Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich recently discussed some of the factors that he believes have contributed to the band's success over the years.
When asked what Metallica did to set itself aside from its fellow "Big Four" bands, Ulrich told Online Marketing Rockstars Festival that some of it probably has to do with the band's spirit of independence.
"In order to reach people in Germany with records or with live appearances or whatever, there's a whole other element, there's a whole other beast to be attended to," Ulrich told the audience. "I think you have two choices: either you let other people control every element of that and run with it or you try to have that part of it be an extension of who you are as a person."
The drummer says the band has always been comfortable with executing its business plans and marketing strategies around the music in creates.
The music always comes first and never the other way around, he says.
Metallica, along with fellow thrash metal pioneers Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, are considered the most important metal bands to come out of the '80s. While all four bands are incredibly successful and still active (Slayer plans to retire with the next year), Metallica's mainstream success far-eclipsed that of its contemporaries.
"Obviously, all these bands are friends of ours, peers of ours, and I have a tremendous amount of respect and love for each one of those bands," Ulrich said. "But, I guess, we've always felt in Metallica that we were autonomous and that we were in our own world and that we were misfits and that we never felt like we were part of a scene. So we really only ever charted our own course, as they say."
Ulrich admittedly wrestled with the question, trying to answer it in a way that would not suggest any artistic superiority over the other Big Four bands.
He later offered the analogy that Metallica is sort of like a train powered by its fanbase. The members of the band and the band's management team try to steer the train, but ultimately they don't really have control over it.
"So sometimes you've gotta hold on, sometimes you've gotta steer, and the thing is to know when to do what at which time."
You can see more of Ulrich's comments in the video below.
Photo: Getty Images