Metallica were inspired by Iron Maiden and Motorhead to be a "level-headed" band.
Metallica (Lars, second right)
Lars Ulrich, who plays drums for the heavy metal group, believes the 'Nothing Else Matters' stars have remained largely down-to-earth in the 35 years they've been making music because they have been encouraged by the 'Number of the Beast' and 'Ace of Spades' hitmakers.
He said: "I would like to think that we have dealt with the success that we've been fortunate enough to have come our way in a fairly level-headed way.
"The bands that inspired us and the bands that made us want to be in a band ourselves - like the Motörheads and the Diamond Heads and the Iron Maidens of the world - were all bands that were very level-headed and had their feet firmly planted on the ground.
"So we've always tried to have an open door with our fans and be as accessible as possible, given whatever dynamics and circumstances were happening at the time."
The 52-year-old star also admitted he is grateful that the 'Enter Sandman' hitmakers have been able to do pretty much what they like with their music because their success has given them opportunities to be "creative".
Speaking on Swedish radio channel P1's daily one-man show 'Sommar i P1', he added: "I feel like a big part of the success that we've had we've kind of used to have creative freedom.
"We've always been very curious as people, we've always been afraid of repetition, and we've always pushed ourselves hard to try to continue to evolve and embellish and change things up.
"We've always, I think, had a very open and frank dialogue with our fans about, 'If you're gonna be on this journey with us, then prepare yourself for a ride that's gonna have many different sides and feels to it.'
"We have used our success to force creative autonomy."
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