Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is 56 today. The band known for loud guitar but the song “Nothing Else Matters” was different and peaked at # 34 of the billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Producer Bob Rock urged Metallica to experiment on The Black Album. For “Nothing Else Matters,” that meant bringing in conductor and arranger Michael Kamen, who also worked with Pink Floyd. James Hetfield recalls how Kamen and Metallica worked together, who Kamen brought to play the parts and the famous studio they recorded in. Here is Metallica frontman James Hetfield on working with conductor and orchestrator Michael Kamen on “Nothing Else Matters,” where they recorded the orchestral parts and who Kamen brought in to do it.
”The London Symphony Orchestra over at Abbey Road. I mean, he respected the fact that there were parts that we had put in — you know, heavy guitar here and he wouldn’t mess with it. And in the solo I do in there, there’s one part where the strings actually catch on to the melody. And so these guys in suits are playing along to the Metallica solo.”
