METALLICA 'Shocked And Saddened' By Death Of 'Lulu' Co-Producer HAL WILLNER

April 8, 2020

METALLICA has paid tribute to producer Hal Willner, who died Tuesday (April 7) at age 64. His spokesperson, Blake Zidell, said Willner had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 but had not been formally diagnosed.

Last night, METALLICA released the following statement via social media:

"The entire METALLICA family was shocked and saddened to hear of producer, writer, and composer Hal Willner's passing earlier today. He was a truly inspirational collaborator, someone who through his unique combination of musical knowledge and warm personality, invigorated every project he touched, including co-producing our very own collaboration with Lou Reed, 2011's 'Lulu'; Hal expertly helped to guide us all to a project we loved, and remain fiercely proud of, to this day.

"His breadth and scope within the world of music was incredible. From being the sketch music producer of 'Saturday Night Live' since 1981 to producing albums for Lou, Marianne Faithfull, William S. Burroughs and Laurie Anderson, Hal's love and appreciation of all styles of cutting-edge music and art made him a man in high demand."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich added in a separate statement: "I will always treasure the time I spent with Hal in those most inspiring and collaborative environments. He was such a warm, open, and communicative person, and as Lou's right-hand man, he was absolutely essential in pushing 'Lulu' forward. I'll never forget him, and I know I speak for the entire METALLICA family when I say he will be greatly missed."

"Lulu" polarized fans around the world and earned METALLICA some of the most scathing reviews of its career. The effort featured the late THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman's spoken-word poetry and lyrics combined with METALLICA's musical assault for a jarring experience that didn't sound like anything METALLICA had ever attempted before.

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.

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The entire Metallica family was shocked and saddened to hear of producer, writer, and composer Hal Willner’s passing earlier today. He was a truly inspirational collaborator, someone who through his unique combination of musical knowledge and warm personality, invigorated every project he touched, including co-producing our very own collaboration with Lou Reed, 2011’s “Lulu;” Hal expertly helped to guide us all to a project we loved, and remain fiercely proud of, to this day. His breadth and scope within the world of music was incredible. From being the sketch music producer of Saturday Night Live since 1981 to producing albums for Lou, Marianne Faithfull, William S. Burroughs and Laurie Anderson, Hal’s love and appreciation of all styles of cutting-edge music and art made him a man in high demand. “I will always treasure the time I spent with Hal in those most inspiring and collaborative environments. He was such a warm, open, and communicative person, and as Lou’s right-hand man, he was absolutely essential in pushing “Lulu” forward. I’ll never forget him, and I know I speak for the entire Metallica family when I say he will be greatly missed.” — Lars Rest in Peace, Hal.
A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on Apr 7, 2020 at 7:50pm PDT

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