Lars Ulrich and other members of Metallica have never been shy over the years about their love affair with cocaine.
When reflecting on the insanity of The Damaged Justice Tour in the late 80’s, Kirk Hammett recalled that their drug use reached new pinnacles on that outing:
“We discovered cocaine years before, but we brought it to new heights on that tour. We’ve always dialed it back while we’ve had responsibilities writing, rehearsing and recording an album.”
And Lars himself has also barred it all out in the press, often explaining what attracted him to the drug in the first place:
“In the early days, I’d always get drunk way faster than the other guys. I realized that if there was a little bit of cocaine involved I could stay up longer, instead of ending up face down in the corner passed out three hours before the party ended. I loved the social elements of cocaine. I loved the danger of it.”
Even Metallica’s famous friends have shared their own tales of cocaine-fueled debauchery over the years. Sebastian Bach recounted a story in his memoir a few years back about how he, Lars and some friends shamelessly partook at an outdoor pub in the middle of the afternoon:
“Lars, at about three in the afternoon, whips out a bag of cocaine. Dumped it down right on the table, while businessmen and families were walking past.
We started snorting lines in the middle of the beautiful sunny day, on a quaint, Canadian terrace, breathing the fresh, crisp air through the pure cocaine we shoved up our faces.”
Interestingly enough, though, the reason Lars decided to put the habit away for good after years of flying high was due to a member of Britpop royalty- Mr. Noel Gallagher.
Without rehab, without the urging of friends, bandmates or family, Lars simply decided to stop on his own accord after hearing that Noel quit cocaine cold turkey:
“I read an interview with Noel Gallagher, in which he said, ‘I just stopped doing cocaine.’ I thought that was really cool: it felt so fresh, so honest, so pure — I love that side of him.
I’ve never had an addictive personality, so I woke up one day and said: ‘enough.'”
Does Ulrich miss the infamous booger sugar? Parts of it, yes. In a 2008 interview with Blender magazine, Lars explained the thing he missed most about putting the drug down:
“The bonding. Two guys in a bathroom stall — it feels like the most important place in the whole world in that moment. I’ve actually gone into bathroom stalls with friends since I quit, just so I still have a little bit of that bonding.”
Welp, there you have it friends. A Gallagher brother might’ve helped save the life of metal royalty.