Re: Lars Ulrich - Mexico City drum performance review!
It's so sad to see Lars drumming away during a live concert that it's hard to believe that at one point he was the reference for what extreme metal drumming should be. He was never that brilliant but he certainly had a spark and his early double bass forays were really amazing (at least on record). I've just seen him playing in Mexico City and the way he played some thrash classics like "Disposable Heroes" or "Fight Fire With Fire" was really disappointing. Yeah, overall he still sounds decent but it seems he has become allergic to playing double bass the way he used to. The drumming on "Disposable Heroes" was devoid of any of the double bass fills that made the song sound thrashier. Sure, playing this stuff night after night when you're over 40 CAN be grueling, but he could do other things to make up for the lack of 16th note double bass parts. He could do triplets, which are far easier and, in a live situation, could fool some ears into thinking they're listening to double bass. Also, the famous double bass fills in "One" sounded hideously uneven. I purchased the live recording at Metallicalive.com and it only confirmed what I heard live. Even on the new songs, that should have been written with the possibility of pulling them off live, sounded contrived and incomplete. The fast double bass parts on "All Nightmare Long" (in the fast beat) disappeared altogether, only to reappear briefly at end of the mentioned part.
Double bass parts in "Fight Fire With Fire" were (in any) inaudible. I understand Metallica played "Dyers Eve" on their last Mexico City show and I seriously doubt that he played a single double bass note. Double bass was such an integral part of Metallica's musical arsenal that I miss it just as I missed Kirk's solo's in St. Anger.
If age's an issue, I see Dave Lombardo having no problems playing double bass parts live (they came to Mexico during the "Christ Illusion" tour), and he is about the same age as Mr. Ulrich.
It would be much better for Lars to abandon double bass altogether and maybe concentrate on improving other techniques that are not as physically demanding.
It's so sad to see Lars drumming away during a live concert that it's hard to believe that at one point he was the reference for what extreme metal drumming should be. He was never that brilliant but he certainly had a spark and his early double bass forays were really amazing (at least on record). I've just seen him playing in Mexico City and the way he played some thrash classics like "Disposable Heroes" or "Fight Fire With Fire" was really disappointing. Yeah, overall he still sounds decent but it seems he has become allergic to playing double bass the way he used to. The drumming on "Disposable Heroes" was devoid of any of the double bass fills that made the song sound thrashier. Sure, playing this stuff night after night when you're over 40 CAN be grueling, but he could do other things to make up for the lack of 16th note double bass parts. He could do triplets, which are far easier and, in a live situation, could fool some ears into thinking they're listening to double bass. Also, the famous double bass fills in "One" sounded hideously uneven. I purchased the live recording at Metallicalive.com and it only confirmed what I heard live. Even on the new songs, that should have been written with the possibility of pulling them off live, sounded contrived and incomplete. The fast double bass parts on "All Nightmare Long" (in the fast beat) disappeared altogether, only to reappear briefly at end of the mentioned part.
Double bass parts in "Fight Fire With Fire" were (in any) inaudible. I understand Metallica played "Dyers Eve" on their last Mexico City show and I seriously doubt that he played a single double bass note. Double bass was such an integral part of Metallica's musical arsenal that I miss it just as I missed Kirk's solo's in St. Anger.
If age's an issue, I see Dave Lombardo having no problems playing double bass parts live (they came to Mexico during the "Christ Illusion" tour), and he is about the same age as Mr. Ulrich.
It would be much better for Lars to abandon double bass altogether and maybe concentrate on improving other techniques that are not as physically demanding.