Is Larse Ulrich supposed to be a good drummer?

24

Comments

  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 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"
  • Gonzo1977
    Gonzo1977 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.
  • mole1985
    mole1985 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
  • 12345AGNST1
    12345AGNST1 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 uk
    jamie 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 uk
    jamie 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.....
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 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"
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 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 uk
    jamie 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 uk
    jamie 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.....
  • Ved in the Head91
    Ved in the Head91 Posts: 70
    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!

    You know, I'm a huge Metallica fan. HUGE. But yeah, Lars is overrated. Always has been. He is not versatile like Grohl, Cameron, Chaimberlain, etc...and he plays with absolutely no dynamics. However, his contributions to the band go so much further than his playing. Lars IS Metallica. He is the driving force and the steering wheel of that band; the one responsible for pushing them into new directions and harnessing the genius that is James Hetfield...

    So yeah, we was never great, and he can't even play the way he used to. Metallica fans will usually defend him to the death (because a lot of them ONLY listen to Metallica) but I listen to enough music to know better.

    And I think it's common knowledge among metal fans that Vinnie Paul can drum circles around Lars...Vinnie is everything a metal drummer should aspire to be.
    What I Should Have Said...Was Nothing.
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    jamie uk wrote:
    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've said it before and I'll say it again, TRULY great bands transcend their time. I'm sure it made a big impact, being there at the time etc. I'm sure some of the bands I know and love now, that I'm too young to have seen live at the time, would have had an even bigger impact if I'd seen them, but they still managed to impact on me. Point is, the "they did it before so-and-so band and you had to be there" argument doesn't really hold much weight with me. Whether Metallica blew your mind in 1986 or not, I don't feel any guilt or sense of ignorance in saying that Lars is a hack these days and at his best he was competent :) It's just opinion. I don't think that would change if I was there at the time. I've seen current bands that are supposed to be the "bands of my generation" and thought they were a load of bollocks. All that matters is personal opinion, not some abstract concept about how relevent to a time a band is or was or has become known to have been.
    "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 uk
    jamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Ved in the Head91 wrote:
    You know, I'm a huge Metallica fan. HUGE. But yeah, Lars is overrated. Always has been. He is not versatile like Grohl, Cameron, Chaimberlain, etc...and he plays with absolutely no dynamics. However, his contributions to the band go so much further than his playing. Lars IS Metallica. He is the driving force and the steering wheel of that band; the one responsible for pushing them into new directions and harnessing the genius that is James Hetfield...

    So yeah, we was never great, and he can't even play the way he used to. Metallica fans will usually defend him to the death (because a lot of them ONLY listen to Metallica) but I listen to enough music to know better.

    And I think it's common knowledge among metal fans that Vinnie Paul can drum circles around Lars...Vinnie is everything a metal drummer should aspire to be.


    So, why is he 'over-rated'? :D he's always been pilloried, well the last 15 years anyway, but like you say...his contribution is much more than simply drumming.
    And we all like artistic integrity don't we? Rather than artistic snobbery and perfection ? Don't we?
    Really, this whole thread or tired, pointeless, cliched point is about as relevant as saying "oh that guy who invented the really light footballs they use nowadays is much more excellent than the twat who invented that old brown one with the laces"
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    jamie uk wrote:
    So, why is he 'over-rated'? :D he's always been pilloried, well the last 15 years anyway, but like you say...his contribution is much more than simply drumming.
    And we all like artistic integrity don't we? Rather than artistic snobbery and perfection ? Don't we?
    Really, this whole thread or tired, pointeless, cliched point is about as relevant as saying "oh that guy who invented the really light footballs they use nowadays is much more excellent than the twat who invented that old brown one with the laces"
    I can't believe you just mentioned artistic integrity in a pro-Lars Ulrich post :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 uk
    jamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    I've said it before and I'll say it again, TRULY great bands transcend their time. I'm sure it made a big impact, being there at the time etc. I'm sure some of the bands I know and love now, that I'm too young to have seen live at the time, would have had an even bigger impact if I'd seen them, but they still managed to impact on me. Point is, the "they did it before so-and-so band and you had to be there" argument doesn't really hold much weight with me. Whether Metallica blew your mind in 1986 or not, I don't feel any guilt or sense of ignorance in saying that Lars is a hack these days and at his best he was competent :) It's just opinion. I don't think that would change if I was there at the time. I've seen current bands that are supposed to be the "bands of my generation" and thought they were a load of bollocks. All that matters is personal opinion, not some abstract concept about how relevent to a time a band is or was or has become known to have been.

    I'm not even getting into debating with you Jez.
    But, for sure Metallica are a band who have transcended their time...yes? they've had good times, and not so good, but they'r doing ok and after 25 years that's a good thing surely.
    Their new record is simply a Metallica record, no thought or reasoning seems to have gone into how relavant they can make the concept, in fact that was their biggest downfall over the last 10 years, thinking about shit too much. Now they've given us a Metallica record, 1986, 2008....doesn't make much difference I'd say, it's just a Metallica record.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • jamie uk
    jamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Jeremy1012 wrote:
    I can't believe you just mentioned artistic integrity in a pro-Lars Ulrich post :D


    :o I may have done. But, here's the thing.....it's hip to knock Lars, has been for years...and I aint hip baby, never have been. Lars is one of us, one of us who's done ok, and for whatever reason he's more recently been held in a certain light. To me he's ok, I'd buy the rich Danish twat a pint, the same as I'd buy the rich Chicagoan called Vedder a pint...fuck the populist point of view. I am mine.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • Jeremy1012
    Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    That's all fair enough :)
    "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"
  • Gossard_Is_God
    Gossard_Is_God Posts: 1,031
    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.


    +1
    Pearl Jam - London Astoria 20/4/06....One hell of a night :)

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  • Ved in the Head91
    Ved in the Head91 Posts: 70
    jamie uk wrote:
    So, why is he 'over-rated'? :D he's always been pilloried, well the last 15 years anyway, but like you say...his contribution is much more than simply drumming.
    And we all like artistic integrity don't we? Rather than artistic snobbery and perfection ? Don't we?
    Really, this whole thread or tired, pointeless, cliched point is about as relevant as saying "oh that guy who invented the really light footballs they use nowadays is much more excellent than the twat who invented that old brown one with the laces"

    geez, I guess I meant that Lars is only overrated as a musician. At actual drumming...didn't think I had to be that specific. He is NOT overrated in the grand scheme of Metallica, though. It's not like James and Kirk and whatever bass player they have at the time could just replace Lars; as I stated before, he IS Metallica. I don't care if it is cliche' nowadays to bash Lars or not, the simple facts are that he is not as good a drummer as some of the other aforementioned drummers (Grohl, Cameron, Chaimberlain, Paul, Carey, that guy from Mastadon - although I don't like him).
    What I Should Have Said...Was Nothing.
  • jamie uk
    jamie uk Posts: 3,812
    Ved in the Head91 wrote:
    geez, I guess I meant that Lars is only overrated as a musician. At actual drumming...didn't think I had to be that specific. He is NOT overrated in the grand scheme of Metallica, though. It's not like James and Kirk and whatever bass player they have at the time could just replace Lars; as I stated before, he IS Metallica. I don't care if it is cliche' nowadays to bash Lars or not, the simple facts are that he is not as good a drummer as some of the other aforementioned drummers (Grohl, Cameron, Chaimberlain, Paul, Carey, that guy from Mastadon - although I don't like him).

    thing is, we can pull people apart for not being virtuosoes and it seems to be acceptable. I mean James isn't the greatest guitar player ever, neither is Kirk...but what they've created through the synergy of being in a band is wonderful, and should not be shouted down.
    See, the greatest guitar player I ever saw live was Steve Vai, yet he's barely been in a band worth mentioning, likewise the best drummer I ever saw, Cozy Powell...fantastic drummer, but as a band member....not much really.
    So quit hating on Lars, he plays drums he's in a cool band, a cool band that he invented....25 years ago...give the shtick some respect allready.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....

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