Metallica have a documentary coming soon about the impact their music has had on their fans, and at a festival screening last week, Lars Ulrich and director Jonas Akerlund took part in a post-show conversation about the film.
The film – entitled Metallica Saved My Life - was screened as part of the California Film Institute’s Mill Valley Film Festival and in amongst the questions you’d expect about its making, one attendee asked Ulrich what advice he would give to young artists looking to follow in Metallica’s footsteps.
"Stick with it. Focus,” the 61-year-old drummer said. “You've gotta put the time in. There are many different ways you can put the time in it.
"It could be in book form or at the receiving end of teaching or whatever. But you can also literally play guitars or drums or whatever you're doing and listen. There's no right or wrong path."
He continued: "I think it's pretty clear that with anything, you've gotta put the time in. Whether you're making films or running movie festival, film festivals or whatever, you've just gotta put the time in. And then maybe be honest with yourself about your motives.
"Now, again, there's no right or wrong motives. Do you wanna play music because the passion burns inside you? Do you wanna play music to get famous? Do you want to play music to get wealthy? There's nothing wrong or right with any of it.
"But don't bullshit yourself what your motives are, if you know what I mean, because that will also lead you to wherever it is you wanna go with probably fewer forks in the road or fewer obstacles."
Rather than a straightforward band doc, the film tells Metallica’s story through their fans and their own stories of identity, loss and redemption through the band’s music. It’s an interesting approach. The idea, Ulrich told the San Francisco Chronicle was to celebrate "the diversity and the depth and the dedication and the passion of Metallica fans.”
"We kept seeing the same faces in the front rows, and so getting an understanding of their back stories, that was the most eye-opening thing for me,” the drummer said.
At present, Akerlund is still trying to secure a distributor for Metallica Saved My Life. Ultich indicated at the event that it’s likely to have a theatrical release some time around spring 2026.
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