Much was made of the revelation recently that Lou Reed has been working in the studio with Metallica. The seemingly unlikely pairing have been hard at work on a set of songs  penned by Reed for the stage production of Lulu by Frank Wedekind, but with contributions from Metallica.

Senior Rolling Stone writer David Fricke, who recently spoke to the band alongside Reed at Metallica's HQ in San Francisco, described the as-yet uncompleted record as featuring "10 songs composed by Reed with significant arrangement contributions by the band that suggest a raging union of his 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica's '86 crusher, Master of Puppets."

In the article, the new bandmates told Fricke that the union was working well:

"I don't think we've ever felt this free," Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says, sitting next to Reed on a couch. "There's nothing that's totally outside of the boundary for us, nothing that feels like 'Oh, what happens if we go there?' The strength of us" – he gestures at Reed – "is it feels like we cannot land on a wrong place."


"They're bringing Metallica, with all that power," Reed confirms. "And because they're pretty sophisticated, wherever I go, they're still with me."

Titillating in anyone's musical language. But according to an interview with the metal heavyweights in the late 2010 edition of the official Metallica magazine, So What! (Disclosure: in which this writer has a feature story on the final days of Metallica's Death Magnetic tour in Melbourne), despite the two parties looking for an avenue to work together, Reed was only cajoled into the collaboration after a one-on-one with drummer Ulrich.

It's unclear whether this occured before or after the two parties performance together at the 2009 Hall of Fame awards (see clip below); but prior to this—the interview jokes—Reed was "basically calling [Metallica] a bunch of cunts"; not an unimaginable scenario considering the Velvet Underground singer's famous curmudgeonly qualities. 

Here's the section of the interview:

So What!: From an hour where [Reed] is basically calling you a bunch of cunts to saying 'I want to make an album with you'...well, I mean, that was quite a transition.

JH: Was probably not his first time...making an album with cunts, (laughs). How did you know the name of the album? Lou Reed and Some Cunts.

KH: Lou Reed and Some Cunts Off the Street.

LU: Lou Reed with The Cunts.

So What!: Let's address the initial point?

JH: No I agree with you (about Lars). I agree with that. And my bullshit detector goes back and forth with Lars at times when he's very good at getting people to do what he wants. You know.

LU: And then he goes, 'Always gets me to do what he wants'. 

JH: Yeah. But, no. The things is when i sat there and when I watched him talk with Lou, everything Lars said was true. You know? He highlighted the things that Lou might have wanted to hear. And that's one of the factors that makes Metallica where we are now. Lars has great manager-type skills and people skills to get through doors, to get places that we shouldn't be sometimes. And it was very, very highlighted at that point, you know? I was ready to walk away and just go, 'OK. It's not a fit. I'm fine with that'. But you know, Lars saw a challenge . He saw a hill to climb and went for it and that's what makes him, him. Turns it on, turns the charm on, and Lou was receptive to that.

Very, as it turns out. In an interview today with NY Mag's Vulture magazine, Reed states that the record is possibly the best thing he's ever done:

"The version of the Lulu music I did with Metallica is awe-inspiring. It's maybe the best thing done by anyone, ever. It could create another planetary system. I'm not joking, and I'm not being egotistical."

You can read my backstage interview with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in Melbourne last December here on TheVine.


Metallica and Lou Reed - 'Sweet Jane'
Follow @marcusTheVine