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Is Larse Ulrich supposed to be a good drummer?

harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
edited October 2008 in Other Music
Right, before I start, I've heard quite a bit of Metallica now, and I'm still not a fan.

But seeing them on Jools Holland the other night just confirms my suspicions that Ulrich is sort of rubbish. He totally fudged the introduction to the new single, his timing was up and down, all over the place, and he POUNDS the drums as hard as he can trying to cover up the fact that he has poor technique. I'm no fan but I gave it the benefit of the doubt, hoping to be amazed. After so many years, I should've been.

On the OTHER HAND, I bought Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera the other day. It's no less than musical brilliance. The drumming, the bass playing and the guitar hooks are completely brilliant and show great skill. Vinnie Paul is a monster. I'm not a seasoned metal fan YET, but at the moment, it seems that Pantera wipe the floor with Metallica.

Flame away!
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

- the great Sir Leo Harrison
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Comments

  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 30,541
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    Right, before I start, I've heard quite a bit of Metallica now, and I'm still not a fan.

    But seeing them on Jools Holland the other night just confirms my suspicions that Ulrich is sort of rubbish. He totally fudged the introduction to the new single, his timing was up and down, all over the place, and he POUNDS the drums as hard as he can trying to cover up the fact that he has poor technique. I'm no fan but I gave it the benefit of the doubt, hoping to be amazed. After so many years, I should've been.

    On the OTHER HAND, I bought Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera the other day. It's no less than musical brilliance. The drumming, the bass playing and the guitar hooks are completely brilliant and show great skill. Vinnie Paul is a monster. I'm not a seasoned metal fan YET, but at the moment, it seems that Pantera wipe the floor with Metallica.

    Flame away!

    i don't know to much about metal but i'm glad to see you here and why are we not talking about drinking it's friday :D no flaming you it's all about opinions ...
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    josevolution wrote:
    i don't know to much about metal but i'm glad to see you here and why are we not talking about drinking it's friday :D no flaming you it's all about opinions ...

    I haven't been here for fucking ages because my internet is down, I'm currently in a library. The withdrawal symptoms became too much. I wanna catch up with soooooo many people on here. If any of my friends read this, sorry for being around so rarely. It'll change, in time.

    The fact that Lars Ulrich sort of sucks, though, won't. :D
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    Go watch the video for "One". Here, I'll help.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j39ABZyzek

    Let me know what you think.

    EDIT: You know what, that's not the best example. Definitely his best drumming was in the days prior to the Black album though. His drumming style slowed down a lot from then forward. It really doesn't stand out at all any more.
  • riffrandallriffrandall Posts: 685
    I'm not really a Metallica fan either, but I DO think Lars is one of the best drummers around. He convinced me after I saw them live.

    Everyone has their bad days, but empirically- Lars is one of the good ones, and I don't think that can be refuted, really. No matter what you think of the band.
    "If you're looking for someone to pull you out of that ditch, you're out of luck."
  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    gabers wrote:
    Go watch the video for "One". Here, I'll help.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j39ABZyzek

    Let me know what you think.

    I've seen this video, heard the song. He obviously does OK in it. But his drumming is functional. There's a plodding, straight rock section and then a faster thrash jam, etc. etc. But still, nothing too impressive, not when put alongside Vinnie Paul of Pantera who throws in insane double-kick work, ghost-notes, funk and some insane drum fills.

    Also, you can't really tell by studio work. When you play live, you only get once chance to get a song right. The proof is in that puddin'.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cknAyZfMfWA

    i really like this guy... and he does all this beautiful drumming using the old fashioned sticks between the fingers style.. its beautiful to watch actually :)
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    Drumming on Muppets is wicked, no doubt. Olympic athletes do not mainatin their peak performance forever, and it's unrealistic to expect Lars to.

    Besides which, that Jools Holland show sucks hugely. I've only ever seen it a couple of times and I don't get why it is so huge.
    Jools is about the worst interviewer ever. No atmosphere in that studio. I watched a bunch of bands put in off-kilter performances.
    Music is not a competetion.
  • harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    lucylespian wrote:
    Drumming on Muppets is wicked, no doubt. Olympic athletes do not mainatin their peak performance forever, and it's unrealistic to expect Lars to.

    Besides which, that Jools Holland show sucks hugely. I've only ever seen it a couple of times and I don't get why it is so huge.
    Jools is about the worst interviewer ever. No atmosphere in that studio. I watched a bunch of bands put in off-kilter performances.

    Both good arguments. The guy is older, fair enough.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
  • South of SeattleSouth of Seattle West Seattle Posts: 10,724
    dunkman wrote:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cknAyZfMfWA

    i really like this guy... and he does all this beautiful drumming using the old fashioned sticks between the fingers style.. its beautiful to watch actually :)

    I was quite impressed with their drummer. I ended up watching him most of the time actually.
    NERDS!
  • Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    Firstly, it's spelt LARS

    Second, Have you seen Metallica live? No? Didn't think so... you opinion would be VERY different if you had.
    riffrandall wrote:
    I'm not really a Metallica fan either, but I DO think Lars is one of the best drummers around. He convinced me after I saw them live.

    Everyone has their bad days, but empirically- Lars is one of the good ones, and I don't think that can be refuted, really. No matter what you think of the band.

    Good point made just there. I personally don't think you can slate any band til you see them live. I didn't think i'd like Megadeth for years. I then paid £23 to see them... yep, it confirmed my suspicions. Dave Mustaine is a ginger tosser and, in my opinion, the band WERE crap. The important thing is, I gave them a chance.

    Now, I'm a big Metallica fan. Dave is not, but he still wants to see them live as he's heard myself and my housemates repeatedly tell him how fucking good that band are when they're infront of 40+ thousand people. They're electric and love him or hate him, Lars is a huge part of that. His beats keep epic songs like One and The Unforgiven together. You just need to hear some bootlegs to realise that. (have you heard any btw?)

    I'm interested to know what Metallica you HAVE heard. Dave was also of the opinion that he wasn't too keen but was very surprised when we played him stuff like So What and the Load album. They're more diverse than a lot of people give them credit for.

    I think, that on a person level Lars Ulrich reminds me of a wormy little poisoned pixie... but that don't mean shit when we're talking about drummers. Lars is a talented guy and isn't a member of one of biggest selling, most popular thrash bands of all time for no reason. Lets be fair, if he was that bad they'd have sacked him like they did Mustaine. Give the guy a break, the night before Jools (which incidently I thought was awesome) he'd played the O2 arena and it was a fucking brutal night! Rock stars can't be flying on full steam 100% of the time, dude's getting old!

    As for Pantera? Fucking awesome band. Best metal band ever IMO and amazing live... just a shame Vinnie Paul's a twat.
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • Gremmie95Gremmie95 Posts: 749
    Lars was the man back in the day.
  • Gremmie95Gremmie95 Posts: 749
    dunkman wrote:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cknAyZfMfWA

    i really like this guy... and he does all this beautiful drumming using the old fashioned sticks between the fingers style.. its beautiful to watch actually :)


    very nice indeed.
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    Firstly, it's spelt LARS

    Second, Have you seen Metallica live? No? Didn't think so... you opinion would be VERY different if you had.


    firstly.. he knows that.. its L-arse (a pun on his name! ) as he is a bit of an arse isnt he... truth be told.. i mean any band where the drummer exerts that much creative influence shouldnt be trusted.

    secondly... ah i dont care enough ;)
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • yosi1yosi1 Posts: 3,272
    When I was first starting out as a drummer I used to think Lars was the bee's knees. Now, I think he's alright, but kind of boring and not that doing anything that impressive - yes he's got a nice double bass kick, but in general, not anything to write home about. And this doesn't mean he's bad, just not one of the great ones.

    And yes, I've listened to Metallica for years and seen them live.
    you couldn't swing if you were hangin' from a palm tree in a hurricane.
  • Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    dunkman wrote:
    firstly.. he knows that.. its L-arse (a pun on his name! )

    I know... I was being pedantic ;)
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • HermanBloomHermanBloom Posts: 1,764
    He is an ok drummer, but probably the most overrated ever.
    SLC 11/2/95, Park City 6/21/98, Boise 11/3/00, Seattle 12/9/02, Vancouver 5/30/03, Gorge 9/1/05, Vancouver 9/2/05, Gorge 7/22/06, Gorge 7/23/06, Camden I 6/19/08, MSG I 6/24/08, MSG II 6/25/08, Hartford 6/27/08, Mansfield II 6/30/08; Eddie Albany 6/8/09, 6/9/09; Philly 10/30/09, 10/31/09; Boston 5/17/10
    I thought the world...Turns out the world thought me
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    I know... I was being pedantic ;)

    yeah i know... i was being flacaitialiaiticious
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • rybesrybes Posts: 136
    Having seen Metallica at bridge school last year, I was pretty excited and hyped up. Lots of people kept mentioning that Metallica would be a treat in an acoustic venue such as the shoreline amphitheater.

    I couldn't have been more disappointed, they were flat, stale whatever you want to call it, maybe they had an off night but still. An acoustic venue is much less forgiving when it comes to mistakes and I can't say that the drumming was anything to write home about.

    Most of the good examples posted here seem to be from a decade ago or more. Perhaps his skills have faded with time?
  • Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    rybes wrote:
    Most of the good examples posted here seem to be from a decade ago or more. Perhaps his skills have faded with time?

    I first saw them in 2004. That, and every time since has been incredible. Sorry! :o
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,567
    harmless_little_f*** wrote:
    Right, before I start, I've heard quite a bit of Metallica now, and I'm still not a fan.

    But seeing them on Jools Holland the other night just confirms my suspicions that Ulrich is sort of rubbish. He totally fudged the introduction to the new single, his timing was up and down, all over the place, and he POUNDS the drums as hard as he can trying to cover up the fact that he has poor technique. I'm no fan but I gave it the benefit of the doubt, hoping to be amazed. After so many years, I should've been.

    On the OTHER HAND, I bought Reinventing Hell: The Best of Pantera the other day. It's no less than musical brilliance. The drumming, the bass playing and the guitar hooks are completely brilliant and show great skill. Vinnie Paul is a monster. I'm not a seasoned metal fan YET, but at the moment, it seems that Pantera wipe the floor with Metallica.

    Flame away!

    They all sounded shit on jools becuase the previous night they played the 02.

    even though he isn't fast i still like his drumming, he has some cool bass drum work.
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    Lars is, for a metal drummer, overwhelmingly mediocre and his fills are bland, his timing is sketchy and his personality ensure that, even when he plays a solid beat, I still want a real drummer like Flo Mounier from Cryptopsy to come along and play some double pedal blast beats on his smug face.

    Also yes, Vinnie Paul pisses all over him. Whether for amusement or actual musical appreciation is debatable but when Anselmo shouts "VINCE" and then he plays a 1/2 second fill just before the guitar solo on Fucking Hostile, I still find it awesome.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Gonzo1977Gonzo1977 Posts: 1,696
    Lars is far from great. Mediocre at best.
    He does his thing and I guess it fits the band
    But no big shakes really. There are far more interesting drummers out there.

    Check out Brann Dailor from Mastodon or John Theodore formally of The Mars Volta.
    Both make Lars look like a cheap hack.
  • mole1985mole1985 Posts: 1,119
    He is a decent/OK drummer but he is a BIG part of Metallica's song writing and overall production THAT is where his main talent is and can't be underestimated.
    Dublin 2006
    Katowice 2007
    London 2007
  • 12345AGNST112345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    He is the most BASIC drummer today. He does nothing special at all. I consider him the ringo of our generation, except much worse. Plus, he looks like a complete tool on the kit.
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    I hate that Lars has become a figure of folly, it's totally a cliche to ridicule Lars these days.
    I'm no drummer, sure I appreciete there's some better than others, but for shit sake, Lars Ulrich invented the greatest heavy metal band on the planet...ever! and he plays the drums very competently for them, never had a problem with him.......you should all grow up, and stop deaming. Lars is fuckin cool...so fuck off you snobs.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    Lars is, for a metal drummer, overwhelmingly mediocre and his fills are bland, his timing is sketchy and his personality ensure that, even when he plays a solid beat, I still want a real drummer like Flo Mounier from Cryptopsy to come along and play some double pedal blast beats on his smug face.

    Also yes, Vinnie Paul pisses all over him. Whether for amusement or actual musical appreciation is debatable but when Anselmo shouts "VINCE" and then he plays a 1/2 second fill just before the guitar solo on Fucking Hostile, I still find it awesome.



    sorry dude...pantera was shouty old bollocks, not an ounce of fuckin class in their bones. I saw them 3 times, they were all front, and their first two albums were a bit glam :eek:
    Lars and Metallica floated above them with ease, and will do for an eternity, Pantera were a poor mans Metallica, even at their heady height ;)
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    jamie uk wrote:
    I hate that Lars has become a figure of folly, it's totally a cliche to ridicule Lars these days.
    I'm no drummer, sure I appreciete there's some better than others, but for shit sake, Lars Ulrich invented the greatest heavy metal band on the planet...ever! and he plays the drums very competently for them, never had a problem with him.......you should all grow up, and stop deaming. Lars is fuckin cool...so fuck off you snobs.
    It's nothing to do with being a snob Jamie, he is a mediocre drummer with who talks utter bullshit ALL the time. He makes it very easy to dislike him :D Although he is technically competent (and only competent), he must have cotton wool in his ears every time he enters the studio if he thinks his drums sound good.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    jamie uk wrote:
    sorry dude...pantera was shouty old bollocks, not an ounce of fuckin class in their bones. I saw them 3 times, they were all front, and their first two albums were a bit glam :eek:
    Lars and Metallica floated above them with ease, and will do for an eternity, Pantera were a poor mans Metallica, even at their heady height ;)
    Don't be sorry, different strokes mate :) I don't really give a toss for anything in metal apart from passion and aggression. I don't go in for technicality or songwriting much, I listen to other stuff for that. Metallica's lyrics are ridiculous but they take themselves very seriously. I can't list to Death Magnetic without cracking up. Whoever said metal had to have class? :) Pantera's lyrics were macho, simplistic shouty bollocks but they hit you hard and their riffs just appealed to me more than Metallica's. I'm not saying I think they were a great band, I'd just rather listen to them then Metallica these days, give or take Ride the Lightning which was Metallica's only truly great album in my opinion. Also, Vinnie Paul is objectively more awesome than Lars :D
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    It's nothing to do with being a snob Jamie, he is a mediocre drummer with who talks utter bullshit ALL the time. He makes it very easy to dislike him :D Although he is technically competent (and only competent), he must have cotton wool in his ears every time he enters the studio if he thinks his drums sound good.

    But he's in the coolest and greatest heavy metal band ever man, and what's more...he invented the band. He may be a mediocre drummer but his band are the best ever, almost without doubt. Who wants all the shit? I mean how many people praise Bill Ward for being an exeptional drummer/percussionist? not many, they just say Black Sabbath was an awesome band.
    It just irritates me how much of a cliche it is to bash Lars, sure he can talk too much, but essentially he's a rock and roll kid who is really living out his wildest dreams. Give the mofo a break I say.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    Don't be sorry, different strokes mate :) I don't really give a toss for anything in metal apart from passion and aggression. I don't go in for technicality or songwriting much, I listen to other stuff for that. Metallica's lyrics are ridiculous but they take themselves very seriously. I can't list to Death Magnetic without cracking up. Whoever said metal had to have class? :) Pantera's lyrics were macho, simplistic shouty bollocks but they hit you hard and their riffs just appealed to me more than Metallica's. I'm not saying I think they were a great band, I'd just rather listen to them then Metallica these days, give or take Ride the Lightning which was Metallica's only truly great album in my opinion. Also, Vinnie Paul is objectively more awesome than Lars :D


    I hate to elude to age diff mate :o but Metallica were really a band who made their impact during the 80's...you know that, I know. Pantera were simply one of a thousand bands who tried to copy/capitalise on the concept they made popular (notice I didn't say invented? )
    I was there, I saw Metallica in 86/87/88/89//and so on...and they were awesome, no one could touch them. And Lars even used to recieve compliments for the drum sound, or at least the experimentation...And Justice For All was really different from anything swimming around at the time....mostly because of the drum sound.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
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