If you thought a pandemic could stop metal legends from creating a new record, you don’t know Metallica.

Drummer Lars Ulrich revealed in a new interview that the guys have been working on new music while in quarantine, sharing ideas both over Zoom and email.

During a chat with Swedish talk show host Fredrik Skavlan, Ulrich said the group regularly calls each other to check in, but things have been starting to get a bit more creative.

“We’ve been obviously connecting, but we [have now] connected creatively, and now we’re sort of in discovery mode, I think is a good way to say it,” Ulrich said. “We are sending ideas to each other via email and via Zoom and [trying to] make music in these unusual situations.”

Ulrich admitted that recording remotely has made it so Metallica has to “figure out how much we can create without being in the same space.”

“The good thing about that catching up is we really just talk about how we’re doing and we don’t sit and talk about Metallica for hours and hours,” Ulrich said. “But now that we’ve started exchanging some ideas, it’s great. It’s nice to be in touch, it’s nice to be part again of that group, and I look forward to the creative opportunities that lie ahead of us.”

The new music would follow the group’s 2016 effort Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, which came eight years after their previous record. The group isn’t in much of a hurry then, but they seem to be driven to dish this one out despite the circumstances.

And this isn’t the only time the guys have worked together through the pandemic. Each week, Metallica streams a classic concert on its website for their #MetallicaMondays series.

Check out Ulrich’s interview below.