Only son Lars Ulrich says his Metallica bandmates are ‘the brothers he never had’
Lars Ulrich says his bandmates from Metallic are “the brothers he never had”, having grown up as an only son.
The drummer was born in Denmark and spent a lot of time alone, as he had no siblings. However, he had a turbulent childhood, traveling the world with his father who was a professional tennis player. And as many Metallica fans probably already know, young Lars was originally destined to follow in his father’s (tennis) footsteps.
In a new interview, Lars says that playing in a band has helped him overcome the feeling of “abandonment” that can come from being lonely in some only children, and he explains that he considers his bandmates of Metallica, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo, like his brothers.
As reported BlabbermouthUlrich says in a recent episode of the Howard Stern show: “My dad was a professional tennis player and he traveled all over the world. And my favorite thing when I was little was traveling with him. So I spent the first six or seven years of my life traveling as part of the tennis circuit, going backstage, dressing rooms and sports courts.
“I considered my dad the coolest guy in the whole world. I thought my father was literally superhuman. And I was an only child. When I came to America, and met James, the other guys from the early years of the band, and some of my friends, there was this kind of rebellion… It was a common thing for anyone who was 16 or 17 years ; a kind of rebellion against the parents. I have never known that. I thought my parents were the coolest people in the world.”
He adds : “Now obviously I’ve been in therapy, and there were some issues, when you look at it more closely. Denmark is a very liberal, very safe country, so I would say the other side of the coin is that I was often left alone and maybe still have issues related to feelings of abandonment. And I think part of the reason I love being in a band and feel so good with James and Kirk and Rob and the rest of the Metallica organization is that I love being in a collective. They are the brothers I never had.”
Metallica will release their new album, titled 72 seasonsin April 2023. Hot on the heels of the announcement, the musicians also revealed the album’s lead single, Lux Æterna, as well as details of a two-year world tour.
Metallica – Eternal Light:
