Lars Ulrich

[Pachikara-Tharakan]

Bill Ward, the Sabbath skin man says "watch Lars, if u want to play drums"...i agree with Mr. Bill Ward.

[JosephDAqui]

Originally Posted by Nickropolis

If there is any metal that grooved, it's Lamb of God.

Totally agree, but let's not forget who started it: Vinnie Paul.

[Left Foot]

Worst drummer in Metalica!

[BFrench501]

The way I see Lars is that he is to me for Metal what Ringo Starr was to the Beatles and rock music past his emergence.

That may be sacrilege to some but Lars was never a conventional drummer by any sense. His technique was weird and to a me a little mystical - he leads with his left foot and accents the crash in strange places. There are things I can't do as they just don't feel organic. Any drummer who do something so unnatural but make it sound good deserves kudos.

I don't care that things are a little sloppy these days. I know that I really should but I listen to so many super tight drummers that sometimes it is nice to have that contrast.

To sum it up he is respected by professionals, but bashed by keyboard warriors who won't achieve 1% of what he has ever achieved.

[uhtrinity]

Originally Posted by BFrench501

His technique was weird and to a me a little mystical - he leads with his left foot and accents the crash in strange places. There are things I can't do as they just don't feel organic. Any drummer who do something so unnatural but make it sound good deserves kudos.

I agree, his accents and fills are weird. When covering a song they are hard for me to anticipate, but I like it. Maybe not the most technical drummer, but right for Metallica. Maybe more lazy now than 20 years ago, but it is his band.

[Heavy Edge]

Lars does the job. He co-invented thrash metal. When Metallica first came out, they changed everything. That just can't be ignored. A lot of rock drummers have a really good sense of other genres, and bring an awful lot of technique to the table. That's not Lars. But he does what Metallica needs.

It's kind of easy to hate on Lars, but people also used to hate on Ringo. They were both the right men for the job.

[Pointman308]

I personally think Larz is a talented drummer. Just jump in and try to play some of the songs on Death Magnetic like "That was Just Your Life," The End of the Line," "Cyanide" etc..... They may sound simple, but there is some complicated stuff in that album. He is the first drummer to ever really inspire me to play and now we have the likes of Thomas Lang, Dave Grohl, Nick DiVirgilio, and Portnoy. People on here were saying that Dave Grohl wasnt very good either. That made me spit Monster out my nose!

[BFrench501]

Originally Posted by Pointman308

I personally think Larz is a talented drummer. Just jump in and try to play some of the songs on Death Magnetic like "That was Just Your Life," The End of the Line," "Cyanide" etc..... They may sound simple, but there is some complicated stuff in that album. He is the first drummer to ever really inspire me to play and now we have the likes of Thomas Lang, Dave Grohl, Nick DiVirgilio, and Portnoy. People on here were saying that Dave Grohl wasnt very good either. That made me spit Monster out my nose!

Mr Grohl is another story altogether but for anyone to say he is crap...huh?? Got more session recordings than I'll ever have.

Lars was one of the first drummers I took notice of and I respect him. I don't know if he is an influence, my main influences are local people rather than famous drummers but as a drummer he stood out. 'I Disappear' was the very first metallica song I heard when I was 14 or 15 and I always loved the way he doubled up against James verse riff with his foot. So simple but just effective. Give Joey Jordison that type of song and he would overplay it to hell like he did at Download

[Pointman308]

Originally Posted by BFrench501

Mr Grohl is another story altogether but for anyone to say he is crap...huh?? Got more session recordings than I'll ever have.

Lars was one of the first drummers I took notice of and I respect him. I don't know if he is an influence, my main influences are local people rather than famous drummers but as a drummer he stood out. 'I Disappear' was the very first metallica song I heard when I was 14 or 15 and I always loved the way he doubled up against James verse riff with his foot. So simple but just effective. Give Joey Jordison that type of song and he would overplay it to hell like he did at Download

I guess in a nutshell that what I was trying to say. Just because a drummer doesnt overplay, doesnt mean his isnt a damn fine drummer. Grohl and Ulrich are both awesome at what they do and very inspiring at the same time.

[jiklass]

In my opinion, a drummer is "good" if and only if he or she keeps a solid meter. That's the only criterion for being a "good" drummer in my book, but I am just one guy with an insignificant opinion. I think something like this is very subjective and many people will disagree with me, but I enjoy reading about what others think.

[cerendrad]

Lars among other thrash metal drummers inspired me to play when I first started. I liked him because I could play the beats pretty early on. And I also think he wrote to the music really well.

What I think happened with Metallica was that Cliff Burton passed away. I think he was a big part of the soul of the band. That is why everything after Justice for all was a very pale reflection of what Metallica used to be. I know Cliff died before Justice For All, but there was still a lot of him on that record. Great bands seem to have a almost magical combination of personalities and if you remove one it is rare to go on to match or exceed the previous success.

Bob Rock killed Metallica on the Black Album for me but maybe they were already dead.

[CommanderRoss]

Originally Posted by cerendrad

Bob Rock killed Metallica on the Black Album for me but maybe they were already dead.

Spot on.

Justice is the last album I actually bought from them. Sure, I've heard the others, but have spent 0 money acquiring their music after Justice.

The way the whole deal with Jason went down plus how they're all in need of a therapist etc. etc. just made them into a band I don't understand.
I grew up as a teen in the 80's rocking out to these guys & I assure you what they are now is a 180 from then.

I get it, bands grow & change, but they've gone WAY beyond what a long term band does as far as growth & change.
They're completely different people making a completely different sound.

[Nikonov]

METALLICA - MASTER OF PUPPETS - ORIGINAL LARS ULRICH DRUM TRACK (HQ stereo)
https://youtu.be/_2LUyfa8r5M

METALLICA - MASTER OF PUPPETS - ORIGINAL DRUM + BASS TRACKS (HQ stereo)
https://youtu.be/W_0tAfxKiiU

To be continued

[cerendrad]

Originally Posted by CommanderRoss

Justice is the last album I actually bought from them. Sure, I've heard the others, but have spent 0 money acquiring their music after Justice.

I have a funny story about that. I never bought the black album or anything more recent either but I was rarely without possession of one. My buddy went out and bought the cassette right away we went for a drive in his car (best sound system we had) and cranked it up. Got to the end of the first side and just looked at each other. Listened to the other side and again blank stares. I though maybe I was missing something so I flipped it again. By the half way point I was so angry I pulled it out of the deck, rolled my window down, and threw it out. My buddy just laughed.

But then it started happening. Every time we threw a party, or took a bunch of tapes somewhere, or even got back in the car, a black album cassette was there. Haunting me. I would take them out of stereo's at parties and hide them but they always showed up. lol. In the end I found an old bag of cassettes in a box around the time cd's were just going out of style. Found some really cool stuff I had forgotten and of course, you guessed it, a Metallica black album. Needless to say where that went.

I guess it worked for Metallica and made a lot of money and a lot of people who wouldn't have been caught dead listening to them a year previously loved the album because there were endless copies out there. Eventually an early band of mine had a half version of Enter Sandman we would play if people asked us to cover them. It was all breakfast food related. I thought it worked better... "We're off to cheddar cheddar land"

I know pretty crazy reaction but I was a huge fan prior to this and will always appreciate what the did for me in the early albums.

[Drumfreak999]

Hey guys,
Anyone know what the diameters were for Lars' 9pc Artstar II.
Desperately trying to find out!
Thanks.

[Drumfreak999]

Originally Posted by metal overlord

Tama Granstar II (birch shells)
Drums:
-14x6.5" Bell Brass/14x8" Birch Snare Drum
-Two 24x16" bass drums
-10x10",12x11",14x13",16x15" toms and two 18x16" floor toms

Cymbals: (All Zildjian)
-Two 14" Z Custom 'Dyno Beat' Hi Hats
-17" and 18" A Medium crashes
-16",17" and 18" A Rock crashes
-20" Z Custom China
All cymbals were in 'brilliant' finish

Hardware (all Tama):
- 6x Titan HC104TB Cymbal Boom Stands
- 2x HP45 Pro Beat Pedals
- Titan HS90 Snare Stand
- Titan HT90 Throne
- Lever-Glide HH95NL Hi-Hat
- HH95XH X-Hat
- 2x 65 Multi Clamp

Heads:
Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo 'Ebony' (black) Ambassadors as resonant heads. Snare head was a Remo coated CS with reverse dot and ambassador snare side resonant.

Sticks:
Regal Tip 5B - Lars Ulrich model. Also used grip tape when playing.

Heres the link
http://www.encycmet.com/equipment/larseq.shtml
This is not his famous black and white kit. That was an Artstar II maple shells. This kit was grey with black hardware.
I tried to memorize all of it, but the hardware confuses me -.-

Hey mate, I'm really trying to figure out the black and white Artstar II configuration, diameters etc. The link you posted is probably outdated because it brings me to an 'under construction' page. :/
So do you know if the tom dimensions are the same as what you said here.

[bud7h4]

Originally Posted by jiklass

In my opinion, a drummer is "good" if and only if he or she keeps a solid meter. That's the only criterion for being a "good" drummer in my book, but I am just one guy with an insignificant opinion. I think something like this is very subjective and many people will disagree with me, but I enjoy reading about what others think.

I would agree that's what makes one a good drummer. But then from there, there are infinite levels of better.

[slhanks04]

Say what you will about Lars, his net worth is a quarter of a billion dollars. I'd say he's made a decent living for himself. He is the catalyst that started Metallica, and while he's not the greatest drummer on earth, I can't imagine anyone else playing the drums for Metallica. Lars is, well...Lars.

[Johnrock]

Originally Posted by Speedy

I think Lars is a pretty good drummer in my opinion. I really liked his drumming on .....And Justice for All and Black. It was funny watching him get mad on the Some Kind of Monster DVD when they threw a surprise birthday party for Kirk but never one for Lars.

And yes, Lars plays on Tama, where did you hear he played Gretsch? Never heard that one before.

Lars used a Gretsch USA Maple Custom (24-24-12-13-14-16-18f) to record the Black Album with a 14x6.5 "Bell Brass Snare Tama. Although he went to Starclassic Live as Studio, in the studio, he still uses his Bass Drum Gretsch Maple Custom USA, those of the Black Album on all the following albums. Moreover, before 2000, Lars had never had a Crash of 19 ''. He worked for over 15 years with Zildjian Avedis Brilliant. Considered the first A Custom. The Brilliant A had dome-shaped bell (like the A Custom) instead of bell-shaped cone. He used a 17 '' & 18 '' Medium Crashes on the left with his Z Custom Dyno-Beat 14 '' Hi-Hat and an 18 '', 17 '' & 16 '' Rock Crashes all A Brilliant. Although the 18 '' all have the same tonaité, the same note, the Rock sounds lower than the Medium and that gave the illusion of a 19 '' without being there. Here.

[Johnrock]

Originally Posted by Drumfreak999

Hey mate, I'm really trying to figure out the black and white Artstar II configuration, diameters etc. The link you posted is probably outdated because it brings me to an 'under construction' page. :/
So do you know if the tom dimensions are the same as what you said here.

Hello. It's almost that !. The Granstar II was the gray used for the Damage Tour from 88 to 90. It was before the recording of the Black Album that changed from Birch to Maple. His famous and first Tama Artstar II LU signature had the specs already mentioned but his Toms were 10x10, 12x12, 14x14, 16x16. For having had the chance to have approached in 93, I noticed that his Toms were as deep as their diameters. The only thing I do not understand is the fact that Lars could ask for an 18x18 '' like 2nd Floors. It's still one of the best Tama drum kits built of their stories. His cymbals, the dimentions are there too. This is an excellent series, the Zildjian Avedis Brilliant. Kind of Pre A Custom. She had a domed bell instead of a cone like the A zildjian (Vintage, Bright). He has used them for more than 15 years in the studio as well as on stage. I'm looking for his type of cymbals 80-90. there was also the Avedis Platinium with the logos in blue instead of being black.

[chongzilla]

DogBreath, for the WIN! I enjoyed your comments with the most-anti-Lars-Irish-Guy. As a drummer, I think Lars has made a big contribution to the metal genre. I think live, he speeds up a lot, but that's not horrible. Hell, Matt Cameron and Stewart Copeland did/do that a lot and they are still amazing drummers. It's one thing to dislike his style, but to trash him all together is a bit much. The Napster thing was something he believed in. It's much like Spotify rips off musicians now days. For national acts, it's not a big deal, but people starting off can't support themselves because of lower streaming royalties and file sharing. But that's a whole different can of worms. haha

Originally Posted by DogBreath

1. You might want to do a Google search for a personality forum. This is a drumming forum.

2. 30 takes to get it to the point that he's satisfied with it makes him a perfectionist. If you personally feel that his live playing doesn't live up to his studio work, then that just means you like his studio work better. I'm sure he'd appreciate the compliment.

3. The majority of Irish drummers that you've personally met don't like his drumming? Now that's an interesting statistic.

4. You found the drumming on the black album to be his best? Again, I'm sure that he'd appreciate the compliment.

Note: the majority of Mexican sheepherders that I have personally had to my house for tea think that ad hominem attacks against drummers have no place on DrummerWorld.

[Living Dead Drummer]

I actually set up my chinas like Lars while on tour last week. One over the kick in place of a Ride, and one up over my Floor Toms. The gig I'm currently on doesn't require me to use a ride. Typically I split my chinas, one right, one left. I tried the "Lars Setup" the last two nights in Germany. LOVE IT! Going to do this the rest of the tour, and probably from now on with this particular band.