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Metallica is on an upswing at the moment, having just logged a No. 1 debut on both sides of the border, a swift platinum sales award in Canada and the best reviews for a new Metallica record since 1991 with its 10th album, Hardwired . . . To Self-Destruct.

It really is the band鈥檚 best in a couple of decades, so we decided to speak to Ulrich about what鈥檚 suddenly gone right again for Metallica. The following is a condensed version of our conversation.

I sense there鈥檚 some renewed energy in the band. Maybe a little time off was good for you.

I鈥檝e been doing all these interviews for the last six weeks and it鈥檚 always, 鈥淪o, where鈥檝e you been for the last eight years?鈥� Well, we spent three years on the road, we made a record with Lou Reed, we made a movie for two years and curated our own festivals. There鈥檚 always something going on. The last time Metallica was in full shutdown mode was actually about 11 years ago.

But what works for us now is to kind of mix things up a lot and do different things and by the time we come back to writing songs and making records again, it鈥檚 with a new-found energy and a new-found appreciation for it and all the nastiness from back in the day there with Some Kind of Monster and stuff, most of that has dissipated.

It probably felt good to get that out there.

Yeah, well, we had to because we were on the brink of self-destruction. Now we have good relationships and everything鈥檚 in place and everybody gets along.

And it鈥檚 not like you鈥檝e worn out your welcome by overburdening the marketplace, as it were, over all these years.

That鈥檚 an understatement. You鈥檝e gotta remember that we鈥檙e completely autonomous. There鈥檚 no record company that we have to pay back money that we owe or saying 鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta get this out there! You鈥檝e gotta get the Metallica line of toasters out there!鈥� or any of that sh—.

I鈥檇 buy a Metallica toaster.

They actually do exist. I made some as a joke a few years ago for a few contest winners. But we鈥檝e figured out that there鈥檚 no rush. Things take their time and the best investment that we can make in Metallica is in our sanity. In the last 10 years ago, we鈥檝e had a rhythm of how we work that works well for us in terms of getting the work done and also keeping the members of Metallica healthy, mentally healthy, sane 鈥� or somewhat sane, as sane as you can be in Metallica 鈥� and prioritizing our families and our kids and our domestic responsibilities. So we have a pretty good balance now and it seems to work well both internally and externally.

Did the 20-year-old Lars ever think he鈥檇 still be doing this 35 years later?

We鈥檝e had a great run, and hopefully there鈥檚 still a bit left in the tank. Occasionally I sit there and go 鈥淲ow,鈥� but I鈥檓 very proud of the way it worked out. I think ultimately every night I can put my head on the pillow and go: 鈥淲e did the right things. We made the right choices.鈥� We always made the right choices based on the energy and the mood of the moment. You can sit there 20 years later and go 鈥淕ee, that white leather jacket looks a bit ridiculous in 2016,鈥� but at that moment that was what I wanted to wear so I鈥檓 at peace with that.

Did you have a master plan for Hardwired when you went into the studio? It鈥檚 a very 鈥淢etallica鈥� Metallica record, I must say.

When we did the Death Magnetic record, which is coming up on 10 years ago, we spent a lot of time with Rick Rubin sitting and talking about who we were and identity and direction and ideas and the past and the future and a lot of deep conversations that were very inspirational, and there was a great piece of work that came out of that.

But this time around, it was literally, like, 鈥淥K, I鈥檒l see you down at the studio on Tuesday at 10 a.m.鈥� There was no big fuss. James (Hetfield) and I started writing about a year-and-a-half ago. We鈥檙e completely self-contained, we have our own studio so it wasn鈥檛 like we wrote and uprooted and went somewhere else to record so it just went from writing into recording. Six months later, (producer) Greg Fidelman came up to San Francisco and we just kept going. We didn鈥檛 really have a big plan or blueprint. There was none of that. We were just making it up as we went along.

Death Magnetic definitely felt like it was the product of a lot of thinking. This one doesn鈥檛 feel nearly as overly laboured.

This is just probably a little more organic. We didn鈥檛 really self-evaluate until about six months into the product . . . I think you鈥檙e right, we probably focused more on kind of the vibe, whereas some of the stuff on Death Magnetic, I think, might have gotten a little overly progressive or self-indulgent.

You guys must be pleased at the response. People really like this record.

It鈥檚 f—-in鈥� insane. As you know, everybody鈥檚 got an opinion about Metallica and in this day and, in this day and age, everybody can verbalize and shout that opinion from the rooftops so we鈥檝e heard it all over the years. But this has been a good couple of weeks. People do really like this record.

I鈥檓 getting all kinds of texts that are more than the obligatory 鈥淭he new record sounds great.鈥� They鈥檙e like 鈥淭he record鈥檚 really great!鈥� 鈥� almost a little surprised 鈥� and it鈥檚 cool. I鈥檇 rather have people like it than not like it and, listen, given a choice being No. 1 doesn鈥檛 suck. I think it鈥檚 awesome that people still care.

It鈥檚 interesting to see this generation of metal bands still flying the flag for heavy music in their 50s. How do you grow old gracefully playing thrash metal?

I鈥檓 not sure you grow old gracefully. That鈥檚 the great unanswered question . . . We鈥檙e doing everything we can to slow the aging process down. We put a lot of resources into living healthy and making the right choices and working out and we have a couple guys with us who keep us in shape. But I don鈥檛 know how long we can keep doing it. Everything鈥檚 a f—-ing process. Before I play drums now I鈥檝e gotta have my shoulder rubbed and worked on and massaged for, like, 15 minutes. It certainly doesn鈥檛 get any easier as you get older.