Lars Ulrich said he regretted that he hadn’t taken more time to enjoy the experience of climbing to success with Metallica, and that was one of the main reasons they focus on celebrating their connection with fans today.

His comments came after bandmate James Hetfield was asked about how it felt to be told the band’s music had saved a fan’s life. “I know what they mean, ‘cause it saved my life,” the frontman told 100.3 FM The X. “[T]hat is the ultimate connection, really… My viewpoint of the world, I think, it is totally off kilter, it's defective, and then someone else comes up to you and says… 'Hey, what you've written down or what you've created has helped me.' So that's more of a connection… It's like you haven't spoken any words; you've just felt what that person is feeling… And everyone loves it when someone [else is] telling their story.”

You can listen to the interview below:

Ulrich then said, “[P]eople used to say that, back in the day, we – or I, or most of us – didn't slow down long enough to take it in, or allow ourselves to take it in. And I think the key thing now is, 35 years into this crazy ride, hearing it and allowing ourselves to take it in, internalize it and kind of feel proud about that and feel that connection that James is talking to everybody, is really cool. I don't wish to [say], 'I wish we would have done that different 20 years ago.’ … sometimes I just wish that at least I'd slowed down long enough back in the day to take a lot of that in. But we were always in such a hurry to get to the next thing, or whatever.”

He added that being told how much their music affected fans now meant more to them. “[H]earing that now… we do a lot of meet-and-greets and do a lot of interaction with fans on many different levels, and just that moment, that connection… it's always precious, and it's a real highlight of the day when we come and play shows.”

The radio interview took place after Metallica agreed to speak to host Big J on the condition that he lost 100 pounds beforehand. The presenter, real name Jeremi Schlader, suffers from an eating disorder which, he said, was similar to an alcoholic’s relationship with drink.

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