METALLICA Frontman On 'Lulu': We Saw LOU REED's Vision Through Him

Already polarizing fans around the world and earning some of the most scathing reviews of their career, METALLICA's collaborative album with Lou Reed, titled "Lulu", arrives on Tuesday (November 1) in North America after coming out one day earlier (October 31) worldwide. A concept album based on two early 20th century plays by German author Frank Wedekind, "Lulu" features the former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman's spoken-word poetry and lyrics combined with METALLICA's musical assault for a jarring experience that doesn't sound like anything METALLICA has ever attempted before

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio that he had no interest in learning the storyline of "Lulu" and simply followed Reed's lead. "We saw his vision through him. I didn't want to look at the play, I didn't want to read anything, look at the movies, 'Pandora's Box', or read any of the books. I wanted to just feel it through Lou because he basically digested all of that information and it seemed pretty convoluted. There was about three or four different versions of it, and he put together his modern poet version of it."

The two plays that "Lulu" is based on are called "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's Box". The latter was made into a silent movie in 1929.

The collaboration between METALLICA and Reed was sparked by their performance together of Reed's "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat" at the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009.

The songs were all written by Reed with extensive arrangement contributions by METALLICA.

Only two songs on the album are under five minutes in length, while two are more than 11 minutes long and the closing cut, "Junior Dad", clocks in at 19 minutes.

Reed and METALLICA will perform selections from the album on several European TV programs but has yet to announce any live dates or U.S. appearances.