Lars Ulrich: good drummer or bad?

[Ursus]

From what I've read on various forums, it seems there are a lot of people who consider Lars Ulrich to be a terrible drummer. I'm a big Metallica fan and he sounds just fine to me, but I've never studied music so I don't really know what to listen for when it comes to a good drummer vs. a bad drummer.

Do people just like to hate on him because he was the face of the whole Napster controversy? Or is he actually a bad drummer? If so, can you explain why or list a few songs that demonstrate his subpar drumming skills?

[Thuunda]

People on the internet love to hate, Lars is a bad ass

[uuuhname]

I think people forget there is a middle ground between savant levels of talent and being terrible. which is where I'd put Lars, he's competent, not amazing but he gets the job done. leaving aside his... stances on music sharing.

[Tommy T]

Errrr no. He was a great drummer.

The best? No. Not by a long shot, but people who call him 'terrible' are most likely metal heads who don't consider drumming good unless your double bass pedal speed is at least 180bpm+

[Bigbazz]

Depends who you're comparing to? He's one of the most successful drummers, but he's a million miles away from the most accomplished as a player, but then that would also be the case for the rest of Metallica, Kirk Hammet is also a meme in guitar circles. Same deal with Ringo Starr from The Beatles.

[jackofwind]

Lars was a huge part of the business side of the band as well as being an arranger - by his own admission he's mediocre at the drums, but good enough to serve his purpose.

He's not a phenomenal drummer and he's not the worst drummer in the world. His drumming is pretty rote and repetitive from song to song/album to album, which is as much a testament to his ability as it is to the fact that dramatically improving as a drummer was not one of his priorities when he was busy running the Metallica brand.

[NihilSustinet]

From what I've read on various forums, it seems there are a lot of people who consider Lars Ulrich to be a terrible drummer. I'm a big Metallica fan and he sounds just fine to me, but I've never studied music so I don't really know what to listen for when it comes to a good drummer vs. a bad drummer.

Do people just like to hate on him because he was the face of the whole Napster controversy? Or is he actually a bad drummer? If so, can you explain why or list a few songs that demonstrate his subpar drumming skills?

in the studio he has engineers and producers to fix his shit. he sucks live. one of the worst drummers in the business. for that matter, travis barker, while a decent drummer, uses an awful style that is full of bad habits no drummer should be learning from him. i feel like he will be responsible for thousands of fused wrists in 20 years.

[XDurionX]

He's neither. Metallicas songs have never been very demanding. There's probably tens of thousands of metal (or rock) drummers who are better.

[pansertjald]

Lars Ulrich is a terrible drummer. It is always a 100% guarantee that he plays out of tact at live concerts and usually he does it on several tracks

[Melusine]

Overrated. Metallica hasn't been Metallica since Cliff died.

[Godric]

He does his job I suppose. I’ve never been impressed with really anything he’s done on a technical level.

[Fencers]

Just because Lars is a straightforward drummer doesn't mean he is a "bad" drummer. That's just nonsense by people that don't actually know anything about music. Being a good drummer is fitting the style and intent of the music.

Not everyone needs to have chops like Elvin Jones or Tomas Haake. Those guys wouldn't even be the right fit necessarily for Metallica's music even if they did play it, which undoubtedly they could easily and handily.

Moe Tucker played as simple a beat as can be. She played on White Light/White Heat though. Lars still played on Ride of the Lighting and Kill 'Em All.

Virtuosity means nothing at the end of the day.

[neocount]

He's not a great drummer on a technical level.

But, I honestly think that doesn't really matter. Do you enjoy the music? That's what matters most.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

Lars is good for the genre he plays. He is serviceable for Metallica's sound.


That being said, there are countless bands out there of the same or similar genre with music that is more complex, and with better drummers. If we are going by "is Lars Ulrich the best drummer in metal" then the answer is a hard no.


Is Lars a good drummer? Yes. What constitutes being "good" at drumming? Many factors. And not all factors are based in technique.


(this coming from myself being a drummer for 23 years)


EDIT: A bit off-topic, but I sometimes hate watching Metallica's live shows because I always find myself focusing in on Lar's keeping time or not. He's sometimes... off. He's rarely a tight drummer.

[FuxieDK]

Lars Ulrich is less a musician than his father.

[jazen]

'same time next year' is what I think of when I read or hear the name Lars Ulrich.

[downnola]

Lars is good for the genre he plays. He is serviceable for Metallica's sound.


That being said, there are countless bands out there of the same or similar genre with music that is more complex, and with better drummers. If we are going by "is Lars Ulrich the best drummer in metal" then the answer is a hard no.


Is Lars a good drummer? Yes. What constitutes being "good" at drumming? Many factors. And not all factors are based in technique.


(this coming from myself being a drummer for 23 years)

100% agree with this and I'm also a drummer. I've never understood why people harp on individual skill when it comes to music. Some people are extremely talented yes, but that doesn't mean that musicians that aren't as gifted as others are bad musicians as a result. Lars Ulrich does not have to be on the same technical level as Virgil Donati to be a good drummer or musician. Treating music like it's a competition is completely missing the point of creating and playing music to begin with, imo.

I can understand disliking Lars because he's a pompous ass, but calling him a bad drummer is silly and just wrong.

[fooliuscaesar13]

He's a good enough drummer and adds to the music that they write. IIRC...he's been a writer in just about every song Metallica has ever written. I definitely prefer other metal drummers to Lars, but like others have said: it's not a competition. Luck doesn't sell tens of millions of albums; dude is a good drummer and is in a great band that used to put on some of the best live performances.

[Daymanmb]

Hes okay, not great, not the worst. If you want to hear him try really hard to be better than just okay and fail pretty badly, put on any song from Saint Anger.

[Demsi]

His early stuff with metallica is pretty good, but from what i've seen recently he's pretty stiff in his playing and not very tight in his timing, most likely to do with a lack of practice.