Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong recently commented on the Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich’s drumming skills.
In a new interview with SiriusXM’s ‘The Howard Stern Show’ Green Day promoted their latest album ‘Saviors.’ During the interview, the band was asked about the best-known drummers, which included Ulrich. Touching on the drummer’s creativity, he said:
“Lars has a really unorthodox way of playing. I think he’s a really creative drummer. I think there’s like — as far as the metal drummers of his genre, even up until now, people that were influenced by Metallica, I think there is something very studious about the way other people play.”
The frontman went on the share his thoughts on how James Hetfield and Ulrich play perfectly together:
“But I think that the way that him and James Hetfield play together is so just in lock step. His drum fills are completely unique to the way Lars plays. I really dig the way Lars [plays]. He’s a great drummer.”
The drummer, Tre Cool, agreed and added:
“And his energy is infectious. He’s like a heavy metal muppet.”
What Other Drummers Think Of Ulrich
While there is a controversy going on among the fans as to whether or not Ulrich is a good drummer, other drummers never made this a problem. Gojira drummer Mario Duplantier believes that Ulrich deserves more respect than he typically receives. During an earlier interview, Duplantier elaborated, stating that people need to ‘bring justice’ for the Metallica drummer since it is ‘not just about tempo and speed.’
“It’s what he created in the past. I’m a bit tired of seeing all this conversation about Lars because what he did create is quite unique. Listen to, fucking, ‘…And Justice for All.’ It’s amazing.”
Dave Lombardo, too, is among the drummer who has spoken out against the criticism Ulrich often receives, claiming he ‘admonishes’ those who ‘talk sh*t’ about him. Lombardo also thinks that those who comment negatively about the drummer’s abilities cannot handle the fame they are getting:
“I admonish the people who talk shit about him, I don’t like that. You have to embrace who Lars is, and his contribution to Metallica’s sound. They’re such an inspirational band, and everybody wants to be as big as they are, and you can only do that by taking risks.”
Ulrich’s Reaction To Criticism
Ulrich has gotten a lot of flak over the years from people who accused him of being a poor drummer. He also gets unfairly dismissed by many metal fans and often has his influence on the band overlooked.
Despite all the negative comments, the drummer is not bothered at all. In an earlier interview, the rocker revealed that he and his bandmates used to read every single thing written about them, but not anymore:
“Unlike years ago, I basically don’t read any of the interviews that the other guys [in Metallica] do. 20 or 30 years ago, we would all sit and f*cking read every page of Kerrang! and every page of Circus magazine, see what so-and-so’s saying and what the other band members were saying, what James was saying about this and that. Now there’s just none of that. I also don’t really read what people say about Metallica.”
You can watch the snippet of the interview below.
