Lars Ulrich won't let his children listen to One Direction.

The Metallica drummer - who is also one of the founders of the band - made his kids Miles, 15, Layne, 12, and Bryce, seven, listen to heavy rock when they were little so they don't grow up listening to pop music.

He said: ''I raised them on stuff like AC/DC, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, from when they were really small.

''I got them on to it really early, when they were about two.

''So that's what they are used to, although they like Rihanna, the Foo Fighters and the Arctic Monkeys. I'm cool with it when they want it on the car stereo.''

Meanwhile, Lars believes he gets on better with bandmates James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo - who were on the brink of breaking up in 2004 - now because they have other priorities.

He explained: ''We've been together 32 years. There have been a lot of ups and downs.

''We're getting on great now. Metallica is not the main thing in our lives. We've all got a lot more now, like kids. I've got three!

Lars added to The Sun newspaper: ''It's actually fun to go on tour -- it's like taking a vacation with your best mates. Being at home with the kids, that's hard work. Taking them on the school run, that's hard work.''