Lou Reed's forthcoming Metallica collaboration is "the best the best thing I ever did", he claimed this week. The former Velvet Underground singer is head over heels for the band that wrote Enter Sandman. "We played together and I knew it," he said. "Dream come true."

Those surprised by Reed and Metallica's June announcement might be equally shocked to find that their team-up now has a title – Lulu – and a release date – spooky 31 October. They are also unveiling song titles : Junior Dad, Little Dog, Mistress Dread, Pumping Blood, and six more to look forward to. As previously reported, Lulu is based on two works by the German playwright Frank Wedekind, incorporating songs Reed wrote for a Berlin theatre production. "Lars [Ulrich] and I sat there with an acoustic and let this blank canvas take us where it needed to go," saidMetallica singer James Hetfield. "It was a great gift, to be asked to stamp 'TALLICA on it."

"We pushed as far as we possibly could within the realms of reality," Reed said. Metallica are "the hardest power rock you could come up with", he explained. "This is the best thing I ever did, and I did it with the best group I could possibly find. By definition, everybody involved was honest. This has come into the world pure."

This is a return to rock for Reed, who has spent the last few yearsmaking ambient and avant-garde music . He is 69.