Heavy Lode

IN THE EARLY 1980s, the Los Angeles music scene was littered with glam rock acts and big-hair bands. Audiences were focused on the spectacle instead of the music. It was from this crowded music scene that Metallica were born. While they got their share of gigs at the top LA clubs, the audiences were often indifferent, if not dismissive of the distinctly unglamorous quartet. But what the LA scene rejected the San Francisco Bay area willingly took to heart. Now, the big-hair bands (and their lead singers' hairlines) have largely faded away while Metallica is wrapping up a headlining stint on one of the summer's most successful festival rock tours.

'It feels great, obviously,' says Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. 'I'm just happy that anyone gives a s*** about what we're doing. Metallica hasn't done a lot in the last couple years; we've kept a pretty low profile. Now that the music is back at the forefront, it's a good thing we can be out here, wherever we're headlinin and people show up and give a s***.'

While many bands come and go, Metallica perseveres and tastes the rewards of success.

'It's not [about] resting on your laurels, it's more about what the success means to you in terms of the opportunities it affords you ... you don't really have to play a game, you don't have to answer to anybody,' says Ulrich. 'Being successful on your own terms breeds a lot of both creative freedom and a general freedom to do what you want. The great thing about our situation is we aren't particularly owned by anybody or enslaved to anybody. which is a rare thing in the music world. One of the things that helps Metallica solidify their status as a top music act is the worldwide fan base the band continues to cultivate to this day. A Google search on the word 'Metallica' brings a plethora of hits from foreign language web pages.

'[From the beginning] we've always gone everywhere and travelled everywhere and hit all corners of the globe. We've been into reaching as many people as possible,' explains Ulrich.

'A lot of American bands, especially in the 1980s, only played in America. We've always been into going to as many different places as possible.' When asked about any other countries the band hasn't played in, but would like to, Ulrich immediately replied, 'Iceland ... and China. The other I'd say is South Africa.'