Terence Patrick/CBSMetallica and Lady Gaga powered through a malfunctioning microphone Sunday night to give the 2017 Grammys one of the liveliest performances of the evening, but afterwards it wasn't smooth sailing.
Lars Ulrich, the drummer for the heavy metal band, appeared on The Late Late Show Tuesday and told host James Corden that lead singer James Hetfield acted like a professional onstage, but once the performance ended it was a very different situation.
"Well, in the heat of the battle you're out there you're playing when it's a technical issue you don't really know is it going to the house, is his vocals gong to the truck?" Ulrich explained. "Maybe it's the monitors, so you just gotta keep playing."
But once the group got backstage, Hetfield unleashed his fury. "I haven't seen him like that in 20 years," Ulrich shared. "I mean he was livid. I mean, he's aged really well and he's a pretty chill guy, but the first five or 10 minutes in that dressing room was not a lot of fun."
Despite Hetfield's anger, Ulrich told the British host that he felt the performance with Gaga was a solid one. "We fought through it, and, you know, with the fire and Gaga in my lap for a minute at one point, it was just keep going, keep going, keep going," he said. "So we just fought through it, and a lot of people said it at least made for great television."
Gaga diving into the crowd also gave the performance an extra bit of excitement!
Because Metallica has suffered from a couple of technological glitches over its multiple-decade career, Ulrich was able to brush the Grammys off. "In 35 years we've had a few mishaps," noting one concert where his platform didn't rise, "I spent 15 minutes playing two or three songs under the stage."