With the impending release of Hardwired… To Self Destruct, Metallica are revving up the hype machine. Lars Ulrich recently sat down with Metal Hammer to chat about what’s gotten them up to album #10, which is due out on November 17. They spoke to him about some of the specific albums, and he says he has “different relationships” with …And Justice For All. “Sometimes when I hear it, I sit there and roll my eyes – and other times I think Jesus this was the blueprint for a whole new generation of music,” he says. But when it comes to 1991’s The Black Album, which continues to sell (4,700 this week for a total of 16.4 million so far), Lars Ulrich is as confused as we all are
“It’s pretty amazing that 5000 people still buy The Black Album every week in the US. I think you file that one under ‘mindfuck.’ I’d like to meet, No. 3267 last week. Who is that person? Did you not own it? Are you just replacing your old copy? Did it just show up on your radar?’”
If nothing else, it confirms that the smartest thing Metallica ever could have done is purchase their masters back from Warner Bros. to start Blackened Recordings. It’s essentially printing money for the band and keeping Lars’ art collection going. Speaking of that, he also talks about art collecting in the piece, which you can read right here.
