Did Lou Reed and Metallica Create the Perfect Storm?

Lou Reed and Metallica are two musical forces of nature, so naturally when they teamed up for Lulu the hype surrounding the album was gale force. When both camps began touting the project as the best thing they'd ever done, the news really sounded far too good to be true.

Speaking to Revolver Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet called 'Lulu' "one of the best things we've ever done," according to Blabbermouth. "It's largely an artistic endeavor for ourselves," he then qualified. "And we're just inviting everyone else along for the party. This is something that most people won't be expecting from us. All I have to say is don't judge it by heavy metal standards and maybe you'll understand it better."

Lou Reed did nothing to quell the growing hype, telling Rolling Stone the collaboration was "A marriage made in heaven," and perfection, right in front of me." So will 'Lulu' be the groundbreaking album its creators have promised? Early fan reactions are fairly negative to say the least. This could be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. It also doesn't help that they are tackling a very difficult subject matter: a pair of German expressionist plays by author Frank Wedekind. Sound off in the comments section below.