In a new interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich talks about their upcoming performances with the 
San Francisco Symphony, for the grand opening of Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors, on Friday, September 6, and Sunday, September 8. 

Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

San Francisco Chronicle: Playing with the symphony seems like a lot of work. Why not just do a straightforward Metallica show?

Ulrich: “You mean, ‘Why not take the easy way?’ Two words: San Francisco. It’s that simple. When we’re home, we’ve got to do something above and beyond. There’s a creative element to this collaboration that we really appreciate and we’re really thankful for. It’s been ramping up for the past few months. There’s been lots of emails and phone calls and musical prep. So, yes, we’re not taking the easy way out of this one.

San Francisco Chronicle: Are you going to mix it up, or are you doing the stick with the original “S&M” set list?

Ulrich: “I guess there’s a part of me that wants to say, wait and see. But anybody that knows Metallica would know that we are going to mix it up. I don’t want to get into too many details of what we’re going to do. The surprise factor isn’t one we get a chance to utilize too often any more, but people that know Metallica know that 20 years later we can’t resist the urge of mixing it up and adding some twists and turns to it.

San Francisco Chronicle: Watching you as a fan, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you happier as a band. I know you had a lot of good times in the ’80s, but it feels like you guys have finally figured out how to make this work.

Ulrich: “You know what? It only took 38 years. Who would have thought? I appreciate you acknowledging that. This may be the best tour we’ve ever done in Europe. It wasn’t because of the numbers, even though the numbers are kind of crazy. The reason this is the best tour is because we feel more connected internally than we ever have before. We’re connecting more with the audience and with the fans and the people who are there to share the experience. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Over the course of a summer like this you find yourself occasionally, over a late-night beverage or the right company, trying to intellectualize or get overly analytical about why it’s working at the moment. It’s very hard for me, at least in a sound bite, to clarify that or articulate it.

There’s some balances and boundaries that are in place that make everybody happy and make Metallica a better band in terms of the physical elements, the mental elements and all this. There seems to be an appreciation for these newer songs in the set that may not have been there on the same level on the last couple of tours we were doing new stuff. Social media has definitely helped engage a lot of newer, younger fans that are experiencing Metallica for the first time. There’s so many 12-, 14-, 16-year-olds that are coming to the show. When I’m looking out, it feels like it’s at least 50% of the fans.

It also feels 50-50 gender wise. All that is kind of crazy compared to 20 years ago, when it was mostly 18-year-old dudes in black rock t-shirts. I say that with nothing but love. It’s morphed into this other thing that’s multigenerational. It’s super cool to sit up on stage and take it all in and go, ‘Holy s—!” Who would have thought that 30 years into this, this could still be happening?”

Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle.