METALLICA's LARS ULRICH Responds To DAVE MUSTAINE Attack

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has responded to a verbal attack by former bandmate Dave Mustaine over the inclusion of a scene in METALLICA's "Some Kind of Monster" documentary in which Ulrich sits down with Mustaine for a one-on-one therapy session.

Earlier this week, BLABBERMOUTH.NET exclusively reported that the new issue of Record Collector magazine would feature comments from Mustaine, who called the inclusion of the scene a "final betrayal," as he had asked the band to cut it from the finished film.

Lars Ulrich told Launch that he has no idea why Mustaine is complaining: "The only thing I can say is, I myself felt that when I saw some of the scenes, individually and out of context, they were awkward. But playing in the context of the movie, I think it flows very well. And I hope that he gets a chance to see the film, or sneak in and see it, or somebody sends him a copy, maybe he'll feel different about it."

Ulrich also told Launch that the scene was a faithful depiction of what happened during the session: "It's a pretty accurate representation of what went on in the room that night. Look, I don't know — we sent him a copy of the scene, and he asked us if we would not put that in the movie. And we sat down and really respected his inquiry, and we decided it was too integral a part of the movie to leave out. And we kept asking, 'Why?,' and 'Is there anything...?'. Look, I can't tell you. I haven't spoken to him since that day."

Ulrich said Mustaine's on-camera outburst was shocking: "I was stunned by the fact that when he looked back on his 15 years of being in a very successful hard rock band called MEGADETH, that the main thing that he saw in that rear-view mirror was METALLICA. It just stunned me."

Ulrich said that — despite what Mustaine might be saying — he has positive feelings for his former bandmate: "Look, I've always had a soft spot for him. I've always thought he was very gifted, and kind of a sweetheart. And we've had some good moments over the years. But I was glad that we had an opportunity to throw some of that stuff onto the table. Especially for him, because he just needed to get some of that stuff out there."

Lars said the air isn't clear yet: "Well, James [Hetfield] wasn't there. So that was a big part of it. I think I've always been a little bit more forgiving than James, and I think I was more forgiving of Dave than James was, especially early on. So I think that James and Dave have some stuff that they kinda have to wind through."