METALLICA Drummer Says It's 'Exciting' To Think About Follow-Up To 'St. Anger'

In a brand-new interview with Indystar.com, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked if it's too early to ask what the vision is for the next studio recording. "It's exciting to think about," he replied. "We're 15 months into the 'St. Anger' touring cycle, and we have three months left. It's been a great ride, probably the most satisfying one we've had because of where we came from two years ago. It's not too early to ask (about the next album). I would hope we would get back to it sometime next spring. We have a lot of hard, substantive ideas that we've thrown down on tape.

"It feels like we're on a bit of a roll here. I'm actually looking forward to going back in. Typically, 15 months into a touring cycle, we'll be like, 'If we took five years off after this, it wouldn't be long enough.' "

METALLICA have earned acclaim in many ways for a long time. Now, some people are calling the group's recently released documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" the best rock 'n' roll movie in history. Asked if that was ever on their to-do list as their career progressed, Lars said, "Yeah, in between dropping the kids off for school and picking them up (laughs). Of course not. Anybody who knows anything about us knows that we've always been interested in pushing the creative envelope as far as possible. With the success that we've been fortunate enough to have, it's given us freedom to push that envelope. Having a relationship with Joe (Berlinger) and Bruce (Sinofsky) back to (1996 crime documentary) 'Paradise Lost', I certainly felt there was some sort of project there somewhere.

"They really wanted to do something with us. Nobody really knew what shape it would take, but these types of collaborations have to start in a place of trust and a place of respect. When you have that, you can free yourself to go wherever it goes."

Read the entire interview here.