Metallica drummer and scourge of internet pirates everywhere Lars Ulrich has offered fans an update on how far the thrash legends are into their long-promised new album, revealing that the band are heavily steeped in the songwriting process and will soon begin the search for a producer.
“We’re going through the grind,” the drummer recently told Rolling Stone. “We’re in there doing riffs and putting them into songs. We don’t really write one song and then show up the next day and do another one. We just work on riffs and sections, connecting riffs and tempos and moods.”
While the band have already stated there is no timeline for the album’s release, Ulrich says they’ve made steady progress and are in the LP’s “fourth inning.” “We’ve been doing this, off and on, for the better part of a year. We’re going to do these dates this summer and then really hone down.”
Band members took breaks earlier this month to travel with family for spring break. Ulrich says they intend to regroup before the start of May. “We’re going to start talking about who is going to produce the album. We haven’t started recording yet. But we are deep into the songwriting part of it.”
Last month, the band debuted a new song, The Lords of Summer, during a performance in Colombia, later releasing a garage demo of the track online. The band said the track was “fairly representative” of their current “headspace,” but said it would not necessarily make the new album.
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Listen: Metallica: Lords of Summer (Garage Demo Version)
