Metallica: Lou Reed made us burst into tears

(Image credit: Chad Batka/Corbis)

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has told Mojo that both he and James Hetfield were brought to tears when recording new song 'Junior Dad' with Lou Reed.

The two guitarists have just recently tied up work on one of the biggest surprise collaborations of their career with the former Velvet Underground man - 'Lulu', a 10 track album based on Reed's soundtrack to the 'Lulu Plays'.

According to the Metallica men it was upon first hearing Reed's lyrics to new song 'Junior Dad' - which features the line "Say hello to junior dad/The greatest disappointment/Age withered and changed him" - that Hammett lost it:

"I had just lost my father literally three or four weeks previous," Hammett explains to the magazine. "I had to run out of the control room, and I found myself standing in the kitchen, sobbing away…

"James came into the kitchen in the same condition - he was sobbing too. It was insane. He [Reed] managed to take out both guitar players in Metallica in one fell swoop, with his amazing poetic lyrics."

Reportedly, upon finding the two weeping thrashers, Reed piped up: "That's a good one, huh?"

If you fancy getting your teeth into some pre-'Lulu' era Metallica, give our 'Enter Sandman' video lesson a go.

Matthew Parker

Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.