Lou Reed & Metallica Preview ‘Lulu’ With Clips of Every Song

In a reaction to one of Metallica’s “friends in the digital retail world,” which prematurely uploaded 30-second snippets of all the tracks on ‘Lulu,’ the band’s upcoming collaboration with Lou Reed, “higher quality streams” of snippets of all the songs have officially been posted on the two acts' collaborative website.

The album, which comes out Nov. 1, was co-produced by Reed, Metallica, Hal Wilner (Reed, Marianne Faithful, Laurie Anderson) and Greg Fidelman, who also mixed the record as well as Metallca’s 2008 thrashy ‘Death Magnetic.’

Like the first single, ‘The View,’ which was released a month ago, ‘Lulu’ is an immediate, shoot-from-the-hip combination of stream-of-consciousness rants redolent of William Burroughs layered over Metallica’s trudging, storming and groove-inflected riffs, bluesy licks and noisy samples.

'Mistress Dread' unleashes a thrash rhythm that’s almost as fast as 'Damage Inc,' combined while Reed slowly drawls, “I’m built like you are / I have a dress and a train.” The melodic, mid-paced 'Iced Honey' sounds more cohesive, Reed keeping up with the beat as he sings, “Me, I’ve tried a million tricks to make life hope and make it stick.”

The first 30 seconds of ‘Cheat on Me’ is uncharacteristically minimalistic, with Metallica plucking single notes over what sounds like an orchestra warming up. The beginning of ‘Frustration’ is even more experimental, as waves of harrowing feedback wash over slowly ascending keyboard sounds.

Then there’s “Little Dog,” which opens with a call-and-response between Reed and bluesy undistorted guitar lines.

“You don’t actually care / Love for you is no beginning / You’re not really there, hallucination / I thought you were listening,” rants Reed over backwards loop of feedback on ‘Dragon.’ Finally, ‘Junior Dad’ ends the enticing preview with a sustained guitar chord and some humming. Just as the bass drum kicks in and the band begins an arpeggio the snippet ends, leaving he listener -- curious.

For those thoroughly confused by ‘The View,’ which is also offered in the audio player below in full, the experimentation and eclecticism of the ‘Lulu’ preview probably won’t assuage any fears that Metallica have gone off the deep end. But it’s no doubt another surefire indication that Metallica will continue to express themselves how they want, when they want, regardless of the risk. And what could be more metal than challenging listeners and defying expectations?

Listen to Clips of All the Songs on Lou Reed & Metallica's 'Lulu'