Lars Ulrich “Metallica is not done with Lady Gaga, She Is Our 5th Member” TESTAMENT Guitarist is All For It
“There was a slight technical snafu, but that’s not really something you can do much about,” Ulrich says. “You just learn to live with that side of it. It happened to Adele last year; I guess this year it was our turn.”
The perpetually enthusiastic drummer was more keen to talk about Gaga, the “quintessential perfect fifth member of this band.” “Her voice, her attitude, her outlook on everything is so awesome,” he says. “[The performance] was so effortless and organic and she just has the spirit of hard rock and metal flowing through her veins. It comes really easy for her. There’s nothing contrived; she just has this super warm, easy energy.”
In a recent interview with Apple Music, Gaga spoke about how the unlikely collaboration came together, saying, “I was at Bradley [Cooper’s] house with Lars and we were just hanging out. He’s amazing. I went to see them live. I saw them recently and we were watching the show; those guys play better than they’ve played in their whole lives.”
With Metallica gearing up for the North American leg of their WorldWired Tour and Gaga prepping for her Joanne world tour, a reunion may not happen for a while. But Ulrich hopes last week’s performance was more than an one-off. “We already started fast-forwarding to the next chapter when we can do more of this,” he says. “It’s not one of those ’20 lawyers, strategists and managers trying to force two people from two different worlds to figure out how to spend four minutes together on a national telecast.’ Of any of these undertakings, this is about as organic and authentic as there’s ever been one. We’re just getting started.”
Rolling Stone
TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick has defended METALLICA‘s performance with Lady Gaga at this year’s Grammy Awards, explaining that “it absolutely makes sense they’d collaborate.”
METALLICA‘s appearance with the pop superstar at the 59th annual event in Los Angeles Sunday night (February 12) turned into something of a disaster when the Grammy sound crew did not turn frontman James Hetfield‘s mic on, forcing him to share the mic with Gaga after the first verse and chorus. That seemed to take the steam out of the song, although a scantily clad Gaga gamely gyrated around the stage and even dove into the audience at one point.
The performance was not helped by the other onstage dancers feebly pretending to be metalheads, and as a further humiliation, presenter Laverne Cox did not even introduce METALLICA by name. At the end of the song, a visibly angry Hetfield hurled his guitar at a road-crew member while kicking over his mic stand.
In a post on his Facebook page, Skolnick offered his thoughts on the METALLICA–Gaga pairing, writing: “[It was a] great idea in theory. Would have/should have gone down in history as a home run for the ages. Unfortunately to be forever overshadowed by mic problems (can’t fault anyone performing) and failed intro (please make sure all presenters do a quick run-through before going on. I did when introducing THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN at Golden Gods. Haven’t we learned from from John ‘Adele Dazeem’ Travolta??).
“Saw a few comments accusing Lady G of ‘leaving James hanging,’ and saying ‘she didn’t help’ while others claim she ‘came to his rescue’ and ‘saved the day.’ Both are wrong: She (and the guys) are all wearing in-ear monitors which — as anyone with experience using them can tell you — provide a custom mix separate from the audience. You don’t hear anything else. The first thing you assume if you don’t hear a vocal or other part that’s supposed to be there is that it’s just an issue with the monitors relating to your individual in-ear mix, which does happen sometimes (who’d ever guess — in the heat of performing no less — that Hetfield‘s mic isn’t even on in the house? At the Grammys?!).
“In other words, she had no idea and just did her thing. So all in all, for the naysayers, I think you have to look at the following:
A) What other mainstream pop superstar would even dare get up there with METALLICA (or any other metal band)?
B) Who else could pull off performing with Tony Bennett one moment and METALLICA the next, with equal love and appreciation for both?
C) Sure, it was maybe a bit over-the-top for those more interested in METALLICA than her. But then again, she is Gaga, after all (over the top is her middle name, or at least should be).
D) Yes, she does lot of theatrics, but she’s also someone that can kill with just her voice and a piano (which I hope she’ll do more of one day).
E) Given her and Lars‘s [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] interest in art and doing the unexpected in music, it absolutely makes sense they’d collaborate.
F) Bottom line, did she sound good on the tune if you turn away from the imagery and just listen? Heck yes! Great song choice, too.
“The only thing I’d change (other than the mishaps, which were accidental) is this: Why was there a freakin’ Zumba class going on up there? Whose idea was that? Get real fans up there rocking out for effect (as METALLICA does at some shows), but a bunch of obvious pop dancers/models in metal-like wardrobe gave it a very ‘Hot Topic‘ vibe. Otherwise, it’s all [thumbs up] from here and I truly hope they’ll give it some tweaks, maybe add a tune or two and try again!”
Prior to the performance, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke about how the Gaga collaboration came about. He said: “You know how the Grammys always like to have their duets thing. And so when it was suggested that Lady Gaga do it, we thought, ‘That’s interesting.’ But when she came down to actually work with us with the song last night, it turned out really, really, really well. I mean, she was really open and willing to work with different arrangements and see what worked well over the course of the song. And it was great. She was really, really great to work with last night.”
Added bassist Robert Trujillo: “She’s got a lot of edge and attitude, which is important for what we do. And she actually came to see us play… We did a small show at the Henry Fonda theater [in Los Angeles], and she saw the whole show, stayed for it. She really enjoyed it, she was rocking out, and then somehow, magically, this all started to happen.”
METALLICA was up for a Grammy for “Best Rock Song” for the track “Hardwired” from its new album, “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, but lost to the late David Bowie‘s “Blackstar”.
Following the Grammy Awards, METALLICA played an intimate show for around 3,000 or so fans at the Hollywood Palladium.
METALLICA‘s collaboration with pop superstar Lady Gaga at the 59th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night (February 12) turned into something of a disaster when the Grammy sound crew did not turn frontman James Hetfield‘s mic on, forcing him to share the mic with Gaga after the first verse and chorus.
Sources connected to the production told TMZ everything was fine right before “Moth Into Flame” began, with Gaga and the band’s line check going off without a hitch. However, between the mic check and the actual performance, a wire under the stage got unplugged by accident by a stagehand. They eventually fixed the unplugged wire with seconds left in the song.
As a further humiliation, presenter Laverne Cox did not even introduce METALLICA by name. At the end of the song, a visibly angry Hetfield hurled his guitar at a road crew member while kicking over his mic stand.
METALLICA was up for a Grammy for “Best Rock Song” for the track “Hardwired” from its new album, “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, but lost to the late David Bowie‘s “Blackstar”.
Following the Grammy Awards, METALLICA played an intimate show for around 3,000 or so fans at the Hollywood Palladium.
METALLICA is featured in the trailer for the “Carpool Karaoke” Apple Music series.
The preview for the spinoff based on the “Late Late Show” segment, featuring “Late Late Show” host James Corden, aired as a commercial during the Corden-hosted Grammy Awards Sunday night (February 12). Other stars appearing in the spot include Will Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, Ariana Grande, John Cena, Billy Eichner, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Seth MacFarlane, Chelsea Handler, Blake Shelton, Michael Strahan and Jeff Gordon.
METALLICA‘s appearance on the series will see them driving around Hollywood with Eichner and making a stop at a supermarket where the band ends up serenading the workers behind a deli meat counter.
“Carpool Karaoke: The Series” is being rolled out in partnership with Apple Music, where episodes will premiere exclusively through the tech giant’s $10-a-month streaming service. The show will feature 16 celebrity pairings riding along in a car as they sing their favorite songs.
The series is produced by CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73 with Corden and “Late Late Show” executive producer Ben Winston serving as co-creators and executive producers along with executive producer and showrunner Eric Pankowski.
Blabbermouth
