with some three dozen fans while keeping up a busy schedule of media interviews?

“The Zeppelin mystique and that Kiss thing about ‘who are these larger-than-life comic book characters’ didn’t interest me,” says Ulrich. "It was pretty clear for us early on that the bands that we idolized were more accessible. It's OK to sit and talk about what you do. You choose to answer the questions you want, and the ones you don't want to, you come up with a silly, smart-ass or sarcastic comment and find a way around it."

Nearly 30 years after Ulrich and singer-guitarist James Hetfield founded Metallica in Los Angeles, they still keep their fans updated on the inner workings of the band through documentaries, fan websites with behind-the-scenes video and meet-and-greets before every show. To warm up for their new tour, which will see them play 37 arena shows in North America before heading to Europe, the band invited fan club members and friends to attend two free intimate rehearsals in San Francisco and Phoenix. Ulrich admits that this kind of fan access sometimes has led to Metallica airing too much of their laundry in public, such as in the film Some Kind of Monster, which showed the band bickering during group therapy sessions, but he says he wouldn't change a thing.

"People sit there and talk about the movie, but once you open yourself up, you have to deal with that,” he says. “Either you open yourself up and it’s carte blanche, or you shy away. Our path has been the carte blanche accessibility, for better or worse. Warts and all, as they say."

Ulrich was inspired to take this approach by his experience as a teenager lucky enough to penetrate the inner circle of one of his favourite bands at the time, cult heavy-metal band Diamond Head.

"All the bands I was interested in, I got close to,” he says. “They were always very open to let me in… so I've always tried to do that to the best of our ability, but sometimes the numbers get hard. You want to go sign autographs in a record store, but 2,000 people show up, and it can be overwhelming. You do the best you can."

Despite their populist leanings, the band has faced some criticism for flying around on separate jets during their European tour last summer, with critics suggesting they were turning into Deep Purple — a touring behemoth composed of musicians who no longer even talk to one another. Ulrich says this image is wrong, and that Metallica will travel together on this North American tour.

"We're flying home a lot after shows, so we're travelling together. People have a tendency to focus on something that can be perceived as negative. The reason we travel separately a lot is we want everybody to be comfortable, not that we don't want to hang out together. If James Hetfield doesn't want to base in Copenhagen for two weeks he shouldn't have to just because I want to. It's about giving each other space and freedom to be comfortable in that crazy touring bubble. Guys that are content have a tendency to want to tour longer and be more productive. It's an investment back in the band. Sure, it can be perceived as overkill or excess, and I understand that, especially with English magazines, but it's OK. You set yourself up for that."

As for his relationship with singer Hetfield, which seemed strained to the breaking point in Some Kind of Monster, Ulrich says it's never been better. "He's more than my best friend,” he says. “He's as close to a brother as I've ever had. We're partners in a gang. It's beyond friendship — as Bon Jovi would say, it's blood on blood. Especially for a bunch of people that don't have a lot in common. The only thing we really have in common is Metallica and the fact that we're passionate parents, but that's enough to keep us great friends, great buddies."

After another successful album, Ulrich faces the inevitable question: how much longer will Metallica go on? Don't expect a definite timeline from the Dane.

"I think right now, the future looks great, certainly from a mental point of view," he says. "The great unknown is the physical point of view. I just don't know how long we can do this physically. Creatively and in terms of getting along, this band can go on forever, but at some point the necks and the legs and the backs might break or give out. I just don't know if it's possible to do this 20 years from now."

Ulrich already has a plan for life after Metallica, and it involves Hollywood, currently the playground of his girlfriend, Danish actress Connie Nielsen.

"Most of my friends either make or produce or write movies. I'm not so interested in acting — Connie can do that — but I'd love to sit down for six months and write a movie. There's no shortage of things to do. I'm not scared about what's going to happen on the other side of Metallica. I just hope I get to all the things I could do."

He won't reveal yet what kind of movies he hopes to write. "I got things stored up in my head," he says. "There are more film people that come over to the house for dinner than musicians. It seems natural to go that direction."