Few records in rock history have provoked a reaction as intense as Lulu, the 2011 collaboration between Metallica and Lou Reed. Released on October 31, 2011, it was mocked, memed, and dismissed almost on arrival. More than a decade later, it is being re-examined by critics and longtime fans as a strange, uncompromising piece of art rather than a career misstep.
The Metallica Lulu album is a 2011 double album recorded with Lou Reed, built on Reed’s lyrics for a stage adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s “Lulu” plays. It was commercially and critically panned at release, debuting at No. 36 on the Billboard 200, but has since gained a cult reputation as an experimental, avant-garde work, especially its closing track “Junior Dad.”
- Lulu grew out of Metallica and Lou Reed performing together at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concerts in 2009.
- The lyrics came from Reed’s work on Robert Wilson’s theatrical production of Wedekind’s Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box.
- It is a 10-track, roughly 87-minute double album, with “Junior Dad” running close to 20 minutes.
- Fan backlash was severe, and “I am the table” from “The View” became one of rock’s most enduring memes.
- After Reed’s death in October 2013, Metallica members spoke of the project with pride, and critical reassessment has steadily grown.
Truth 1: It Started on Stage at Madison Square Garden
The partnership did not begin as a marketing idea. In October 2009, Metallica and Lou Reed shared the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, performing Velvet Underground classics such as “Sweet Jane” and “White Light/White Heat.” The chemistry was obvious enough that both camps talked afterward about doing more together.
Initially, the discussion reportedly centered on re-recording older, lesser-known Lou Reed songs with Metallica as the backing band. That plan changed when Reed brought a different set of material to the table: a song cycle he had written for the theater. That pivot, from a covers project to an original concept record, defined everything that followed.
Why the pairing made more sense than it seemed
- Shared appetite for noise: Reed released Metal Machine Music in 1975, an album of pure guitar feedback. He was never allergic to volume.
- Metallica’s restlessness: The band had already worked with an orchestra on S&M and taken creative risks in the 1990s and 2000s.
- Mutual respect: Members of Metallica openly cited Reed as a foundational figure in rock’s darker, more literary tradition.
Truth 2: The Lyrics Came From a 19th-Century German Tragedy
Lulu is not a typical rock lyric sheet. Reed’s words were written for director Robert Wilson’s staging of the Lulu plays by German playwright Frank Wedekind, Earth Spirit (1895) and Pandora’s Box (1904). Those plays follow a young woman who moves through a series of abusive, obsessive relationships in a decadent society and ultimately meets a violent end.
Reed approached the material from multiple viewpoints: Lulu herself, her lovers, her victims, and her abusers. The result is spoken, half-sung narration delivered over long, grinding riffs. Listeners expecting the verse-chorus structure of Death Magnetic instead got something closer to experimental theater set to heavy music.
What this means for first-time listeners
The single most useful piece of context is this: the narrator is rarely Lou Reed speaking as himself. Lines that sound absurd or disturbing in isolation are character voices inside a tragedy. Reading a synopsis of Wedekind’s plays before listening changes the experience dramatically.
Truth 3: It Was Recorded Fast, Loose, and Largely Live
Sessions took place in 2011 at Metallica’s HQ studio in San Rafael, California. Production credits went to Hal Willner, a longtime Reed collaborator, along with Greg Fidelman and Metallica. The approach emphasized spontaneity: many parts were tracked with the band reacting in real time to Reed’s vocals rather than building songs piece by piece over months.
This was a sharp contrast to Metallica’s usual process, which can stretch across years of riff-tape sorting and arrangement. Members described the sessions as liberating precisely because Reed pushed them to keep first instincts instead of polishing every moment.
Track list and running times
| Disc | Track | Approx. Length | Notable Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandenburg Gate | 4:19 | Opens with acoustic guitar before the band crashes in |
| 1 | The View | 5:17 | Lead single; source of the “I am the table” meme |
| 1 | Pumping Blood | 7:24 | Strings and dissonant build-ups |
| 1 | Mistress Dread | 6:51 | Fastest, most thrash-leaning track |
| 1 | Iced Honey | 4:36 | Most conventional, almost classic-rock structure |
| 1 | Cheat on Me | 11:26 | Slow-burning, hypnotic repetition |
| 2 | Frustration | 8:33 | Heavy, lurching riffs and stark lyrics |
| 2 | Little Dog | 8:01 | Sparse, mostly acoustic and ambient |
| 2 | Dragon | 11:08 | Noisy, chaotic, feedback-heavy |
| 2 | Junior Dad | 19:28 | Emotional centerpiece with a long ambient string coda |
Truth 4: The Backlash Was Immediate and Brutal
When the first preview of “The View” surfaced, the reaction online was harsh. The repeated line “I am the table” became a punchline across forums, YouTube comment sections, and later social media, and it still circulates as a meme today. Many reviews were dismissive, and fan communities treated the record as a betrayal.
Commercially, the numbers reflected that sentiment. Lulu debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 with modest first-week U.S. sales, an extraordinary result for a band whose previous studio album had debuted at No. 1. Lou Reed responded to the hostility with characteristic dry humor, remarking that he had no fans left after the release.
How Lulu compares to Metallica’s surrounding albums
| Album | Year | Billboard 200 Peak | Style | Initial Reception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death Magnetic | 2008 | No. 1 | Return-to-thrash, long-form songs | Broadly positive |
| Lulu (with Lou Reed) | 2011 | No. 36 | Avant-garde, spoken word over heavy riffs | Largely negative |
| Hardwired… to Self-Destruct | 2016 | No. 1 | Modern thrash and groove metal | Positive |
The table makes the context clear: Lulu was an outlier in sound and sales, sandwiched between two chart-topping, fan-friendly metal records. That contrast is part of why it felt so jarring in 2011.
Truth 5: Metallica Never Disowned It
Bands often distance themselves from albums that flop. Metallica did the opposite. Members repeatedly defended Lulu in interviews, describing it as one of the most artistically freeing experiences of their career. Kirk Hammett and others spoke about learning from Reed’s improvisational, “first thought, best thought” approach, and about the hostility some fans directed at the band.
This stance matters for anyone evaluating the band’s legacy. It shows a group willing to absorb commercial damage in exchange for a creative experience they valued. Notably, several of the lessons about spontaneity seemed to carry into the looser, riff-forward energy of later Metallica recordings.
The most useful way to judge Lulu is not “Is this a good Metallica album?” but “Is this a compelling Lou Reed art project with Metallica as the engine?” Those are very different questions, and they produce very different answers.
Truth 6: “Junior Dad” Is the Song That Changed Minds
If one track has driven the album’s reassessment, it is “Junior Dad.” At nearly 20 minutes, it begins as a tender, devastating meditation on fathers, sons, aging, and loss, with Reed delivering some of his most vulnerable late-career vocals. The final stretch abandons the band almost entirely, dissolving into a long, slowly shifting string drone.
Listeners who dismissed the album based on “The View” often encounter “Junior Dad” years later and describe it as genuinely moving. It is frequently cited as the strongest argument that Lulu deserves more than a punchline.
A practical listening guide for skeptics
- Start with “Junior Dad” to hear the emotional core before any of the abrasive material.
- Move to “Iced Honey”, the most accessible, traditionally structured song on the record.
- Try “Mistress Dread” if you want the heaviest, most metal-forward performance from the band.
- Then listen front to back with headphones, ideally with a synopsis of Wedekind’s plays in mind.
- Leave “The View” for last, once you understand it as a character monologue rather than a rock single.
Truth 7: Lou Reed’s Death Reframed Its Legacy
Lou Reed died on October 27, 2013, at age 71. Lulu turned out to be the final full-length studio album of his career, and that fact changed how many people heard it. A record once mocked as a vanity project became, in retrospect, the last major statement of one of rock’s most important songwriters, made alongside the biggest metal band in the world.
Metallica paid public tribute to Reed after his death, and band members spoke warmly about their time with him. In the years since, music writers have published reappraisals arguing that Lulu was misunderstood: too dense for casual listeners, too strange for metal purists, but more ambitious than its reputation suggests. Anniversary discussions now tend to frame it as a cult record rather than a disaster.
Pros and cons of Lulu, honestly assessed
- Pro: Fearless artistic ambition from two legendary acts at the height of their fame.
- Pro: “Junior Dad” ranks among the most affecting pieces either artist recorded.
- Pro: Metallica’s playing is raw, heavy, and refreshingly unpolished.
- Con: Reed’s spoken delivery often clashes rhythmically with the riffs.
- Con: At roughly 87 minutes, the album demands patience that many listeners won’t give.
- Con: Without knowing the source material, lyrics can seem random or unintentionally comic.
Why the Metallica Lulu Album Still Matters in Metallica News Today
Lulu keeps resurfacing in conversations about Metallica because it captures something essential about the band: a willingness to follow curiosity even when it costs them. Every anniversary, every new interview where a band member mentions Reed, and every viral “I am the table” post brings fresh listeners to the record. Some still hate it. A growing number find something real inside it.
For fans building a complete picture of Metallica’s catalog, Lulu is not optional. It is the clearest example of the band stepping fully outside its comfort zone, and it documents the final creative chapter of Lou Reed. You don’t have to love it, but understanding it makes you a more informed listener.
FAQs
Is Lulu considered an official Metallica album?
It is credited to Lou Reed and Metallica as a joint release, so it is typically listed as a collaboration rather than one of Metallica’s core studio albums. Most discographies place it separately from records like Death Magnetic and Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.
Why do people say “I am the table”?
The line comes from “The View,” the album’s lead single. Reed repeats it as part of a character’s monologue, and out of context it struck many listeners as absurd. It quickly became a long-running internet meme about the album.
Did Metallica ever play Lulu songs live?
Metallica and Lou Reed performed material from the album during a short run of promotional appearances around its release, but the songs never became part of Metallica’s regular concert setlists.
What is the best song on Lulu for new listeners?
“Junior Dad” is the most widely praised track and the best emotional entry point. For a shorter, more conventional song, “Iced Honey” is the most accessible option.
