Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich seems to be the bearer of bad news about a new record lately. Ulrich revealed the band was moving at a "glacial pace" on the new material back in January, mostly due to not being able to get together. Now in an interview with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Ulrich said the band is moving along with new songs, but things aren't at a point where a new album is starting to form as a whole.
"We're on that path. I don't know if it's cohesive enough to call a record, but we're dipping our toes," said Ulrich. "We've been trying to stay busy. We did the drive-in thing last summer. We did an All Within My Hands event in November. We did [The Late Show With Stephen] Colbert. We [played the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show]. We're engaged. And we are creating at some level.
"It's way too early to talk about a record or a timeline or anything. But we're staying busy. And it's exciting to just think of the possibilities. Right now we're so rejuvenated and just ready to get back in."
Being the size they are, and with the success of their recent reissue campaigns (lookin' at you Black Album), it's not like Metallica needs to put out a record to stay relevant. Though it would be pretty great if we got one.
In an interview with Classic Rock earlier this year, Ulrich was consistent in saying the album won't be released anytime soon. He cited not being able to get into a room and jam has really held things up, and calls the writing pace of the new album "glacial."
"[It's been] glacial," he said. These are the craziest of times and nothing is letting up. There's a little bit of movement, but it's hard to do a lot when we're not together."
James Hetfield said during a recent SirusXM Town Hall, he's written "tons of material" while sitting at home bored out of his mind. So at least there's some progress!
"For me, and I don't wanna sound ungrateful, 'cause I know there's a lot of people out there that are struggling because of this COVID… Where I live, it's all service industry. And, obviously, the music industry, it's tough — it's taken a big hit. For us, we're road dogs — we've been out on the road forever — so you're either on the road or you're writing. So the obvious thing is, 'Well, we're not on the road. Start writing.' So, [I've written] tons of material. And I'm sure there's lots of musicians out there that are just, like, 'Okay, what can I do? I'm gonna write and just get into that,' which I love doing."
