At the end of the line, Lars Ulrich bursts out laughing. “I thought for a moment that you were going to tell me that the album lasted… seventy-two seasons! » We were actually referring to the seventy-seven minutes of Metallica’s new album, titled 72 Seasons. The drummer of the most popular heavy metal band in the world is in a jovial mood at the end of March, during our telephone interview. It is 1 p.m. in San Francisco, and the co-leader of the American formation has been doing interviews since the morning for the release of his eleventh album.
Reputed to be talkative, Lars Ulrich does not count his time, despite the time imposed by his record company. This son of a former Danish professional tennis player has an atypical personality in the landscape of heavy rock: a musician coupled with a businessman, passionate about art, collecting both Basquiat paintings and Scandinavian furniture. He was, above all, the founding member of Metallica in 1981, with guitarist-singer James Hetfield, both forming since then one of the pairs of most emblematic composers of the genre.
Ce 72 Seasons is the quartet’s first studio effort in seven years. Eight years separated Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016) from its predecessor, Death Magnetic (2008). So much so that one wonders if the pandemic has not ultimately precipitated this discographic return. ” It’s a good question, analyzes the person concerned. Making a record is an idea that we always keep in mind, but which ends up being rejected. Things get harder and harder as the years pass. We always have other projects in the works, whether it’s tours, a film, charity concerts for our Helping Hands foundation, or a record with the late Lou Reed. [Lulu, paru en 2011]. The last time Metallica took a year off was in 2005.
Sessions Zoom
In March 2020, the band’s busy concert schedule was brutally halted by the pandemic. The musicians decide to use their confined time to finally get down to writing compositions. The first sessions begin remotely via Zoom video software, with each member located far from the others: James Hetfield in Colorado, Lars Ulrich in San Francisco, bassist Robert Trujillo in Santa Monica and guitarist Kirk Hammett in Hawaii , all overseen in Los Angeles by Greg Fidelman, sound engineer and co-producer – and “fifth member” of the group, emphasizes the phlegmatic drummer. But, very quickly, the technology shows its limits: playing together in real time turns out to be a headache, due to the delay inherent in the connection speed. “It was kinda funny., remembers the drummer. We spent half the day trying to play remotely and then the other half chatting on the phone with engineers and technicians in Silicon Valley trying to resolve these technical issues. Nobody knew if we would remain confined for five or ten years. These were dark times of great uncertainty. But, at the same time, we were grateful that we were all healthy and able to stay creative, knowing that so many people were far worse off than us. »
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