Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed he downloaded the band's latest album, 'Death Magnetic', illegally.

The drummer, who pioneered a lawsuit against the file-sharing website Napster in 2000, said he downloaded the album days after it leaked last September.

In an interview with VH1, Ulrich, who described the download process as “bizarre”, said he had the “right” to obtain a copy, but failed to specify which file-sharing client he had used.

"I sat there myself and downloaded 'Death Magnetic' from the internet just to try it," he said.

"I was like, 'Wow, this is how it works.' I figured if there is anybody that has a right to download 'Death Magnetic' for free, it's me."

"We found it, this was, like, two or three days after it leaked. I was like, 'You know what? I've gotta try this'.

“We sat there and 30 minutes later I had 'Death Magnetic' in my computer. It was kind of bizarre."

Metallica took action against the Napster at the turn of the century because they wanted control over their back-catalogue

The group are currently on a European tour in support of 'Death Magnetic'.

(by Jason Gregory)