Lars Ulrich is Still Grateful for Metallica’s Success: “We Could Never Have Dreamed of This”

In the midst of their massive M-72 tour, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich sat down with FOX 10 to talk about the band’s career. In the interview (h/t Blabbermouth), he echoed a sentiment that will sound very familiar if you’ve followed Metallica at all over the decades: they’re still very, very happy to be doing this. Ulrich told the reporter that he still feels like the person he was when Metallica was starting out—or in early stages of their success—when he gets on stage.

“You still feel like the same 18-year-olds, 20-year-olds or 30-year-olds, as we’ve done in the past, when you’re walking out, and obviously, 42 years into a career, to be able to still do this, to be able to still bring fans together and share a musical experience at the level that it’s still happening is otherworldly. We could never have dreamed of this. I think the main difference now is that we slow down long enough to take it in and appreciate it and show gratitude and be grateful, where when you are younger, you’re always in such a hurry to just get to the next thing. But nowadays it’s crazy that this is still happening.”

Metallica had an extra reason to celebrate recently. “Nothing Else Matters” became the band’s second single to clear one billion streams on Spotify. Not bad for a group of longhairs who didn’t know they were abut to change the landscape of music forever when they started the band!

Singer James Hetfield is currently dealing with a case of COVID-19, so the second night of Metallica’s “No Repeat Weekend” tour (September 3) was rescheduled for September 9 at the same venue, State Park Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.