Lars Ulrich stated technological constraints were holding back production on new Metallica music.
Metallica members have been working on to collaborate on new material from separate locations, which is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult to work in their usual fashion.
Drummer Ulrich said to NME that it indicated they were grappling to gain their wholesome level of enthusiasm. “It’s not easy, but we’ve been doing what we can,” he said.
“We’ve been exchanging ideas back and forth. The hardest thing about being in four different spaces is that there’s no software that can have us all play in real-time to reach others. So, I can play something and send it to the next guy and then he can play on it and he can send it to the next guy, or vice-versa, but we can’t play at the same time. … It takes the impulsivity and the momentary energy out of the occasion.”
Adding he’s “talked to some people in technology about how close we are to being able to all play in real-time with each other, but that hasn’t been cracked yet. If it is, we’ll maximize it, but for now, we’re in this bubble for a couple of weeks.”
Following Metallica’s recent physically reuniting to record a drive-in concert film, Ulrich stated he was confident of spending more time together.
“We’re looking forward to seeing if, at some point this fall, we can get back into another bubble where we write and play and maybe even record,” he noted. “So, we’re looking forward to the possibilities on that one.”
Urged to predict when new Metallica music might hit, he replied, “Not soon enough! Right now, I’d say the hardest thing about all this is trying to plan, because five minutes later, those plans change – that’s just the nature of the state of the world at the moment, and we’re going to have to accept and surrender to it.”
Ulrich revealed that the circumstances was a “good reminder of the fragility of the world.” “Maybe we should occasionally pause and be a little bit more respectful and appreciative of what we have … and understand how quickly it can derail in terms of how we arrogantly expect everything to be the way we wanted,” he said.