Tommy Aldridge, and Bill Ward are better than all those guys. Ringo Starr???? The guy couldn't even come off a roll in time and shouldn't be named anywhere near some of the other names that list.
i agree with most saying that Lars isn't bad, just a total douche. i wasn't impressed with the new single either. Neil Peart is a god and i worship the ground he drums on, i wish i was 1/10 as good as him. Also, need to mention Clive Burr.
Lars is a giant douche, which is why his okay-but-not-legend drumming gets to be a focus at times. As for Metallica in general, I can't stand a song past the black album.
Coming from someone who actually likes the new album and didn't think St Anger was all that horrible, Lars really is a giant twat. And when it comes to getting all due respect for something, personality will play a big part. So unless he was the best of the best, which he's not, then he's going to get ragged on for everything he does.
Three pages in and only one specific critique of his actual drumming style? IMO, it all traces back to the Napster thing. If Lars/Metallica hadn't gotten involved in that, he probably wouldn't be revered as an outstanding drummer or anything, but probably also wouldn't accumulate quite so much hatred. Metallica, in general...I liked "...And Justice For All" through "S&M", but St. Anger was terrible and the new album is fairly uninspired; there's only one song on Death Magnetic I've listened to more than once and even that one isn't great.
Very glad to see Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich come up. Kudos on that. From a technical standpoint, Portnoy and Peart are truly stellar... but having seen Bill Bruford with Yes, King Crimson, and his band Earthworks, he easily takes the "best of all time" spot for me. Regarding Lars, it's not that he's not terrific, because he is... it's that post-And Justice for All, he hasn't seemed to have a lot of opportunities to really open up and show what he can do. I find his playing to be exceptional on RtL, MoP, and AJfA, but from the black album on, nothing in his playing (or Metallica in general) has interested me in the least. Another example of that same thing is Phil Collins. You mention him to a serious drummer and they'll laugh at you, because his playing has been total 4/4 pop-crap for the last thirty years. If you listen to some of the early prog Genesis stuff (circa 1971-1975), he was a VERY competent player... but the music changed, and we didn't get to see much of it after that.
Technically, yes he is a drummer, but if there was some sort of cardinal ranking, he'd be a little below my neighbor's kid and he's apparently fine with that. Being a 'Ringo' makes alot of cash, but that doesn't mean he's great at it. He's just the one that does it. Essentially, he's the drummer with the biggest mouth since '89 and he just doesn't have the chops to be so pompous. So, he's funny.
What is a bad drummer? A drummer who cannot play, or a drummer who has been playing music for decades. Lars was once the pioneers of metal music drummers, but with the changing of times and styles, he has been outdated. However, by no means is he a bad drummer and he has been playing music a long time. Hes just getting old man!
People thought Lars was an ass in the 80s too. He wasn't a pioneer. That's the misconception. Metallica as a whole were pioneers. Lars' drumming was not. James and Kirk did amazing things with the metal sound. Lars is praised by association. And boy does he milk it. Its like when Kim Thayil of Soundgarden became loud doing tons of interviews and people praised his guitar work. But when Chris Cornell left Soundgarden, suddenly people realized they liked Kim cause of Chris, not because of Kim. (By the way Matt Cameron of Soundgarden had a scaled down set and did ten times more with it than Lars could)
Let's not forget Dave Mustaine. He helped build the sound Metallica has today. Many, many riffs and solo techniques found on the first two albums were created by Dave. Dave Mustaine > James & Kirk. Sadly, most people won't acklowledge this, as Mustaine has lived the past 25 years in Metallica's shadow.
Lars is a perfectly adequate drummer most of the time. Justice was recorded in such a ridiculous way it covered his mistakes. Did you see the show in Tucson a few months ago EBK he screwed up A LOT. This thread needs Grimlock_13 to elaborate, but as a Metallica fan I agree Lars' work is pretty uninspired. Danny Carey from Tool woops his ass. Also am I the only one that got the lame "Star Wars Uncle Lars" Joke?
Lars doesn't suck. Though in this day and age compared to other drummers in the metal genre he can't hold his own. I could post a lot of technical jargon about basic time, groove, technique and so forth, but I'd really like to see half the people who rag on him even be able to play remotely close to the way he does in their late fourties. Music is all subjective anyway. Personally I loathe Dream Theater and think Mike Portnoy is completely overrated and there are a lot of people who would think I'm crazy.
This is what I was thinking the whole time. Also what about Vinnie Paul? i am not a musician nor expert nor do I keep up with stuff, but wondering how you guys feel about him. EDIT: I have seen him in concert and it was pretty cool.
I don't have to cook like Bobby Flay to know when something tastes like shit. I don't need to be the One armed drummer from Def Leopard to know Lars is a wanker with an overblown reputation (and ego).
Very true. He even performed on Dethklok's album and you knew his riffs were his the second you heard em. Dave is the man.
Without the drumming for Metallica you wouldn't have had the pioneering sound of Metallica. Im not saying Lars is the greatest drummer in the world and I personally dont think he did anything spectacular. The only thing he did do worthy is be able to play for hours in arenas and that takes alot of endurance. The best musician to come out of Metallica is dead anyways, the band would've been so much different if hadnt been for that tragic day.
He's not bad but ... not that great, in fairness. Like people have said, adequate. In terms of metal bands, check out Brian Harvey from Pig Destroyer, Ben Koller from Converge, or even Joey Jordison from Slipknot. Slipknot get a lot of stick but Jordison is a cracking drummer, and Harvey - despite sharing a name with a tit from boy band East 17 - is absolutely unbelievable. And Ben Koller is just plain amazing, nuff said.
