Metallica frontman James Hetfield vented his frustrations backstage after his Grammy Awards performance was hit by technical issues.
The rockers took to the stage with Lady Gaga at the annual ceremony on Sunday (12Feb17) for a rendition of Moth Into Flame, though James was forced to share the mic with the popstar as his didn’t turn on. While the musician appeared frustrated, throwing his guitar at the end of the song, it was backstage where the singer really unleashed his anger, according to drummer Lars Ulrich.
“Well, in the heat of the battle you’re out there, you’re playing... When it’s a technical issue you don’t really know is it going to the house, is his vocals going to the truck?” Lars mused on The Late Late Show on Tuesday (14Feb17). “Maybe it’s the monitors, so you just gotta keep playing.
“I haven’t seen him like that in 20 years. I mean he was livid. I mean, he’s aged really well and he’s a pretty chill guy, but the first five or ten minutes in that dressing room was not a lot of fun.”
Despite the mishap Lars feels he and the group gave a good performance alongside the Perfect Illusion hitmaker, who at one point ended up sitting in his lap as he pounded away at the drums. Having suffered their fair share of hiccups during concerts over the years, including one occasion in which Lars had to play songs under the stage as his platform didn’t rise, the musician was glad they managed to “fight through” their latest hurdle.
The 53-year-old also touched upon making Metallica’s latest album, Hardwired... to Self Destruct and how their family lives made it a tricky process.
"You get up, you get the kids ready, you drop them at two or three different schools... After school activities and play dates and all that and one kid's here and one kid's there, but we managed to put about six or seven hours into the studio in between that and (the album) was given birth to,” he smiled.
