Shrinking violet Lou Reed has made bold claims about his forthcoming joint record with Metallica. Speaking to Vulture in an interview about Raven, his project based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe, Reed also found time to discuss Lulu, the play by Frank Wedekind for which he and the metal troupe wrote songs. Asked if they'd play a live version of the songs with the play, Reed said "I don't think Metallica wants to be a band on Broadway! [Chuckles.] They're metalheads. They're not going to do that. But the version of the Lulu music I did with Metallica is awe-inspiring. It's maybe the best thing done by anyone, ever. It could create another planetary system. I'm not joking, and I'm not being egotistical."

Asked what the Metallica tracks were like, Reed replied "there are two stories Lulu's based on, and I rewrote Lulu from the get-go, taking the original plot — mostly Earth Spirit, not Pandora’s Box — and followed it essentially from the point of view of Lulu and the various people who love her, until she gets involved with Jack the Ripper. The basics. So the Metallica version will have absolutely all of that and more. It’ll probably come out by November." He added that the release will be "the psyche of Poe, the great psychic marauder, applied to Lulu." The question on the Quietus' lips, though, is will it be as good as this?