Ulrich: Metallica record almost done

Lars Ulrich of Metallica
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Metallica’s Lars Ulrich says the follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic is “almost done.”

The group have been working on album No.10 for much of the past year, and the drummer checked in with an update on the project following his appearance at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in New York on Friday.

Ulrich tells Rolling Stone: “The record is well on its way. It may come out any century now, actually. There’s a saying: where there’s life, there’s hope.

“I’d say it’s mostly done. There are all these other responsibilities that have to be taken care of. Life in Metallica these days is not only about making a record.

“We have all these sort of different things that we turn to. But the record gets worked on where there’s absolutely nothing else going on.”

The drummer adds that the band are comfortable juggling multiple projects simultaneously based on changing priorities in their schedule.

Ulrich adds: “In all seriousness, it’s actually what we like. It works for us. It’s not just record, tour, record, tour. We like to do. We’re doing the Record Store Day next week and doing all that stuff. There’s lots of stuff going on all the time, but the record is almost done.”

2016 Record Store Day Ambassadors Metallica will perform live at Berkeley, CA’s legendary record store Rasputin Music on Saturday, April 16 in celebration of the ninth annual event in support of independent record stores and record store culture worldwide.

They’ll also release a 2003 club show from Paris for Record Store Day, and issue expanded versions of 1983’s Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride The Lightning on April 15.

Hardcore fan Ulrich inducted Deep Purple into the 2016 Rock Hall on April 8, and clarified the influence of rock’s family tree during his opening speech.

He says: “With almost no exceptions, every hard rock band in the last 40 years, including mine, traces its lineage directly back to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.”