METALLICA's LARS ULRICH: Once You Broke The Ice With LOU REED, He Was Human Like Everybody Else

In the latest issue of Q magazine, the members of METALLICA were asked if recording "Lulu" — their collaborative album with former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND fronman Lou Reed — was "the barrel of laughs" that they were expecting.

"It was a barrel of laughs, semi-full," guitarist Kirk Hammett replied. Drummer Lars Ulrich added: "Lou's got a pretty twisted sense of humor. It was a pretty crazy run of different experiences.] had a great time doing it.

"With Lou, once you break the ice, he's human like everybody else."

Continued Hammett: "He always had a lot to say, good and bad. The most hilarious thing would be going out to dinner with him. He'd grab the menu and start chanting, 'No sugar! No sugar! I don't want sugar, no sugar!' He's so adamant because of his diabetes, but he'd make everyone in the restaurant know sugar couldn't come within 200 miles of his food. He was very adamant about the sugar thing."

Reed died on Sunday (October 27) at the age of 71 from complications due to liver disease. Although Reed got a liver transplant last spring, the affliction could not be beaten despite continued treatment and Reed returned to Long Island to spend his final days at home.

At press time, METALLICA had notably yet to issue a comment on Reed's passing.

"Lulu" was a commercial failure and widely panned by fans and critics.

Nevertheless, the disc was the last recorded work released by Reed, and the members of METALLICA may have been the last musicians to work with him in the studio.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that he did not know the German plays on which the "Lulu" storyline was based and simply let Reed take charge. "He put together his modern poet version of it, and when he played us the soundtrack to that play, his lyrics were unbelievable," James said. "There was basically a soundscape behind it, and he wanted us to add music to it and that's what we did."