Look. A lot of us don't like the Metallica and Lou Reed album Lulu. I am absolutely one of those people. However, credit to both parties for doing what they feel was a fulfilling artist endeavor and sticking to their guns. One such party is Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett who, in an interview with the Marin Independent Journal, compared the Lulu track "Junior Dad" to Metallica's classic Ride the Lightning album. Which is… a pretty powerful comparison.
"I have always been a big supporter of that album, even when all my friends are shaking their heads and looking at me going, 'Bro, what were you thinking?'
"It was a real accomplishment as far I was concerned. We were there to help Lou Reed fulfill his vision, and I think we did that 100 percent. This was not a Metallica album and it was not a Lou Reed album. It was Lou Reed and Metallica together, doing something completely different.
"It's not for everyone. But 'Junior Dad', I think, is one of the best things we've ever been associated with, in terms of real art and literature and music coming together. That, to me, is a real accomplishment, just as much as Ride the Lightning is."
Hammett has called Lulu one of the best things Metallica ever did, while drummer Lars Ulrich is just straight up confused as to why people don't like the record. Lou Reed didn't care if people liked it pretty much at all, saying at the time "I'm essentially in this for the fun of it."
