Lars Ulrich on why doesn’t listen to music by Metallica
Very few musicians occupy their spare time listening to their own back catalogue. Some artists even refuse to listen to music altogether because it reminds them of their day job. While Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich can still relax by hearing records from his favourite bands, he won’t be spinning any material by his own group on the record player.
Former frontman of The Jam, Paul Weller, is from the same school of thought as Ulrich and refuses to listen to his own work for pleasure. He explained in 2017 to NME: “It’s nice sometimes when I hear something unexpectedly on the radio, an old song from whatever era. That’s always nice because you hear it in a different context. But generally, I can’t really listen to my old records; I don’t know many artists who do, really.”
For Weller, these songs remind him of the person he used to be, which is unrecognisable from the version of himself that stands in front of the mirror. He’s an artist who always looks forward, wherever possible, and the idea of reminiscing about his old days is enough to make him feel uneasy.
However, with Ulrich, his inner perfectionist prevents him from revisiting his past work with Metallica. Whenever he hears a note of music by the band, his first thought is the inadequacies of his own performance and the room for improvement, rather than raising a toast to the magic they created in the studio.
During a conversation with Vulture, Ulrich explained his problem with the band’s song ‘Eye Of The Beholder’. Additionally, he revealed a much broader issue with anything Metallica has ever released.
He explained to the publication: “I guess the asterisk is that, to me, we did the best we could each moment. So, of course, sometimes you sit down and go, ‘Huh?’ or ‘That could have been better,’ or ‘That was a little awkward,’ or ‘That feels a little silly or easy,’ or ‘That feels over-thought-out’ or whatever. It goes back to that whole thing about the past is the past, and I don’t spend a long time back there.”
Ulrich continued: “And there’s not really much I can do about it [laughs], and honestly, I don’t listen to them. I don’t listen to a lot of Metallica music. Part of it is because I’m sort of overly analytical [about the details]. It’s basically almost impossible for me to listen to a Metallica song without going, ‘Okay, how are the sonics? How’s the mix? How does the guitar sound? The vocals are too loud; the bass is too boomy.’ It becomes this exercise in analytics. When you hear your favourite band — like if I listened to Rage Against the Machine or something, I just fucking let myself go. But when Metallica comes on, it’s like, ‘Huh?'”
While Ulrich’s obsession stops him from wistfully enjoying the fruits of his labour, it’s also the same ingredient that has made him a musical icon who constantly strives to be the best in class.
