Does Larch Ulrich read online comments about new Metallica music? He sure does! But he has a strategy in approaching these comments so he's not just endlessly scrolling and driving himself mad.
Grappling with success is something that has been a focal point in the more personal aspects of Metallica's career, tremendously underscored in the Some Kind of Monster documentary film.
The band, even through their most critically panned moments, havs often come out ahead, existing on a level where being too big to ever fail feels quite real. For the last three decades, fans have torn apart so many of Metallica's musical efforts, yet albums still sell by the millions and concert tickets remain one of the hottest demands in the entire live music industry.
Naturally, when an artist releases new music, there's a desire to check out the response. It's only human and despite being revered as a heavy metal god, Ulrich is still human too, which is why he has an even-keeled approach to absorbing the reaction from the rock and metal community.
The drummer tells Metal Hammer, “If you decide to go down into the comment sections, at least for me, you have to prepare yourself for not taking any of it overly personally. You have to kind of remove yourself from it. But I’d like to challenge anybody in a band to say they don’t look at comments.”
“I mean, I’m not sitting up until four o’clock in the morning scrolling through every one,” he clarifies, "But when you haven’t put any music out in five or six years and you dump something like 'Lux Æterna' on an unsuspecting world, you’re going to want to see what the feedback is."
READ MORE: Robert Trujillo Was Still Learning Song Arrangement During Metallica 'Lux Aeterna' Video Shoot
And he was right about an "unsuspecting" world — bassist Robert Trujillo didn't even know the single was being unleashed and it caught him by surprise.
“I started getting texts the next morning from friends: ‘Wow, the new song’s amazing, the video’s awesome. I didn’t even know that the song was coming out. So maybe the success of keeping it a secret is some of the members not knowing," Trujillo also relayed to Metal Hammer.
It's some further insight as to how big and complex of an operation releasing a new Metallica album truly is and, on April 14, 72 Seasons will finally be released to the masses. That date surely won't evade Trujillo and Ulrich will have more comments to pour through in advance of an extensive 2023 and 2024 world tour. See the upcoming dates here and head to this location to get your Metallica tickets.
