METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett says that GUNS N' ROSES has "turned into somewhat of a nostalgia act" because the Axl Rose-fronted outfit hasn't produced or performed any new music in nearly a decade.

The subject came up during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, in which METALLICA's penchant for continually getting involved with new projects — from movies and one-off collaborations to the band's upcoming "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" album — was held up in contrast to other groups from the same era who have focused exclusively on performing older material without flexing their creative muscles.

"Unfortunately," Hammett said, "[GUNS N' ROSES has] turned into somewhat of a nostalgia act, which, to me, is kind of sad."

"I don't want to think we're trying to stay young by writing new stuff, but it makes us feel relevant," added METALLICA frontman James Hetfield. "It makes us feel like we're still progressing."

Hammett's latest comments echoed those he made in 2014 when he was asked by Ecuador's El Comercio if he can ever see the day when METALLICA will just tour and will no longer make new music, The guitarist replied: "I hope not. There's a lot of different aspects to this band that we need to tend to. But I really think that the touring part supports the recording part, and the recording part — the creativity, the songs — supports the touring part. Both of those things kind of support each other and need each other for us to move forward. So I think that we would always need to write music, write songs, record them… It might be the exact opposite — we might just end up recording songs for the rest of our career at one point. Or we might end up just touring. But I, myself, doubt that any of those two things will happen. I'm pretty confident that we will always be creative, because that's how we are as individuals. I mean, that's how I am — I get bored, pick up my guitar, and next thing you know, I have a fucking riff. I get excited and I show it to the other guys, and next thing you know, we're jamming on it. It's a part of what we do."

The long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic", "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" is due out November 18 and consists of two discs, containing a dozen songs and nearly 80 minutes of music. A U.S. tour in support of the effort is expected to launch next year.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio that the band no longer wants to devote large chunks of time to any one project. "You know, METALLICA, in order for it to be true and pure and honest, has to be fun," he said. "And so the days of, you know, writing for a year and then recording for a year and then going on the road for three years — those kind of endlessly long cycles — they're just behind us. I don't think we have the stamina to do anything for those elongated periods of time any longer."