Good news, Metallica fans — there’s a chance metal’s biggest band could stick around for another generation. In a new interview with drummer Lars Ulrich, he revealed his hope to keep Metallica around and touring for another 20 to 25 years.

When it comes to iconic metal bands, Metallica are still fairly young. While Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford are still touring, even when approaching 70, Metallica are just in their mid-50s. When you’re playing stadiums and crushing every night, age certainly just feels like a number.

"A lot of people are retiring, and we feel very energized and rejuvenated. I mean, we wanna go [a] long [time]. We hope we can get another 20, 25 years,” Ulrich tells 93.3 WMMR Rocks. “I don't know what it's gonna look like, I don't know what it's gonna sound like, but that's in our heads. So we're not sitting there thinking retirement or this or that; we're sort of more the opposite. So I would say, for us, everything we do is kind of a long game. And back then, when you were 17, you only think of, like, the next five minutes. 'Where is the next beer? Whoo!' So that's kind of different mentality nowadays."

Ulrich continues, "There's more younger kids at our shows than I can ever remember. Half the audience is under 20. And it also feels more like it's 50-50 between boys and girls now, which obviously [wasn't the case] 20, 30 years ago. So it's amazing how rock and roll and harder rock and what we're doing just continues to appeal to… I don't know if it's a rite of passage, but it feels like it continues rather than regressing; it feels like it's actually spreading.”

With Metallica raking in $152.8 million in concert ticket sales last year, it’s hard to imagine the band calling it a day, especially when the quality of their shows remains at the highest level. Metallica have plenty of U.S. tour dates left for 2018, so click here to check them out.

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