It’s official. Lulu, the collaboration album between Metallica and former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed is a flop. In the US where it was release just a few days ago Lulu is estimated to have shifted between 12,000 and 15,000 copies.
To put that into comparison in 2008 Metallica’s Death Magnetic sold 490,000 copies in its first week. That’s despite the album being released on a Friday only allowing three days of sales. 2003’s St Anger, which was lambasted by critics also managed to scrape through 418,000 copies in the first 4 days of release.
In a recent interview Lou Reed announced his intention to record a follow up to Lulu saying “No one wants Lulu Part 2. But on Radio Lou, in my head where I hear these songs, I want more of it.”
Even Metallica have started to distance themselves from the project with drummer Lars Ulrich stressing in an interview that people shouldn’t view this as a Metallica record. “No, no, no, not even,” he said. “This is a one-off project. It’s a new collective.”
Lulu made its highest chart placing in Sweden at 9 on the album charts,. Around the world it also reached 11 in Norway, 17 in the Netherlands, 20 in Finland, 30 in Belgium, 33 in Australia, and 36 in the UK.
The Lulu ‘experiment’ has been controversial ever since it was announced a few months ago. The undeniably brilliant teaser campaign lifted expectations for the record when they first they let us in on the album cover art, then when 30 seconds of track ‘The View’ was leaked online.
However the reaction from most critics and fans was overwhelmingly negative, and joining Metallica who were reportedly crying in the studio were thousands of fans around the world who simply hated the record.
You can read our review of Lulu here. Don’t forget to check out slideshow of the most bizarre collaborations in music.
The View by Lou Reed & Metallica
