Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on growing up as an only child and finding his “brothers” in Metallica

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(Image credit: Blackened)

Lars Ulrich says his Metallica bandmates are the brothers he never had after he grew up an only child.

The drummer was born in Denmark and had an exciting childhood, travelling the world with his father who was a professional tennis player. But he had no siblings and spent a lot of time alone.

He says being in a band has helped him overcome the resulting feelings of “abandonment” and he sees Metallica bandmates James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo as his brothers.

Lars Ulrich on Instagram: “Happiest of birthdays to my brother of 438 years... As I always say....we're just getting s… | Metallica, James metallica, James hetfield

As reported by Blabbermouth, Ulrich tells the Howard Stern Show: “My dad was a professional tennis player and he travelled around the world. And my favourite thing when I was growing up was to travel with him. So I spent the first six or seven years of my life basically on the tennis tour travelling around and hanging out backstage and locker rooms and on tennis courts.

“I thought my dad was the coolest guy in the whole fucking world. I thought my dad was literally superhuman. And I was also an only child.

“When I came to America, when I met James, when I met the other guys in the early years of the band and some of my friends when I landed here, there was that kind of rebellious thing. It was a big part of everybody who was 16 or 17; you were sort of rebelling against your parents. I never had that. I thought my parents were the coolest people in the world.

“Now, obviously, I’ve done therapy, and there were some issues, as you do a deeper dive into it. Denmark is a very liberal country, very safe country, so I’d say the flipside of my issues was I often was left alone and may still carry some issues of abandonment.

“And I think part of the reason that I love being in a band and feel so safe with James, Kirk and Rob and the rest of the Metallica organization is I love being in a collective. They are the brothers I never had.”

Metallica surprised their fans earlier this week with the news that they were to release a new album called 72 Seasons in April 2023. They also unveiled the album’s lead single Lux Æterna, plus details of a two-year world tour.