In a new interview with NME, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich discusses socially-distanced gigs, when to expect new Metallica material, and whether he was ahead of curve with his 2000 legal battle against Napster.. An excerpt from the chat follows:

NME: Metallica have been writing together via Zoom. Have you found this lockdown period creatively productive?

Lars Ulrich: “I’m not sure - it’s not easy, but we’ve been doing what we can. 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 other. 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 so it takes the impulsivity and the momentary energy out of the occasion.

“I’ve 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, and 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 - so we’re looking forward to the possibilities on that one.”

NME: When can we expect new Metallica music?

Ulrich: “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. I think it’s a good reminder of the fragility of the world and how 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 way we wanted as a human race.”

Read more at NME.com.

Metallica's new release, S&M²: Metallica And San Francisco Symphony Together Again. Live., is available in a number of formats. Get yours here.

Tracklisting:

"The Ecstasy Of Gold"
"The Call Of Ktulu"
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
"The Day That Never Comes"
"The Memory Remains"
"Confusion"
"Moth Into Flame"
"The Outlaw Torn"
"No Leaf Clover"
"Halo On Fire"
Intro to Scythian Suite
"Scythian Suite, Opus 20 II: The Enemy God And The Dance Of The Dark Spirits"
Intro to The Iron Foundry
"The Iron Foundry, Opus 19"
"The Unforgiven III"
"All Within My Hands"
"(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth"
"Wherever I May Roam"
"One"
"Master Of Puppets"
"Nothing Else Matters"
"Enter Sandman"

"No Leaf Clover" video:

"For Whom The Bell Tolls” video:

"Moth Into Flame" video:

"All Within My Hands" video:

"Nothing Else Matters" video: