The drummer so good he scared Lars Ulrich: “Overwhelming and frightening”
Although it is often the guitarists and lead singers who soak up the limelight, rock and roll would be nowhere without its rhythm sections.
While he is frequently used as a kind of punching bag for drummers across the rock and roll landscape, Lars Ulrich has played an inarguably key role in carving out the sound of Metallica over the years, even if some of his more technically proficient contemporaries still strike fear into his heart.
Drumming is a far more expansive spectrum than it is often given credit for, encapsulating everything from the jazz mastery of Max Roach to the amphetamine-fueled rebellion of Keith Moon, both of which certainly have their merits. Where Ulrich lies on that vast spectrum is up for debate.
On one hand, he has played a key role in hammering out some of the most iconic heavy metal anthems in history; on the other, most drummers would agree that his playing style is rather simplistic, and time-keeping certainly isn’t the sharpest weapon in his arsenal.
Either way, that makes Ulrich something of an outlier within the heavy metal realm. After all, the world of long hair, patch jackets, and an aversion to deodorant has been paved with endless-complex drum solos and guitar riffs since its very beginning back in the late 1960s.
Admittedly, Ulrich has had moments of embracing a more complex, physically demanding drumming style, as any percussionist who has tried to play ‘Dyer’s Eve’ will be all too aware, yet, for the most part, the Metallica drummer cannot help but listen in awe to the complexities of some of his contemporaries.
One such figure of worship who has always had an impression on Ulrich is Nicko McBrain, the musical madman who has been manning the sticks for Iron Maiden since 1982. The sheer size of McBrain’s kit is enough to inspire knee-trembling even in experienced drummers, and Ulrich is certainly no different.
“I’ll sit and talk with Nicko about when he did that with Trust or when he did this with so-and-so,” the Metallica drummer shared in a 2011 exchange with Musicradar. “Every time I’ve even looked at his drum kit, it’s so overwhelming and frightening.”
Not only is the sizable nature of McBrain’s kit intimidating, but the Iron Maiden drummer can play it flawlessly, too, which probably doesn’t help Ulrich’s nerves.. From the drummer’s aforementioned time with French hard rock outfit Trust to his countless contributions to Iron Maiden over the years, McBrain has acted as a kind of blueprint for all other hard rock and heavy metal drummers, even if very few can properly match the skills which he has honed over decades of dedication.
Back to the square footage of McBrain’s drum kit, though, Ulrich continued, “He’s got one of the biggest setups in rock ‘n’ roll – I try to be a little more low-profile – but I’ve never done any of the technical wizardry stuff with them.”
To be fair to Ulrich, his drumming style doesn’t always – if ever – demand a kit the size of McBrain’s; they are two completely different players with distinctly different sounds. Still, it is fair to say that the percussive efforts of the Iron Maiden drummer have impacted Ulrich over the years, regardless of how frightening his kit is.
