The documentary Metallica Saved My Life premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York City earlier this month, and all four band members were on-hand for the screening and a Q&A session.
The film puts the focus on the legendary metal band’s fans, who tell their unique, powerful, and heartwarming stories of how Metallica have impacted them throughout the years. Metallica’s James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo all appear in the documentary, as well, giving perspectives on their relationship with their fans.
Heavy Consequence caught up with Ulrich and Trujillo on the red carpet of the premiere (watch the interview above), and the two talked about the why it was important to put the spotlight on their fans in Metallica Saved My Life, which was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund.
“I think that there’s so many great stories to be told,” Ulrich told us of the band’s decision to make a documentary about its fans. ” There’s so much diversity. I think one of the greatest things about our fans and all the people who are turned on, and inspired, and caught up in our music is how different they are. If we were standing here 40 years ago, it would be much easier to define who they are, but today, 44 years [after we formed], it’s almost impossible to define.”
Trujillo added, “The fans are as important as the music. They’re as important as we are. They’re attached to everything we do. They’re the reason we’re here now. They’re the reason we’re on tour. They mean so much to us. … It’s amazing to see their stories and what they have to tell.”
In the interview, Ulrich and Trujillo also talk about some of the individual fans who have touched their hearts, as well as the importance of choosing longtime collaborator Åkerlund to direct the documentary.
Fans can catch Metallica on their ongoing “M72 World Tour.” Their current North American tour concludes with two shows in Denver on June 27th and 28th. After that, the band will play Black Sabbath’s final concert on July 5th in Birmingham, England. Then they’ll embark on an Australia/New Zealand leg in November, followed by a new UK/European leg beginning next May.
Watch our red carpet interview with Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo above, and catch a limited screening of Metallica Saved My Life at a theater near you.
Trouble viewing the interview in the player above? Watch on YouTube.
Content shared from consequence.net.