Lars Ulrich Talks Pushing Boundaries And Risks With Metallica’s Music: ‘We’ve Got To Keep Evolving’

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich recently offered insights into the band’s persistent creative evolution, attributing their willingness to take artistic risks to a core part of their collective identity. In a new interview with Variety, conducted to promote Metallica‘s upcoming film project, Metallica Saved My Life, Ulrich explained that their continuous exploration is not a choice but an intrinsic drive.

“I don’t think it was ever a choice,” Ulrich stated. “I would like to believe that we dictate our own narrative, and one of the key pieces of the individual and collective DNA in Metallica is curiosity.” He elaborated that the band has “always wanted to turn over rocks and look at new ideas and challenges.” Beyond curiosity, Ulrich highlighted another significant motivator: “another part is the fear of complacency, a fear of fear, of getting stuck. The claustrophobia, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to keep evolving. We’ve got to keep growing. We gotta keep trying different s**t.’ The fear of stagnation, of ending up on autopilot, a fear of repetition, of just getting stuck.”

This deeply ingrained aversion to predictability has consistently pushed them into uncharted territory. “So we’ve always pushed ourselves into new and different creative endeavors,” he added, “Whether it’s the films or doing stuff with symphony orchestras or playing with different producers or new approaches, it’s to make sure that we always keep it fresh and there are always challenges in front of us.”

Ulrich cited an early example of this philosophy. “When Ride The Lightning came out, the fourth song, ‘Fade To Black‘, had acoustic guitars on it,” he recalled. While this initially caused “definitely some raised eyebrows and people in the very hard-rock end of the community wondered what we were doing,” he believes it set a precedent. “But I would like to think that very early on, we stated that we were not to be boxed in, and we were not to be doing always what was expected. We would not be the band to churn out the same record over and over again, just in a different sleeve with different different cover art. We were gonna do everything that we could to prevent that from happening.”

Ulrich’s comments come as Metallica Saved My Life is set for its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday night, June 11, with additional screenings in New York City on Thursday and Saturday. The documentary, slated for a wider release later this year, delves into Metallica’s impact through the personal stories of their fans. Filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund, known for directing Metallica‘s music videos for “Turn The Page” (1998), “Whiskey In The Jar” (1999), and “ManUNkind” (2016), interviewed fans from 23 different countries to compile the documentary’s narratives.

In an April statement announcing the project, Metallica shared their vision for the film: “As a few of you may know, we’ve been working behind the scenes the last couple of years on a new film that will be released later this year starring you guys! ‘Metallica Saved My Life‘ explores our world through the lives of fans who have supported each other through highs, lows, trials and triumphs for over four decades. And yeah, we’re in it a little bit too.”