Thrash metal giants Metallica have been raising eyebrows with their recent collaboration with former Velvet Underground leader Lou Reed, affectionately referred to as Loutallica. The end result is the album Lulu that was released on November 1. The record has faced mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. However, guitarist Kirk Hammett says unusual musical endeavors like Loutallica is the reason the band has survived over the past three decades.

In an interview with Time Out Dubai (via BLABBERMOUTH), Hammett discussed how Metallica have been able to outlast their peers in the musical industry.

"I think it's really important for our own satisfaction, and for our creative gratification, that we explore different things, and go down different avenues, and try different things musically," says the guitarist. "We want to experience it all, we want to taste it all, you know? I mean we don't want to be stuck in some corner when there's a huge playing field of things to try, you know what I mean? We don't want to be stuck, I think."

Hammett continues: "I think the large part of our fans understand that we need to be creatively unhinged and unbounded. There's no grand plan with our albums, we don't sit down and say, 'OK, we're now going to play Indian ragas.' It's not like that, it's largely just instinct. We just follow our gut and our instinct, and go where they take us."

Metallica are in the early stages of working on their tenth studio album, which would be the follow-up to 2008's Death Magnetic. Watch Metallica and Lou Reed perform together on the British show Later... With Jools Holland below.

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