METALLICA Had Doubts About Their Ability To Carry On

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has admitted to Revolver magazine that there were times during the past couple of years when he had doubts about the band's ability to bounce back from the departure of bassist Jason Newsted and frontman James Hetfield's much-publicized battles with alcoholism "and other addictions."

"To be honest with you, a year ago, I wasn't really sure what the future was," Lars said. "For the first time in my life, I couldn't really see where it was going. In the darkest days of James being off dealing with his stuff, I was starting to prep myself for the idea that maybe it had run its course. And to be able to sit here a year later, to have some music, to have a tour, to have a band again — it's pretty fuckin' awesome."

"The guys came and helped me out when I was in rehab," Hetfield recalled. "It was an extremely scary time, hitting bottom and wondering, 'Well, can I still be in a band? Can I see these guys again? Can I not get triggered on the road by stuff?' It was like, maybe METALLICA has to not be METALLICA for a little while. I have to be James Hetfield, not the singer of METALLICA. And going to rehab, that's all I'm thinkin' about — Oh my god! Everybody's gonna want an autograph! I just can't do it! — you know, minimizing how I needed to attack this. It was some scary stuff.

"There were absolutely no wasted days in the rehab days, that's for sure," he added. "I learned more there than I had in 30 years of living. I came out with a new set of instructions, a new way of dealing with anger, with fear, with control, insecurities — so many things.

"I was always so afraid of what was going on in my head," James laughed. "It was like, 'I don't want to know if I'm crazy or not! But of course, if you're thinking you're crazy, you're not, right? But I needed someone to tell me that, and I was afraid to ask."

METALLICA will release their eighth studio album, "St. Anger", on June 10 through Elektra Records.