The drummer Lars Ulrich wanted to replace him in Metallica
Since the first Metallica record, much has been said about Lars Ulrich’s drumming capabilities. Although he may be a monumental figure for the band during interviews off the stage, it’s clear that Ulrich hasn’t turned in the same amount of practice time as most of his bandmates, usually having a handful of foul-ups whenever they take to the stage. If the rest of the band did decide to give him the boot, Ulrich has some opinions about who should replace him in the band.
If it weren’t for Ulrich’s determination, though, there’s a good chance that Metallica would have never gotten off the ground in the first place. Throughout the band’s evolution, Ulrich was always looking at the big picture, giving the band their name from the throwaway name of a music magazine and eventually forming a partnership with Hetfield when assembling a song from the ground up.
Though Ulrich may not know the beginnings of theory, he is also responsible for arranging the songs so they feel complete, often in charge of how long to play a riff for and when to transition into another section. However, when it comes to drumming influences, Ulrich would explain that he was indebted to the sounds of progressive rock during the band’s early years.
Combing through the band’s back catalogue, Ulrich was known for creating hectic drum parts, including the massive double bass on ‘The Four Horsemen’ and the various drum fills sprinkled throughout a song like ‘Master of Puppets’. By the time the band had reached the end of the decade, Ulrich figured that he had done everything that he could when trying to play as fast as possible.
Working with Bob Rock on The Black Album, Ulrich started to appreciate the simplicity of holding down a simple groove, giving the band a central pulse when going through their slower material. While Ulrich loved Rush’s Neil Peart throughout his career, he cited Phil Rudd as the one person who could take over his position in the band.
Known as the hard-hitting percussionist behind AC/DC’s early albums, Rudd was known for laying down an equally rock-solid groove behind the band’s most celebrated work. Considering the pulse that goes into Metallica’s work, Ulrich would say that Rudd’s style would fit nicely with the thrash band’s aesthetic.
When discussing a possible replacement, Ulrich recalled, “If I could pick it, if I could hear somebody drum behind James Hetfield’s riffs, I’d take Phil Rudd. He’s been probably my main source of inspiration when we did the turn away from the super-progressive stuff, the crazy stuff after … And Justice For All, when it got a little more about the bounce and the riffs and the feel and the groove and all that. Phil Rudd, he’s the top of that pyramid. Hearing Phil Rudd play behind James, that’d be pretty cool”.
Despite the obvious stylistic clashes on their heavier material, Ulrich’s drumming on songs like ‘Sad But True’ as well as later songs like ‘Dream No More’ fit right into Rudd’s wheelhouse, focusing on the midtempo groove that sounds like a monster plodding across the land. Metallica most likely would not exist without Ulrich, but hearing one of the titans of rock drumming behind Metallica would be a match made in Hell.
