In a new LouderSound article celebrating the 35 years since the debut Metallica album Kill ’Em All, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett seemed to agree with criticism of the band having a certain level of ignorance and arrogance.
“I’ve got a mixed bag of memories,” he says of one of the most influential debut albums in history. “The primary ones would involve youth, innocence, ignorance and a kind of unawareness of what the future held.”
“Yeah, there was a little bit of arrogance to it, a little youthful cockiness,” says Kirk. “But at the same time we weren’t particularly jaded, and we didn’t have much baggage attached to us musically. We were in a new territory, and we knew we were doing it better than anyone else.”
“Hunger and ambition aren’t words I would use,” counters Lars. “I’d probably use words like ‘determined’ and ‘single-minded’. Now when I look at my life, there’s my wife, my kids, my dad, my circle of friends, and of course there’s Metallica. Back then, there was just music. When I came to America in 1980, I wasn’t super-ambitious. I never formed a band to tour the world or make money and meet girls. I just wanted to be the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Californian version.”
