METALLICA's ULRICH Says New Album Has 'A Lot More Dynamics' Than 'St. Anger'

Shay Quillen of the Mercury News recently conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the band's upcoming acoustic set at the Bridge School Benefit:

"It's not just straight-up acoustic. There's a little more emphasis obviously on the vocals, on the lyrics, on the melodies than there is when you're playing full-on. So you try to find songs that have relevant lyrics and strong melodies, and then you sit down and try to come up with some different reinterpretations."

On attending the Bridge School Benefit every year that their schedule allows:

"Whether you're playing or whether you're just hanging, it's always a good time, and it's always interesting."

On playing the event for the first time in 1997:

"There were some songs we did last time where we turned an uppity METALLICA song into a shuffle thing. Or you take some stuff and bring it way down in tempo. So it's a great opportunity to re-look at your stuff, and to me that's one of the most inspiring and challenging things about the gig."

"It just puts a different slant on it. When you're playing these gigs, it's like, 'Oh, my left toe hurts,' or 'My glass of Gatorade doesn't have nine ice cubes in it, like I asked for.' You come out at the Bridge School in front of that group of young kids, and it's like, 'OK.' All of a sudden that stuff just doesn't seem so relevant anymore."

On working on the band's ninth studio album with producer Rick Rubin:

"Rick has, obviously, a very different way of doing it. Everything about him is about the vibe, how we play with each other, how we connect to each other. He couldn't give a . . . [damn] what the individual sounds are like, or how perfect."
"You know, when you get a little older, you get kind of set in your own ways. It's good when the safety net and that whole thing is stripped away from you."

"Certainly compared to the last record, there's a lot more dynamics and different shades — fast and slow, heavy and lighter. It's more progressive and nuttier, and the songs are longer and have lots of crazy guitar solos."

"We actually enjoy being in the same room a lot more now than we did five years ago, and we're making a record now without any sort of hand-holding. It's all good."