METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has told U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine that further "Big Four" shows — featuring METALLICA along with SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — could happen in 2011 or 2012.

"The vibe on this thing [the 'Big Four' tour] is so big, we'd be stupid to ignore it," Ulrich said. "You know on your iPhone, you can move the weather maps up and down? Well, the 'Big Four' is quickly moving up to the top in terms of potential occurrences for the next couple of years."

But foremost in Ulrich's mind at the moment is enjoying some well-earned time off.

"We started in May 2008, so we've got to go and lie down pretty soon!" he said. "We've got three runs out in Australia, Japan and New Zealand in the Fall, then we're going to take a little bit of a breather because at that point we will have been two-and-a-half years on the road.

"So I would champion trying to do this [the 'Big Four' tour] in 2011 or 2012, obviously in England and the United States. It's just a matter of logistics. I don't think there's anybody involved who considers there's a sell-by date on this.

"But here's the stuff: on November 20th my ass is going home. I'm going to sit at home, and I know the other fellas in the band are gong to do the same thing. I would say we're going to take at least six months off and do nothing, and then at some point in the spring or summer of 2011 we'll start to figure out what to do next."

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