Lou Reed Took 'Lulu' Criticism "Very Personally", According To Metallica's Lars Ulrich
Friday, 24 February 2012
Written by Elliott Batte
Lars Ulrich, drummer of legendary thrash metal titans Metallica, has revealed how Lou Reed was very upset following the release of their latest album ‘Lulu’ – after taking the huge amount of criticism of the record ‘very personally’.
Reed worked heavily with the band for the collaboration, which hit shelves on October 31st last year, and wrote some of his most personal lyrics – with James Hetfield describing them as ‘very potent’. So, when the album flopped and started receiving extremely negative reviews (Reed even started receiving death threats from Metallica fans!), it made sense that the rocker wasn’t too happy about it.
“Obviously, it's fantastic in 2012 that the internet gives everybody access to voicing their opinions,” Ulrich told radio station DC101, “and I think it's an incredible medium to communicate and to bring the world closer. But obviously, as an artist, or somebody who is creating something, you've gotta be careful how deep you dive into what everybody's talking about, because it could really screw with your mind. I've always been in a place where I'm pretty thick-skinned, so it doesn't bug me that much.”
He continued: “It was difficult for Lou Reed because he takes everything very personally. And I think he was very surprised. We told him all along: 'Listen, there are some very, very, very hardcore metal fans out there that like everything pre-packaged in a particular little box that looks like this, and the minute that you slightly veer outside of that, then they have a hernia.' And that's fine – I'm fine with that…”
Metallica have since promised to release a ‘proper metal album’ and will be performing their seminal ‘Black Album’ at this year’s Download Festival – if you’re a fan, check out the link below and grab yourself a pair of tickets to the event – as its not something you’ll want to miss.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Reed worked heavily with the band for the collaboration, which hit shelves on October 31st last year, and wrote some of his most personal lyrics – with James Hetfield describing them as ‘very potent’. So, when the album flopped and started receiving extremely negative reviews (Reed even started 
