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Lou Reed And Metallica Collaborating On New Album?!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 16, 2011
Modified Jun 16, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 16, 2011
Modified Jun 16, 2011
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Take a walk on the wild side of Ktulu: in one of the more unlikely musical collaborations...ever, Lou Reed has teamed up with Metallica for a new joint album. Metallica unveiled the secret, ten-song project on their website yesterday, explaining: "Ever since we had the pleasure of performing with Lou at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009, we have been kicking around the idea of making a record together."
When we inevitably download the resulting album, does that mean we can only get the Lou Reed half? Check out their heavy collaboration of "Sweet Jane" below:
In an interview with Rolling Stone, both parties gushed about the bizarre collaboration: "A marriage made in heaven. I knew it from the first day we played together: 'Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.'" Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who noted that the album is 90 percent finished, said "I don't think we've ever felt this free." And here's an excerpt which gives a glimpse into what the songs might actually sound like. We're pretty sure that Metallica got to name the new tunes:
The result is at once unpredictable and viciously tight. "Pumping Blood" opens with a drone that breaks into a crunching march, goes into speed-metal gear and breaks into free-fall sections - all over seven minutes, cut live in one take. Another track, "Mistress Dread," features Reed singing across a relentless staccato riff played at manic velocity. "It doesn't feel like we're his backup band," Hammett claims. "It feels like we're a different band, in a situation we've never been in before." And, Trujillo notes, "it's making us a better band."
In our heads, we're imagining sluggish, lightening-quick Metallica riffs married to Reed's froggy, elder statesman vocals. Perhaps a mix of "Battery" and..."Egg Cream." But maybe it won't be that bad. Either way, we can now add Metallica/Lou Reed to our list of most bizarre musical partnerships, which includes the likes of Celine Dion/R. Kelly, Burt Bacharach/Dr. Dre, Michael Bolton/Bob Dylan, Bing Crosby/David Bowie, and Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony/Phil Collins.
Tagged
collaborations
lou reed
metallica
Music
rock
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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