Why does everyone hate Lars Ulrich's drumming?

[mayslash]

I mean, people truly hate this guy for some reason. He is the reason there was even a Metallica in the first place. I think his drumming on record from Kill em all to Black album was great, and very catchy stuff. After that...however....

Are people trashing him because of his drumming after Black or that he always was bad? Because his drumming on the records from the 80s in great and nowhere near bad.

 

[Shred Astaire]

I don't think its his drumming.

 

[Slick]

...........................

 

[SWeAT hOg]

He's an arrogant dick, that's why people hate his drumming.

 

[mayslash]

I don't think its his drumming.

Really, because I cannot read an article on UG about Metallica without people bashing his drumming in every one

 

[PraXis]

James writes all the songs. I think his drumming was fine until the Black Album, but he degraded since then...nothing really new.

Contrast Metallica to Exodus, who is actually getting better with age, IMO...even though different lineups.. but the music gets better and better whereas Metallica = meh...although Metallica puts on one awesome show....considering they play NO new songs except Fuel.

 

[Pennyman]

For me it's not so much the drumming as how they were produced. I can't stand the sound of his kick.

 

[dangolguitartec]

Watch the frustration on Hetfueld's face...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbhf_VubkfE&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Lars Ulrich - Drumming On Death Magnetic DVD - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Shred Astaire]

Really, because I cannot read an article on UG about Metallica without people bashing his drumming in every one

Well...you ARE reading UG.

 

[Kingdom of Nye]

I was in a session with a drummer once (the same one who played with me on Queensryche and SRC) and he told me a story about lars. This drummer I was playing with used to do lots of session work at the Plant in Sausalito, CA. (This was where part of the Metallica Live Shit boxed set was mixed.) The engineers at the plant let it be known that Lars' nickname around there was "one bar lars" because of the heavy drum-editing that went on when mixing that set.

Apparently, the engineers had to go through three nights of shows to find one bar of passable drumming to use as a loop during the verses of one of the songs. I can't remember which song, I heard this story 8 years ago or so.


Combine this with the biographical information that the band members have put out there in interviews over the years (when your bandmates say "Lars wasn't even a drummer when we started, he didn't even know how to set up his own drums, he'd hit a cymbal and it'd keep falling over" or "our style developed because lars was too nervous to play songs at the correct tempo in a live setting before the first record was recorded and would constantly rush the songs"...

There are also a lot of people who believe that the band won't play certain songs live because the in-studio drum performances were too hard for lars to recreate live. (People said this about dyer's eve forever)

Then he got involved in the big-time litigation, stuck his neck out, and caught tons of shit - deserved or not - all of this just makes it easy for everyone else to jump on the anti-lars wagon. It's an easy stance to take.

I have never met anyone who said "OH, NICK MENZA, HIS DRUMMING SUCKS!" even though he was supposedly fired from megadeth for faking cancer or something like this.

Good drumming and good musicianship speaks for itself.

 

[lunchbox]

I'm not really a fan of his drumming, but for me a lot of that has to do with the metal genre. I find most metal to lack groove, rhythm and 'soul'. And Lars nails that perfectly. He can play fast and like a robot, but IMO, it doesn't have any particular stylistic feel. It's just...there.

Since we're on the subject, contrast Lars to JP Gaster from Clutch, one of the greatest drummers currently playing. JP is all about feel and mixes a bunch of style together. He plays straight rock, jazz, funk, and Latin style percussion in a hard rock band. Freakin' awesome.

 

[Slick]

I like his CHROMEatic drum kit

 

[Leendrix]

I don't hate his drumming. The snare sound from the 90's and most of the music released in the 90's by them? Yes.

 

[PSM]

I mean, people truly hate this guy for some reason. He is the reason there was even a Metallica in the first place. I think his drumming on record from Kill em all to Black album was great, and very catchy stuff. After that...however....

Are people trashing him because of his drumming after Black or that he always was bad? Because his drumming on the records from the 80s in great and nowhere near bad.

I do not for one second believe that Lars Ulrich recorded the drum tracks on Kill Em All, based on the way I've seen him play. Whoever did those drum tracks is a mother****in badass.

 

[PraXis]

St. Anger drums = garbage cans.

 

[PSM]

St. Anger drums = garbage cans.

One of the few albums I turned on and then turned off about 30 seconds into flipping through the tracks, and I've never given it a second chance. When a production is THAT bad and distracting, it's hard for me to focus on the music, and I didn't hear anything that made me want to try.

 

[mayslash]

I'm not really a fan of his drumming, but for me a lot of that has to do with the metal genre. I find most metal to lack groove, rhythm and 'soul'. And Lars nails that perfectly. He can play fast and like a robot, but IMO, it doesn't have any particular stylistic feel. It's just...there.

Since we're on the subject, contrast Lars to JP Gaster from Clutch, one of the greatest drummers currently playing. JP is all about feel and mixes a bunch of style together. He plays straight rock, jazz, funk, and Latin style percussion in a hard rock band. Freakin' awesome.

Um, Metallica is anything but a no grove, rhythmless, soulless band. I don't really like people who don't like metal throwing generalizations about metal being soulless fast music. Speed means nothing. I can name plenty of fast drummers and guitarists that have just as much soul as a guy playing some slow blues

 

[mayslash]

St. Anger drums = garbage cans.

ew....dont remind me

 

[Deftone]

He's an arrogant dick, that's why people hate his drumming.

Agreed, 100%. I'll add that I have never liked his drumming, it sounds weak and he has a terrible sense of rhythm.

IMHO, Metallica has been nothing but crap since Cliff died. James withdrew and Lars took control. James and Cliff were the heart and soul of that band.

 

[sonar1]

Why does everyone hate Lars Ulrich's drumming?

Because he has a German name.