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Metallica just put out their first album in seven years, the 77-minute 72 Seasons, but drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed that the band already have enough ideas for "20 more records" in the tank.
In a new interview with Switzerland's 20 Minuten, as transcribed by Blabbermouth, the thrash drummer emphasized that making new music is a "vital, huge, significant" part of Metallica's career and that they'll never stop writing new material. But will we ever get to hear it all? Definitely not.
During the conversation, Ulrich said how grateful he is for the "fantastic" reception Metallica have received for 72 Seasons, but that their own internal measure of success is making a record that they're proud of — and that drive to create is something that they have no intention of slowing down.
"I would say a big thing for me about the success of this record is the joy of making it," Ulrich said. "So in the past I think there have been times where you had to make a record. The record company [would tell you], 'Now you've gotta go make a record.' Those days are long gone. Now we make music because we want to, and we do it with joy and with a sense of appreciation.
"And we're not [going], 'Oh my God. There's an idea. What happens if that idea doesn't play out exactly how I want it?', all that craziness."
Ulrich continued by reiterating that a lack of inspiration is never something Metallica suffer from, and that they don't have nearly enough time in the world to actually record all the ideas they have in the vaults.
"We have enough ideas for another 20 records," Ulrich said. "We will never get all the riffs and the ideas to fruition because history dictates that that's just not gonna happen.
"There's never a conversation about should we make new music as in should we not make new music," he added. "So it's never a question like that. New music is a vital, vital, huge, huge, significant part of who we are."
Watch the whole interview below via YouTube.
72 Seasons is out now via Metallica's own Blackened Recordings. Get your copy here.
