So, we definitely understand metal. Our latest single Betrayal is indicative of that. Thank you for the opportunity to advertise 🙏 open.spotify.com/track/0YQxWEKoDtrnYhzwmz6klG?si=GYwjokm3TFSvwE0GTuyeEA
Very true. I feel like that’s what was great about Lars. Hitting the right parts for the song. Riff, melody , leads and solos. He alters it to serve the tune.
Exactly! The drumming of Lars always serves the song. Accentuates when it needs to, backs off and gives space when it needs to. It never overpowers the song, like much of these clips did.
@@SheaRecordmetal Lars can be sloppy, we all seen it. but his drum parts FIT the song, technical drummers can play in any time signature and stay in time, but that's a different skillset. I hear a lot of music where the drummers are doing something technically skillful, but it doesn't fit in the context of the song and it just sounds like sht, it sounds like noise.
Sad but true has gotta have my favorite drum work from Lars. I love the mixing of the drums on the black album. AJFA and Black album has my favorite drum work in all of metallica
You rocked, especially cause you re found the beat on songs you don't totally know. Over 20 yrs of doing sound for every type of music and playing with many drummers, you kicked ass. Given a day to work on something, even though you wouldn't want to😄 you wouldn't even think of a metronome, I can tell you would just feel it and hit the accents. Fun video
Its sad because the same can be said for Kirk as well. His early solos are killer, but there is a MAJOR difference between the solo to one and the solo to anything now.
@@DanielFlores-gx7xi that happens to most artists over the years. Idk if they run out of creative juice or try to give the people what they think they want instead of expressing themselves like they should.
@@Jihavoh777 i'd say it's less about being out of creative juice and more just not caring as much. Metallica is so successful they probably stopped feeling the need to put effort into music because no matter what they'd make bank. no hate to them at all
Lars is a very special drummer. And definitely one of the reasons that made me love Metallica so much. His technique may not be the most refined and most “practice 8 hours a day” type. But his philosophy as a drummer, is one of the most fascinating, in the context of the band
This video made me realize how much intensity Lars brings with his drumming. Even though he's not the most technically skilled, his energy is what fits with Metallica's sound.
ALSO! The production and mixing are a big part of that. Capturing the right attitude to compliment the song. We went pretty sterile with this one, but we did want to demo the mics.
I've said for many years that Lars secret weapon is that he creates memorable drum beats, which is not an easy thing to do. I think a lot of people find themselves air dumming to Metallica songs more often than they might realize. Hit the Lights, Bellz, Puppets, One, Sad But True, Fuel.... ALL of those songs have definitive drum moments
Yes, that's exactly his strong point on the drums.The intro to Bells, One's double bass part, Fuel is also very particular, SBT and Roam snare intros. The shortest straw and Harvie intros too, so much stuff.
@@andreadg5429 for sure. Lame that people don't recognize that as much as they should. What Lars lacks in perfect timing he more than makes up for in creative approach
@@Kapricorn.Musickthe people that don't "get it" for the most part, are just internet trolls, not actual musicians. You watch any video asking modern metal drummers who their most influential drummers are, and Almost to a person, they'll list Lars in there.
Think people think because they can learn someone else’s songs and do more fills faster and more technical makes them think they’re 10x a better drummer….not a musician tho. That’s one thing, music theory and writing songs with a band that make platinum albums is another. Always thought he just works with James and Kirk’s heavy riffs and harmony, makes them stand out and lets them breathe, and comes in strong at the right time. doesn’t over do it, doesn’t distract from the outstanding guitar and harmony, key word HARMONY, something a lot of thrash or metal bands struggle with and what made Metallica stand out. Also seams to be what’s missing in later albums imo. Definitely a lot of videos of him having bad days but Like it or not That sound we all use to love is largely due to him.
I’ve always felt there were two drummers in Metallica - Lars and James. When critics focus on timing or placement, they forget both the piece composition and contrast sound Lars has opposite James.
James once said something like “I wanted to play the guitar like a drumset, that’s why I chose rhythm over lead”. And I think that captures your point well about two drummers in the band.
@@redbuddy12 I mean Dave is a huge fan, wouldn’t doubt if they influenced each other like that. I remember Dave had Lars on his podcast one time, they must know each other
This is kinda eye opening. This dudes obviously a great drummer yet the power Lars brings is undeniable...I suddenly have more appreciation for what he does in Metallica. He really writes to the song and I think that's awesome.
This really highlights why Lars is so important to Metallica. The drum parts in this vid are more complex and busy. But they just end up making the music sound more generic. Because you hear that busy, technical style of playing a lot in metal. But what Lars brings to the table really makes Metallica’s music stand out because no one else approaches a part quite like Lars does.
As a bass player turned drummer i have more respect for Lars… he plays for the song, what feels right and it works. But live i think he struggles sometimes as we all do
I like his creative spin on them a lot, but more so than the originals? In places sure. I can't deny that bass drum triplet section on No leaf clover, that went so hard! The decades of confirmation bias point is very correct tho. Fuel - solid but preferred Lars's as the accents make more sense to my ears. No leaf - Kind of a basic approach from Lars, your friend added that spice. One - Interesting but Lars for me as that part is iconic imo. He had a TON of fun with this song in places xD The ending harmony melodic solo part was great. Unforgiven solo - Very dope. I'd be happy to have either of these parts. To me the songs were recorded how they were recorded. And we love them the way they are. Love the creative approach here with the vid tho.
So here's my thoughts: Speaking as someone who was raised listening to Metallica and has grown to love a vast majority of Metallica's music, I think he did a great job for a non-Thrash drummer. It's hard for me to rank them because I've never really focused much on the drums, but I think he did pretty well.
Lars is definitely not a useless drummer. He writes and plays his drumpieces to the lyrics and the music, not just one-and-two-and-three-and-four. Lars' drumming is a sheer part of any Metallica song. And not easy to cover at all. So, at times Lars is sloppy, not keeping time correctly and sometimes he even plays a complete different part (like One, live, he used to play it more simple, especially the double-bass part) but lately I must say he is really up to his game again. I like Lars as the trash metal drummer he is. Without Lars' drumming Metallica definitely won't sound the same. Ever.
I think lars and James just had great chemistry. The straightforward in your face aggression didn't need to be flowery. Being less complicated gave more room for the other instruments and gave them emphasis. I love tool and dream theater, but I also love the Beatles. Drummers can be a lead or a support like I feel lars is. Enjoyable takes though.
Lars defined Metallicas feel is all there is too it, this was a fun video to get to explore what a different drummer would do with Metallica songs. But we all know Lars is truly a great drummer not just an ideas guy. Sometimes simplicity is key! Nate did kill it on those last drum fills on no leaf clover though!
Oh the trash can slapper is a great drummer lmao .. no . He has been playing so long but hasnt gotten any better actually worse . Lars is a bad drummer .
@@jsnippes62 I don’t see how a bad drummer could create one of the greatest metal bands of all time, let me know how easy it is after playing for 30 + years of ferocious pioneering thrash metal and he was never trying to be the best he was trying to bring the energy and for that he succeeded and is a great drummer and to execute it every night he’s got my vote.
@@jsnippes62 By great we always mean his influence on metal drumming. He also composed a lot of Metallica's best songs. Nobody has ever complained about his performance on the old stuff, but his drumming on Death Magnetic is pretty good. Hardwired has some cool drum parts on it.
This reminds me of Josh Steffen's ...And Justice for Joey, where he played ...And Justice for All (the song) but interpreted the drum part as Joey Jordison (ex-Slipknot). Specifically the "One" part, where the feel is so durastically different.
Easy. This proves Lars Ulrich right. A long time ago, Lars (Ulrich) said he feels drumming (in a metal band) is meant more for holding rhythm than fancy play as too many drummers add too much drumming into the songs that is an overkill for the sound; and many rolls, fills and what-not do not match the other instruments properly making it sound bad and/or drown out the riffs, chorus, etc. We saw that here. It did not match, drowning out the guitars, too much action, etc. Lars catches so much heat from so many people saying he is lazy but, based on this, it is easy to see how Lars is simply right and he allows the guitars, bass, and vocals to stand out bring over-all complete feel to the song/s. And what angers me is all these people that criticize Lars for laying back on the drums and only pushing it at certain points will praise John Bonham for knowing when to lay back and when to push the drums. People do not know what they're talking about. They're sheep following pop-culture BS gossip.
You're absolutely right about it being easy to say that it just "doesn't sound right". I like what he's done with these clips but there's just a nagging feeling of always being like, "Wait, what? That's not how that part is supposed to feel!" Really cool video man. Sick playing by your friend as well. 🤘 The Unforgiven was probably my favorite of these performances. Followed by Fuel and then One. I would comment about No Leaf Clover but I'm not really familiar with the song.
The “one” drum part would be a great verse in a song. Reminds me of “the heaviest matter in the universe” from Gojira. It just sounds off for the bridge. The unforgiven was hands down the best one the lead in was perfect and felt so smooth.
It's easy to forget that Lars was MAYBE a year into playing when he started the band. James has said multiple times that he could barely play when they first met. His style developed around James riffs essentially. I also think Bob Rock had a huge part in bringing out their style in the 90s and pulling out really awesome parts from them. I feel if Rock was still producing them, he might push them all a little more in terms of parts. Definitely Lars and Kirk for sure.
Lol, the One part was pretty good, but the entire time I felt like I was auditioning a drummer that was struggling. It's kind of like when you spent years listening to the Four Horsemen, so the first time you hear Mechanix, it sounds like Dave is singing in a different language, haha.
He did really great. One was a bit strange to me because of years of bias, and also because it felt like he was playing with the riff while Lars accentuates the guitar riff. But overall it was a good interpretation.
Lars in the 80´s was still a scene kid, he was in touch with the vibe. as time passed by he detached more and more from the raw need of energetic or technical drumming. instead he related his playing with minimal art, like the paintings he was buying after the black album. for me he is a great drummer . but he should reconnect with technicallity more, Metallica needs that!! greetings from Argentina!
My opinion is that Lars' simple parts are more suited to the songs than the more syncopated drumming we see here. The drumming here is more technical than a lot of Lars' drumming. In some ways this makes things interesting, but the real problem is that the drums we see here don't "push" the riffs as much as Lars' more simple choices. A good example is the choice to move to toms during the heavy sections of One; Lars' decision to keep these fills completely on the snare drum is less intricate, but it keeps the guitars and drums connected, and also stays within the range of the song's implied military atmosphere (snare drums and marching to war go together in our heads.
why are people so focused on the drum skills of Lars? He started Metallica. It's his band. He's the best drummer for the band. You're either a fan of the music or not.
No disrespect to the drummer here, he's definitely talented, especially playing out of genre, but this just shows that Lars is a little bit of Ringo Star, everyone makes fun of him, but no one could really replace him
These guys have played together for so many years that they know their styles so good and know how to write the best parts to fit with each other, like puzzle pieces. On a side note: Nathan Sletner absolutely kicks ass!! As a composer, some of the rhythms he was playing got me very curious about his playing.
I have been drumming for a couple of years now and I learned all of these parts at some point or at least listened to them a lot. Nate did an incredible job in morphing the song to his own liking, that's something a lot of people struggle with, but he just rolled with it and made it his own. I personally don't like many fills in songs and Nathan does a lot of them, all of them are really well though out and played really cleanly, so that's definitely a plus. My ranking would probably go like this: 1) The Unforgiven - he steps it down a little bit with the fills, but spices things up a bit here and there. I think he did better than Lars on this one 2) Fuel - I think he did a little bit too much filling, which is something I don't really like, but they fit nicely in there. I think he did as good as Lars. 3) No Leaf Clover - The complexity of fills just doesn't really do it for me, I know it's the outro, but I always thought that the easier fills at the end worked better than something more complex. I think Lars did better on this one, but I wouldn't mind if Nate played S&M3 with them ;) 4) One - This just doesn't work for me at all, I tried to listen to it a few times, but the fills don't really work for me, I don't mind how he changed the feel of the song, but I think he could have done it a little better. Point goes to Lars on this one. Just a note, I really liked Lars as a studio drummer in the mid 80s to early 2000s, St. Anger has many really interesting and thought out drum parts that I love. I personally believe he lost it on Death Magnetic and never really changed after that, his life playing was always inconsistent a he likes to overfill a lot, but I think it's getting better now. I think that if Nate had as much time as Lars to write his own drum parts he would knock it out of the park, but when he is put on the spot he can't really compete with Lars that spend maybe months trying to make the best drum track for the song. That said, great video, great idea and an amazing drummer. You got my thumbs up.
1- Fuel, basically the original with the much needed spice.. 2- no leaf clover, just good fucking drumming, idk. 3- one, missed the feeling of one for me, it was good, but in the context of the whole song it takes me out. What i love about one is that it goes from a painful ballad to really losing your shit in the end. Also the double kick sounding like a machine gun is kinda needed for that song. I love periphery's matt malperns' drumming he did for their cover of it. 4- unforgiven.. idk i never liked that song and it kinda sounded goofy, which he didnt hide in the end haha
I have similar feelings on these myself! Particularly with One, even while we were tracking I was like "....something's off" lol! But the more I've gone through Nate's version the more it's grown on me. I still think Lars' writing is the more appropriate choice, but Nate did some super cool recontextualizing of those moments in a way I would have never imagined.
This topic has come up a few times in the Facebook Metal Group that I run - I always say that Lars is underappreciated as a drum PART WRITER. When people talk about drummers they always focus on technical skill - but Lars' excellence comes from his creativity, arranging, and writing the perfect parts to accentuate what James does.
I really like what Nathan did with No Leaf Clover. The way he played around in the space that he was given fit really well. It was tasteful and still served the song without sounding too flashy.
Not sure if my first post got through or not. If it did, I apologize for repeating myself. I liked this experiment. With the confirmation bias I have as a drummer and listener, I had to listen to the clips a few times to pick up what Nate was putting down. My favorite was No Leaf Clover. Loved how Nate added to the song with some good fills without taking away from the song. Plus riding the cymbal at the very end got my head bobbing. I think Nate elevated the song with his take. 🤘 Second favorite was Unforgiven. Much like Clover, Nate elevated the drum part. Going into the solo was a kickass spot plus his fills helped build up the solo moreso then what Lars did. Tough choice between those two. 👍 Third was One. I tried to fiddle with the feel of that outro a gazillion times and i kept coming back to Lars' version. My favorite spot of the outro is the section right after the harmony section. Over the riff, Lars plays the bass drum on the downbeats instead of the upbeats and accents the power chords on the cymbals. That way of playing it makes the riff sound killer. If Lars had played that beat over the whole outro, the outro would be even better then it is. I loved all the different feels that Nate played, but I gotta go with the original performance. Least favorite is Fuel. It was too much like the original for it be not as interesting as the other three. Weird to say that and yet I would take Nate's take instead of Lars'. Go figure 🤷 Overall this was really cool and it got me thinking about nuance and how subjective music can be. Good stuff dude. Thanks. 👊🤘👊🤘
Thank you so much for the feedbacl and the view 🙏 it's been so cool going through the comments and seeing the vast variety of responses. I found this super eye-opening during and after!
It sounds like the drums are working against the guitar instead of flowing with it. Ihmo I think lars isn't the best drummer but after so many years he's the best drummer for Metallica (except for James). Guitar and drums work so well together and complement each other in most of their songs.
I'm always interested in hearing people's interpretation of music. Good or bad I honestly thinks it makes people better players. That said, these results were 50/50 for me. Drums sounded really good though.
Lars is a solid drummer who plays what needs to be played and knows what the song needs. I love Portnoy and a ton of other technical drummsrs but it's like they try to cram every complicated thing they know in to every song. Something to be said for simplicity and groove and adding to the song what it needs, not being flashy just to be flashy. Lars is my favorite drummer with Chuck Biscuits being a close second for the same reason.
Simplicity comes in the sense of composition, not execution. Lars usually doesn't add anything, he just plays some beats. Portnoy's drumming is a complete song on itself.
I like Nathan's own take on no leaf clover. Not sure which I would prefer more. One was by far the most fascinating for me. I prefer Lars' drumming in that section but that doesn't downgrade Nathan's playing. Talented drummer. I love hearing the creativity of different musicians
You can't replace the feel of lars with Metallica. He's the perfect drummer for them. When i was coming up we considered him one of the best. Its easy to look back and critique
This was really interesting to hear. I really like the original drum parts to all of these songs and personally think Lars did a great job in writing them. When Nate was playing Fuel and One, I realised just how attitude and drive Lars's drum parts added to the song. I always thought that thrash drums were mainly fast and aggressive. Nate's interpretation was awsome, but contrasted against the original parts, there was, in my opinion, a substantial difference in how Lars's take just drove the heavy and powerful guitars. I have a new found appreciation for simple drum parts. Thank you!
I think some of the changes - esp during One - change the vibe and overall groove in places in a way that would've had James telling Lars "no, accent this part" or "less busy here". People often forget that the drum parts aren't just what the drummer thinks will fit well, but what everyone agrees they like the best for the song. Depending on the band, obviously.
In watching many BTS vids, James very rarely tells Lars what to play or not play. I can only think of two times and it was when Lars was WAY off or playing something very strange.
I feel at parts it was overplayed, especially during Fuel,as much as i dont like Lars as a performer his accents are right One was sick tho... really fits well and its so interesting Unforgiven was just so right,i think it fits the emotion of the original the most and yet sounds improved
I LOVED Nate's Fuel. That was probably my favorite 😂😂 there's parts of One where I'm in and others where I'm not haha. But there were some super cool odeas there regardless.
Honestly, James was a beast on rhythm, kirk was a beast on lead, and Cliff was a beast on bass... if it wasn't for Lars mediocre drums and James mediocre vocals, then I think they would have had a difficult time relating with the average listener... It's like Lars was good at knowing what the audience wants to hear
In order of best to worst -unforgiven (until silly part) -fuel -no leaf clover - one For the most part, the fills and basic feel seemed..... off. As in, you can kind of tell this isn't his musical lane. The ONE attempt simply did not fit. I'd go as far as to say it wasn't good. Say what you want about Lars' drumming, it does what it needs to - keeps the time with the band, and gives it the feel the band has. Also, the man is clearly a marketing and business genius. And he generally arranges the songs, he is the idea guy after all
I agree that this guy is talented! Because his takes come after living with the songs for years, I can’t say his takes are better. I’ll just say they’re as good.
I think a lot of the negativity directed towards Lars has nothing to do with his ability as a drummer but rather his personality. Specifically things like when he went after Napster. Before that, you didn't really hear that many people saying that he wasn't a great drummer. Then St. Anger came out and while the actual drumming was okay, the drum sound on that album is legendarily bad and that was Lars' idea. But it's much harder to criticize him for his actual playing. Maybe he's lost a step but that happens when drummers get older. Some even have to retire all together because their bodies just aren't up to it anymore. Is he the greatest drummer of all time? No, but he's very good at what he does, it'd just be nice if he was less of a jerk.
I still think it's very interesting to go back and listen to the concert where Joey Jordison filled in for Lars. Just a totally different off the rails vibe. That's what was soo incredible about Joey. He felt like a freight train coming off the tracks.
While Lars has put down lackluster work on more recent Metallica albums he is still the only one who could improve his work. Lars sounds like Lars, can't take that away from him
Honestly, I mostly really REALLY loved what Nate did with 4 of the 5 songs. I don’t know if I can rank them, but I can certainly tell you that, his sense of groove, timing, and his instinct as far as where and when to go with a drum roll is SO. SUPER. ON. POINT!! I’d love to hear him on original tunes. (This is my first video I’ve ever seen of yours, so if there is originals, I’ll get to them. You got a subscriber in me!!). I like your drummers total vibe. From one musician, to another… Great fucking drummer!! >M
Interesting song selections . I think Nate did fine on Fuel , No Leaf Clover and Nothing Else Matters . I would say he did best on No Leaf Clover to my ear . Choosing One was a bold choice . Personally I think Justice is Lars at his best . So I can't say I preferred Nates take on One . That said One is a masterpiece and very hard to improve upon . Cool video idea though , Cheers Mike and Nate. 🥃
I always liked his drumming. Very musical player. Lars, Dave Lombardo, and Charlie Benante were it a n the thrash metal world back in the 80's, the era I was in my teens to early 20's.
Here's the thing. Lars is like Ringo. He is definitely not what a music scholar would call a good drummer. He has very poor technique, BUT he's got personality in his playing. There's a "punk" feeling in his playing, that gives the songs a certain "rudeness" and primitivity in the good sense of the term. That can't be replaced by technical prowess and skill, sure it would sound more "musical", but it won't be really better. That being said, I really liked what your friend did in Fuel and No Leaf, that are more groove based songs
@@Nissardpertugiu In 1984 I absolutely agree, but we're taking for the level of dexterity and technical prowess that most metal bands have achieved since the 80's , these are played by any GOOD drummer and with little difficulty. Can you imagine Lars in Slayer tough, or Megadeth, or Mercyful Fate? Any band, name it
@@soccrattes2295 aha , just one thing songwriting technique and skill as individual are different things. Just because you don't put all your shops into what you write don't mean you re very poor . Also who cares about competition of the neighboor. If you re good at what you do and you have an unique style. You go with that. Tell me where you have to fit with the standards and the neighboor is doing ? And what is the purpose of this ? A little lesson of humility right there, even with guys ive met in the middle of nowhere ( ive spend new years eve 2019 with Stephen priestly, the guy who plays on a certain Morbid Tales...), bill ward, even Steve Vai, Donald Tardy, Cozy Powell , Chris reifert or Iggor Cavalera, Ian Paice.... Concentrate into what you do well and use it the best you can that fit the song and entity of yours. They don't care about the stuff around.. They do what they do. And they very aware of what they can't do and admit it without beign afraid in front of others drummers that are doing their specific stuff. Everybody is better to something to someone at this own conception.. They re all creators, Lars was too. He made great things on legendary songs that changed the genre, who fucking cares if there re people playing more notes or upped the speed after it ( initiated in part also by Lars ). Why don't you all appreciate things the way they are for what they contribute and are ? Why you feel forced to get that dick contest ? And if others people took things further or play other stuff, why it would devaluate what Lars did ? Or anyone else. Lars and Mercyful Fate... Yet you need to check Ride the Lightning , Master of Puppets again. If some stuff as changes and fills on toms and coordinations with feet don't have a smell of Kim Kuzz with a more barbaric agression took from Phil animal, Judas Priest and Venom ,i don't know what it is. Also some fills that took inspirations from Cozy Powell. Some stuff from Justice as well. Lars has some swing and facetts from guys such Keith moon, Ian Paice, Bill Ward, The 2 first budgie drummers etc... Lars in 1998, did all the fills note for note of Melissa album on Mercyful Fate tribute , Live . You don't seem aware also Lars did play really well with some swag on Return of the Vampire re recorded classic when Mercyful fate did his come back album in 1993 ? But you know, Lars is perfect for metallica , thats enough. Like you can't imagine the Beatles without Ringo , The Who without Keith , The Police without Steward and Trapeze without Dave Holland.
@@soccrattes2295 even if some stuff can be played by some good drummers like you say... They came after Lars right ? They may be able to play it But did they created it ? In such influential songs ? Do you think they could create it as well he did within the song DNA ? No... Because its not just how well you play, its how you think the music. Did they created the part of
That is why I enjoy these latest songs from new album I love that punk/hardcore bang on these beats, that he is capable of making such satisfying rhythms at this age is amazing!
Im a guitarist, but i still got lars’ name printed on the back of my shirt. That tells you what i think of lars. At the same time as for your friend, it takes gigantic balls to put yourself out there on the internet attempting to replace one of the greatest bands’ drum parts. :)
I don't find it sounds off at all. Timing wise it's on point. I found the One cuts sounded kind of over packed. No leaf Clover sounded awesome to me. There's something to be said about the chemistry between the band mates.
It's such a trip hearing different drums over these. 1 Fuel was cool. I liked the tom groove part towards the end. 2 I'm not familiar enough with No Leaf Clover to give an honest opinion. 3 One had some sick fills. The weird floor tom/ride groove? thing was pretty sick. 4 unforgiven was my favorite Because the end made me laugh. Dude is a sick drummer. I feel like maybe if he had way more time to plan out what he wanted to do then practice the parts it could have been even better. Overall really cool video.
As you said it's Soooo difficult to detach your self from an original drummer and what your ear is used to, personally I couldn't, but I loved the experiment, u have a kick ass drummer there, thanks for the time and effort on this video.
Life-long drummer and I think my biggest take away from the way Lars drums is his particular way of accenting the guitar riffs. In a rhythm-heavy writing group, the drums are set in one pattern and the guitar stays close to that unchanging beat. With Metallica in the old days, it always felt to me like Lars was playing rhythm guitar on his drums. He very often mirrored the riffs so closely with his accents and beats. Much more so than any other band I can recall. As for his skill level and application today....I will just enjoy my memories of the early albums. Also, good luck to your drummer when he goes back and listens to the Justice album and tries to memorize all of the different fills and accents in each song, on that record.
A few of the best things to work on would be "And justice for all" and "Welcome home sanitarium" since you mention working on other tracks. "Sanitarium" is great for the droning quality and build up imho. "Justice" is a great track for practicing quick tempo changes that for better or worse don't work well with metronomes. Lot's of half-time feel and passages that speed up as you enter and exit them. There often is no static tempo much like dream theater.
His parts just dont fir Metallica. He's a solid drummer, but he doesn't do Metallica justice like Lars does. He's not a bad drummer. This is not bad drumming. It just doesnt sever these songs in this style as well. I actually have a whole new respect for Lars, but you can hear a lot of nuance in Lars' playing. Your drummers ending to One wasnt bad. Im gonna listen a few more times to see if that changes what Im hearing, but thats my honest opinion. Oh, and his part to Unforgiven solo worked....except for the very end, obviously 😅
I can't do it, I can't un-hear the correct drums and all of this sounds weird and wrong to me. I'm sure your dude is great, I will definitely go check out your new song "Betrayal" and I'd love to hear more of his drumming to songs he actually knows. I love Lars' drumming on these songs and I wish you could've somehow known my least favorites so I could hear your guy's take on them instead. This is a really hard thing for anyone to do, so big respect to him for even trying. The STP thing he was talking about shows he knows his stuff. For example, the solo in "Unforgiven" would probably sound cool with a ride beat in an alternate universe. Thanks for the video Mike.
No confirmation bias, I can say that because a decade ago we covered 5 metallica songs progressve style, and even though I wasn't the drummer I wrote half of the drum parts. In metallica's music drums are there to support music. It's nearly impossible to keep the vibe without breaking this rule. Imo, your friend is cool. but it was a terrible execution add nothing to the overall music and taken away a lot of power.
This video makes me feel like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" after he get's his decoder ring, and receives the secret message from Little Orphan Annie. "A crumby commercial?...Son of a Bitch..."
James Hetfield said it best. He says(paraphrased) they are all average players in their industry that sound great together. There are 8 year Olds on UA-cam covering Piert or playing eruption. Zakk Wylde sounds metal af playing a hello kitty guitar. Your drummer sounds great, but doesn't sound great doing metallica. Unforgiven wasn't half bad though.
To this day there are some Metallica songs I have yet to be able to play bc of the unusual approach and timing that Lars uses on those songs. My favorite album is ....and justice for all. The drumming on that is phenomenal. I was blown away as a kid listening to all the different changes and fills he did through just one song I couldn't imagine learning much less remembering all those parts. It's not so much the speed but just the complexity of the fills that I have yet to land while playing along to the songs.
I really appreciate the hard work that went into this experiment. Nate is a fantastic drummer. I believe it really under scores how effective Lars is with his writing. He knows when to get out of the way, but still keep the song moving. He is an ideas guy just like Tom Brady is an "idea's guy" quarterback. Both have dad bods, both both use their brains ensure the devil is in the details. Lars said it best when he was once asked if he was the best drummer. He replied with "I'm the best drummer to play behind James Hetfield."
1. One-I really liked it. Not the classic drums I fell in love with like Mike said, but still very good 2. The Unforgiven-Very good. Not much more to say 3. Fuel-Good, but too similar to the original to be the favorite 4. Not musically literate, but maybe the drums were too far forward in the mix and felt like they were intruding on the vocals. The drums were good, but I think the final product took away from that
These are all really interesting! Nate is one hell of a skilled drummer, the dude plays with such fluidity. The "One" takes in particular stood out for me. Metallica is a guitar driven band. When more complicated drums come into the mix, especially for example in the outro to "One", it sounds like the drummer is trying to compete with the guitar parts and the song actually loses a lot of its power. It sounds like every instrument in the band is reaching for maximum attention all at the same time. It is something that I tend to notice in how a lot of modern metal bands play.
1) One: really cool creative bits using the Toms like crazy bongos 2) Fuel, if I were magically a drummer I would have added some crazy double kick parts and punk sensibilities like he did with one. I did really like the little phrases and intricacies he put in 3 & ) 4) No leaf clover joint with Unforgiven. I prefer the up tempo songa and these two sound quite similar and I couldn't really tell them apart
Loved fuel and unforgiven. No leaf clover was take it or leave it. One was the hardest to digest. I had some very interesting part, especially some of the fills if placed correctly, although I believe the songs needs more minimal drumming to let the rythm shine at the outro.
Some fills didn't land as well as the originals imo, but I'd say that's due to improvisation vs written parts. I did like all the drumbeats though, that's for sure! Don't know if I prefer them, but they fit the songs just fine
It's a challenge to play at Nate's level, but it's a bigger challenge to not. I've got chewed out many times for overplaying in the past and pushing the tempo, and the worst was when I added a gospel chop in a Sia cover song, truly embarrassing.
It was cool to see that interpretation especially when the goofy drummer appeared at the end of Unforgivon. I can relate to that. But, Lars does have his own approach and I think it does set him apart. Like some of the drumming on garage days (Jason's first recording, e.p.) I did appreciate it, thanks.
I don’t think the two of you understand metal. These fills don’t fit. No confirmation bias here. Just no flow to most of these fills.
So, we definitely understand metal. Our latest single Betrayal is indicative of that. Thank you for the opportunity to advertise 🙏 open.spotify.com/track/0YQxWEKoDtrnYhzwmz6klG?si=GYwjokm3TFSvwE0GTuyeEA
@@BecomeTheKnight Lmao nice plug! Even 10 bottles deep in the sauce I'm sure you understand more about metal than ajohnson929 xD
@@SexycuteStudios any real fan buys cds and rips them
@William Rumley you cam find it on UA-cam as well ua-cam.com/video/ZIM1OMSsuuU/v-deo.html
And all streaming platforms 😁
Never heard of you. Keep trying though.
This was eye opening.
Kirks solo just doesn't hit the same without Lars behind the kit.
Very true. I feel like that’s what was great about Lars. Hitting the right parts for the song. Riff, melody , leads and solos. He alters it to serve the tune.
Exactly! The drumming of Lars always serves the song. Accentuates when it needs to, backs off and gives space when it needs to. It never overpowers the song, like much of these clips did.
@@SheaRecordmetal Lars can be sloppy, we all seen it. but his drum parts FIT the song, technical drummers can play in any time signature and stay in time, but that's a different skillset. I hear a lot of music where the drummers are doing something technically skillful, but it doesn't fit in the context of the song and it just sounds like sht, it sounds like noise.
It's easy to rag on Lars but when sad but true comes on we all start to headbang with the drums.
Damn straight!
You can be a great musician and also an a-hole; like Lars.
Sad but true has gotta have my favorite drum work from Lars. I love the mixing of the drums on the black album. AJFA and Black album has my favorite drum work in all of metallica
I hate this song. Gimme harvester or leper messiah instead.
Not me, I don't listen to boomer core
Thanks so much for having me be a part of this, my brotha!
Loved your drumming dude. Very interesting takes on those Metallica songs
You rocked, especially cause you re found the beat on songs you don't totally know. Over 20 yrs of doing sound for every type of music and playing with many drummers, you kicked ass. Given a day to work on something, even though you wouldn't want to😄 you wouldn't even think of a metronome, I can tell you would just feel it and hit the accents. Fun video
Great job! Loved all the takes, especially on One! Definitely SPICIER
Good job man!
You did good! Ty for your drumming on these songs
Lars slacked off for many years but those first couple decades I can’t imagine anyone else behind the kit.
Its sad because the same can be said for Kirk as well. His early solos are killer, but there is a MAJOR difference between the solo to one and the solo to anything now.
@@DanielFlores-gx7xi That's the good old overdoing phenomena.
@@DanielFlores-gx7xi that happens to most artists over the years. Idk if they run out of creative juice or try to give the people what they think they want instead of expressing themselves like they should.
@@Jihavoh777 i'd say it's less about being out of creative juice and more just not caring as much. Metallica is so successful they probably stopped feeling the need to put effort into music because no matter what they'd make bank. no hate to them at all
And he is not 20 anymore and Lars was never a Thomas Lang but drummed the parts for those songs
Lars is a very special drummer. And definitely one of the reasons that made me love Metallica so much. His technique may not be the most refined and most “practice 8 hours a day” type. But his philosophy as a drummer, is one of the most fascinating, in the context of the band
Lars is a very special drummer. 'Nuff said.
This video made me realize how much intensity Lars brings with his drumming. Even though he's not the most technically skilled, his energy is what fits with Metallica's sound.
ALSO! The production and mixing are a big part of that. Capturing the right attitude to compliment the song. We went pretty sterile with this one, but we did want to demo the mics.
@@BecomeTheKnight GOAT.
Yeah, especially in One
I would totally agree with that.
Not technically skilled? His technical skill is FANTASTIC.
Lars may not be the most technical drummer, but he is the RIGHT drummer 🤘🔥credit to your friend for putting himself out there, great illustration!
I've said for many years that Lars secret weapon is that he creates memorable drum beats, which is not an easy thing to do. I think a lot of people find themselves air dumming to Metallica songs more often than they might realize. Hit the Lights, Bellz, Puppets, One, Sad But True, Fuel.... ALL of those songs have definitive drum moments
Yes, that's exactly his strong point on the drums.The intro to Bells, One's double bass part, Fuel is also very particular, SBT and Roam snare intros. The shortest straw and Harvie intros too, so much stuff.
@@andreadg5429 for sure. Lame that people don't recognize that as much as they should. What Lars lacks in perfect timing he more than makes up for in creative approach
YES!
@@Kapricorn.Musickthe people that don't "get it" for the most part, are just internet trolls, not actual musicians. You watch any video asking modern metal drummers who their most influential drummers are, and Almost to a person, they'll list Lars in there.
Think people think because they can learn someone else’s songs and do more fills faster and more technical makes them think they’re 10x a better drummer….not a musician tho. That’s one thing, music theory and writing songs with a band that make platinum albums is another. Always thought he just works with James and Kirk’s heavy riffs and harmony, makes them stand out and lets them breathe, and comes in strong at the right time. doesn’t over do it, doesn’t distract from the outstanding guitar and harmony, key word HARMONY, something a lot of thrash or metal bands struggle with and what made Metallica stand out. Also seams to be what’s missing in later albums imo. Definitely a lot of videos of him having bad days but Like it or not That sound we all use to love is largely due to him.
I wouldn't change a thing about Lars's drumming. He's exactly where he should be IMO.
It wouldn't be that Metallica sound we all know without him
I’ve always defended Lars’ drumming and never thought he was the worst, so I appreciate this video.
Surprised to see you here!
I’ve always felt there were two drummers in Metallica - Lars and James. When critics focus on timing or placement, they forget both the piece composition and contrast sound Lars has opposite James.
James once said something like “I wanted to play the guitar like a drumset, that’s why I chose rhythm over lead”. And I think that captures your point well about two drummers in the band.
@@Cheeseburgerman23 Dave Grohl said he does the same thing lol. That's kind of interesting actually.
@@redbuddy12 I mean Dave is a huge fan, wouldn’t doubt if they influenced each other like that. I remember Dave had Lars on his podcast one time, they must know each other
@@Cheeseburgerman23 I'll have to check that out
Congratulation for the worst snare sound ever
This is kinda eye opening. This dudes obviously a great drummer yet the power Lars brings is undeniable...I suddenly have more appreciation for what he does in Metallica. He really writes to the song and I think that's awesome.
No he's not a great drummer
@@boomslayer66 literally this video is the proof that he is great
@@boomslayer66 cringe
@@boomslayer66 bet it’s cause he played too much CoD instead of practicing ;)
@@boomslayer66 he is no matter how much you cry.Just becausr you don't like black album doesn't mean Lars is a bad drummer lol
This really highlights why Lars is so important to Metallica.
The drum parts in this vid are more complex and busy. But they just end up making the music sound more generic. Because you hear that busy, technical style of playing a lot in metal.
But what Lars brings to the table really makes Metallica’s music stand out because no one else approaches a part quite like Lars does.
Its sounds smaller too.
Lars make it sound bigger.
As a bass player turned drummer i have more respect for Lars… he plays for the song, what feels right and it works. But live i think he struggles sometimes as we all do
I like his creative spin on them a lot, but more so than the originals? In places sure. I can't deny that bass drum triplet section on No leaf clover, that went so hard! The decades of confirmation bias point is very correct tho.
Fuel - solid but preferred Lars's as the accents make more sense to my ears.
No leaf - Kind of a basic approach from Lars, your friend added that spice.
One - Interesting but Lars for me as that part is iconic imo. He had a TON of fun with this song in places xD The ending harmony melodic solo part was great.
Unforgiven solo - Very dope. I'd be happy to have either of these parts.
To me the songs were recorded how they were recorded. And we love them the way they are. Love the creative approach here with the vid tho.
So here's my thoughts: Speaking as someone who was raised listening to Metallica and has grown to love a vast majority of Metallica's music, I think he did a great job for a non-Thrash drummer. It's hard for me to rank them because I've never really focused much on the drums, but I think he did pretty well.
How does he do it, you may ask yourself? It’s simple. He’s Nathan.
Absolute Mad Man. Says so on our website.
Awesome job. "Gimme Fu, gimme Fa, gimme dabadadabazahhh!!" 🤘🏾
Lars is definitely not a useless drummer. He writes and plays his drumpieces to the lyrics and the music, not just one-and-two-and-three-and-four. Lars' drumming is a sheer part of any Metallica song. And not easy to cover at all. So, at times Lars is sloppy, not keeping time correctly and sometimes he even plays a complete different part (like One, live, he used to play it more simple, especially the double-bass part) but lately I must say he is really up to his game again. I like Lars as the trash metal drummer he is. Without Lars' drumming Metallica definitely won't sound the same. Ever.
I think lars and James just had great chemistry. The straightforward in your face aggression didn't need to be flowery. Being less complicated gave more room for the other instruments and gave them emphasis. I love tool and dream theater, but I also love the Beatles. Drummers can be a lead or a support like I feel lars is. Enjoyable takes though.
Lars defined Metallicas feel is all there is too it, this was a fun video to get to explore what a different drummer would do with Metallica songs. But we all know Lars is truly a great drummer not just an ideas guy. Sometimes simplicity is key! Nate did kill it on those last drum fills on no leaf clover though!
Oh the trash can slapper is a great drummer lmao .. no . He has been playing so long but hasnt gotten any better actually worse . Lars is a bad drummer .
@@jsnippes62 I don’t see how a bad drummer could create one of the greatest metal bands of all time, let me know how easy it is after playing for 30 + years of ferocious pioneering thrash metal and he was never trying to be the best he was trying to bring the energy and for that he succeeded and is a great drummer and to execute it every night he’s got my vote.
@@jsnippes62 By great we always mean his influence on metal drumming. He also composed a lot of Metallica's best songs.
Nobody has ever complained about his performance on the old stuff, but his drumming on Death Magnetic is pretty good. Hardwired has some cool drum parts on it.
@@jsnippes62 Most people seem to agree that his drumming on the old stuff was iconic despite often being simplistic
This reminds me of Josh Steffen's ...And Justice for Joey, where he played ...And Justice for All (the song) but interpreted the drum part as Joey Jordison (ex-Slipknot). Specifically the "One" part, where the feel is so durastically different.
Oh I have to check that out!!!
@@BecomeTheKnight definitely check that out if you like those types of covers
Easy. This proves Lars Ulrich right.
A long time ago, Lars (Ulrich) said he feels drumming (in a metal band) is meant more for holding rhythm than fancy play as too many drummers add too much drumming into the songs that is an overkill for the sound; and many rolls, fills and what-not do not match the other instruments properly making it sound bad and/or drown out the riffs, chorus, etc.
We saw that here. It did not match, drowning out the guitars, too much action, etc.
Lars catches so much heat from so many people saying he is lazy but, based on this, it is easy to see how Lars is simply right and he allows the guitars, bass, and vocals to stand out bring over-all complete feel to the song/s.
And what angers me is all these people that criticize Lars for laying back on the drums and only pushing it at certain points will praise John Bonham for knowing when to lay back and when to push the drums. People do not know what they're talking about. They're sheep following pop-culture BS gossip.
We all can hack on lars, i know i have, but man did he get the job done well for a good deal of his career.
Nathan the red is a majestic wizard.
You're absolutely right about it being easy to say that it just "doesn't sound right". I like what he's done with these clips but there's just a nagging feeling of always being like, "Wait, what? That's not how that part is supposed to feel!"
Really cool video man. Sick playing by your friend as well. 🤘
The Unforgiven was probably my favorite of these performances. Followed by Fuel and then One.
I would comment about No Leaf Clover but I'm not really familiar with the song.
The “one” drum part would be a great verse in a song. Reminds me of “the heaviest matter in the universe” from Gojira. It just sounds off for the bridge. The unforgiven was hands down the best one the lead in was perfect and felt so smooth.
That was my first thought. The swaying feeling is catchy
It's easy to forget that Lars was MAYBE a year into playing when he started the band. James has said multiple times that he could barely play when they first met. His style developed around James riffs essentially.
I also think Bob Rock had a huge part in bringing out their style in the 90s and pulling out really awesome parts from them. I feel if Rock was still producing them, he might push them all a little more in terms of parts. Definitely Lars and Kirk for sure.
Cool video, makes you appreciate Lars really. I think Lars actually has some of the most memorable drum parts in metal. One, Justice etc.
Lol, the One part was pretty good, but the entire time I felt like I was auditioning a drummer that was struggling. It's kind of like when you spent years listening to the Four Horsemen, so the first time you hear Mechanix, it sounds like Dave is singing in a different language, haha.
He did really great. One was a bit strange to me because of years of bias, and also because it felt like he was playing with the riff while Lars accentuates the guitar riff. But overall it was a good interpretation.
I was hoping someone would say something about the "mic boom" lol. I was laughing during that whole ad.
Lars in the 80´s was still a scene kid, he was in touch with the vibe. as time passed by he detached more and more from the raw need of energetic or technical drumming. instead he related his playing with minimal art, like the paintings he was buying after the black album. for me he is a great drummer . but he should reconnect with technicallity more, Metallica needs that!! greetings from Argentina!
the unforgiven part was my personal favourite, there was a lot of emotion in it, it's like hearing a blues drummer playing it.
My opinion is that Lars' simple parts are more suited to the songs than the more syncopated drumming we see here. The drumming here is more technical than a lot of Lars' drumming. In some ways this makes things interesting, but the real problem is that the drums we see here don't "push" the riffs as much as Lars' more simple choices. A good example is the choice to move to toms during the heavy sections of One; Lars' decision to keep these fills completely on the snare drum is less intricate, but it keeps the guitars and drums connected, and also stays within the range of the song's implied military atmosphere (snare drums and marching to war go together in our heads.
why are people so focused on the drum skills of Lars? He started Metallica. It's his band. He's the best drummer for the band. You're either a fan of the music or not.
Spot on!👌👌👌
He is just not a good drummer
That blast near the end of the One solo he did there to accentuate the melody was genius. Something Dave Lombardo or Gene Hoglan might have done too
No disrespect to the drummer here, he's definitely talented, especially playing out of genre, but this just shows that Lars is a little bit of Ringo Star, everyone makes fun of him, but no one could really replace him
These guys have played together for so many years that they know their styles so good and know how to write the best parts to fit with each other, like puzzle pieces. On a side note: Nathan Sletner absolutely kicks ass!! As a composer, some of the rhythms he was playing got me very curious about his playing.
I have been drumming for a couple of years now and I learned all of these parts at some point or at least listened to them a lot. Nate did an incredible job in morphing the song to his own liking, that's something a lot of people struggle with, but he just rolled with it and made it his own. I personally don't like many fills in songs and Nathan does a lot of them, all of them are really well though out and played really cleanly, so that's definitely a plus. My ranking would probably go like this:
1) The Unforgiven - he steps it down a little bit with the fills, but spices things up a bit here and there. I think he did better than Lars on this one
2) Fuel - I think he did a little bit too much filling, which is something I don't really like, but they fit nicely in there. I think he did as good as Lars.
3) No Leaf Clover - The complexity of fills just doesn't really do it for me, I know it's the outro, but I always thought that the easier fills at the end worked better than something more complex. I think Lars did better on this one, but I wouldn't mind if Nate played S&M3 with them ;)
4) One - This just doesn't work for me at all, I tried to listen to it a few times, but the fills don't really work for me, I don't mind how he changed the feel of the song, but I think he could have done it a little better. Point goes to Lars on this one.
Just a note, I really liked Lars as a studio drummer in the mid 80s to early 2000s, St. Anger has many really interesting and thought out drum parts that I love. I personally believe he lost it on Death Magnetic and never really changed after that, his life playing was always inconsistent a he likes to overfill a lot, but I think it's getting better now. I think that if Nate had as much time as Lars to write his own drum parts he would knock it out of the park, but when he is put on the spot he can't really compete with Lars that spend maybe months trying to make the best drum track for the song. That said, great video, great idea and an amazing drummer. You got my thumbs up.
No other drummer sounds right with Metallica, Lars is a guitarist drummer, his drum work on AJFA was fabulous, Lars is a very good drummer
1- Fuel, basically the original with the much needed spice..
2- no leaf clover, just good fucking drumming, idk.
3- one, missed the feeling of one for me, it was good, but in the context of the whole song it takes me out. What i love about one is that it goes from a painful ballad to really losing your shit in the end. Also the double kick sounding like a machine gun is kinda needed for that song. I love periphery's matt malperns' drumming he did for their cover of it.
4- unforgiven.. idk i never liked that song and it kinda sounded goofy, which he didnt hide in the end haha
I have similar feelings on these myself! Particularly with One, even while we were tracking I was like "....something's off" lol! But the more I've gone through Nate's version the more it's grown on me. I still think Lars' writing is the more appropriate choice, but Nate did some super cool recontextualizing of those moments in a way I would have never imagined.
This topic has come up a few times in the Facebook Metal Group that I run - I always say that Lars is underappreciated as a drum PART WRITER.
When people talk about drummers they always focus on technical skill - but Lars' excellence comes from his creativity, arranging, and writing the perfect parts to accentuate what James does.
I really like what Nathan did with No Leaf Clover. The way he played around in the space that he was given fit really well. It was tasteful and still served the song without sounding too flashy.
My ranking is
#1 - one
#2 - gimme two, gimme fire
#3 - three leaf clover
#4 - unfourgiven
Not sure if my first post got through or not. If it did, I apologize for repeating myself.
I liked this experiment. With the confirmation bias I have as a drummer and listener, I had to listen to the clips a few times to pick up what Nate was putting down.
My favorite was No Leaf Clover. Loved how Nate added to the song with some good fills without taking away from the song. Plus riding the cymbal at the very end got my head bobbing. I think Nate elevated the song with his take. 🤘
Second favorite was Unforgiven. Much like Clover, Nate elevated the drum part. Going into the solo was a kickass spot plus his fills helped build up the solo moreso then what Lars did. Tough choice between those two. 👍
Third was One. I tried to fiddle with the feel of that outro a gazillion times and i kept coming back to Lars' version. My favorite spot of the outro is the section right after the harmony section. Over the riff, Lars plays the bass drum on the downbeats instead of the upbeats and accents the power chords on the cymbals. That way of playing it makes the riff sound killer. If Lars had played that beat over the whole outro, the outro would be even better then it is. I loved all the different feels that Nate played, but I gotta go with the original performance.
Least favorite is Fuel. It was too much like the original for it be not as interesting as the other three. Weird to say that and yet I would take Nate's take instead of Lars'. Go figure 🤷
Overall this was really cool and it got me thinking about nuance and how subjective music can be. Good stuff dude. Thanks. 👊🤘👊🤘
Thank you so much for the feedbacl and the view 🙏 it's been so cool going through the comments and seeing the vast variety of responses. I found this super eye-opening during and after!
Cool to really see someone engage with the content
Lars hands added groove. Yes they were overactive sometimes, but they were groovy. His feet created ... space for the mix?
It sounds like the drums are working against the guitar instead of flowing with it. Ihmo I think lars isn't the best drummer but after so many years he's the best drummer for Metallica (except for James). Guitar and drums work so well together and complement each other in most of their songs.
This was super cool. Confirmation bias did make some of it feel weird but it was always cool. What he did with No Leaf Clover was fucking great
Fuel, No Leaf Clover and The Unforgiven were definitely my favorites I feel Nate gave those parts a bit for personality especially Fuel
I'm always interested in hearing people's interpretation of music. Good or bad I honestly thinks it makes people better players. That said, these results were 50/50 for me. Drums sounded really good though.
Lars is a solid drummer who plays what needs to be played and knows what the song needs. I love Portnoy and a ton of other technical drummsrs but it's like they try to cram every complicated thing they know in to every song. Something to be said for simplicity and groove and adding to the song what it needs, not being flashy just to be flashy. Lars is my favorite drummer with Chuck Biscuits being a close second for the same reason.
I totally agree, Lars have the groove and dont overplay.
Simplicity comes in the sense of composition, not execution. Lars usually doesn't add anything, he just plays some beats. Portnoy's drumming is a complete song on itself.
"Was" a solid drummer 20 years ago
I like Nathan's own take on no leaf clover. Not sure which I would prefer more. One was by far the most fascinating for me. I prefer Lars' drumming in that section but that doesn't downgrade Nathan's playing. Talented drummer. I love hearing the creativity of different musicians
You can't replace the feel of lars with Metallica. He's the perfect drummer for them. When i was coming up we considered him one of the best. Its easy to look back and critique
This was really interesting to hear. I really like the original drum parts to all of these songs and personally think Lars did a great job in writing them.
When Nate was playing Fuel and One, I realised just how attitude and drive Lars's drum parts added to the song. I always thought that thrash drums were mainly fast and aggressive. Nate's interpretation was awsome, but contrasted against the original parts, there was, in my opinion, a substantial difference in how Lars's take just drove the heavy and powerful guitars.
I have a new found appreciation for simple drum parts. Thank you!
Your drummer is awesome , I really like his feel
Nate kicks tons off ass 🤘
I think some of the changes - esp during One - change the vibe and overall groove in places in a way that would've had James telling Lars "no, accent this part" or "less busy here". People often forget that the drum parts aren't just what the drummer thinks will fit well, but what everyone agrees they like the best for the song. Depending on the band, obviously.
In watching many BTS vids, James very rarely tells Lars what to play or not play. I can only think of two times and it was when Lars was WAY off or playing something very strange.
@@PerfectSense77 Ah, fair enough. I can only go by bands I've been in where people kinda collaborate to get something everyone is happy with.
I feel at parts it was overplayed, especially during Fuel,as much as i dont like Lars as a performer his accents are right
One was sick tho... really fits well and its so interesting
Unforgiven was just so right,i think it fits the emotion of the original the most and yet sounds improved
I LOVED Nate's Fuel. That was probably my favorite 😂😂 there's parts of One where I'm in and others where I'm not haha. But there were some super cool odeas there regardless.
@@BecomeTheKnight One was like something from earliy Dream Theater
Honestly, James was a beast on rhythm, kirk was a beast on lead, and Cliff was a beast on bass... if it wasn't for Lars mediocre drums and James mediocre vocals, then I think they would have had a difficult time relating with the average listener... It's like Lars was good at knowing what the audience wants to hear
Mike selling us on mikes. Nice.
In order of best to worst
-unforgiven (until silly part)
-fuel
-no leaf clover
- one
For the most part, the fills and basic feel seemed..... off. As in, you can kind of tell this isn't his musical lane.
The ONE attempt simply did not fit. I'd go as far as to say it wasn't good.
Say what you want about Lars' drumming, it does what it needs to - keeps the time with the band, and gives it the feel the band has. Also, the man is clearly a marketing and business genius. And he generally arranges the songs, he is the idea guy after all
Lars on fuel was just natural the guitar expects us to hear flams or cymbals on certain parts
I agree that this guy is talented! Because his takes come after living with the songs for years, I can’t say his takes are better. I’ll just say they’re as good.
I think a lot of the negativity directed towards Lars has nothing to do with his ability as a drummer but rather his personality. Specifically things like when he went after Napster. Before that, you didn't really hear that many people saying that he wasn't a great drummer. Then St. Anger came out and while the actual drumming was okay, the drum sound on that album is legendarily bad and that was Lars' idea. But it's much harder to criticize him for his actual playing. Maybe he's lost a step but that happens when drummers get older. Some even have to retire all together because their bodies just aren't up to it anymore. Is he the greatest drummer of all time? No, but he's very good at what he does, it'd just be nice if he was less of a jerk.
That's a great insight!
I still think it's very interesting to go back and listen to the concert where Joey Jordison filled in for Lars. Just a totally different off the rails vibe.
That's what was soo incredible about Joey. He felt like a freight train coming off the tracks.
Lars wants you to know you owe him royalties 😂
While Lars has put down lackluster work on more recent Metallica albums he is still the only one who could improve his work. Lars sounds like Lars, can't take that away from him
Honestly, I mostly really REALLY loved what Nate did with 4 of the 5 songs. I don’t know if I can rank them, but I can certainly tell you that, his sense of groove, timing, and his instinct as far as where and when to go with a drum roll is SO. SUPER. ON. POINT!! I’d love to hear him on original tunes. (This is my first video I’ve ever seen of yours, so if there is originals, I’ll get to them. You got a subscriber in me!!). I like your drummers total vibe. From one musician, to another… Great fucking drummer!!
>M
He played everything except one better than lars. One is a thrash song and he isn't really a thrash drummer.
Interesting song selections . I think Nate did fine on Fuel , No Leaf Clover and Nothing Else Matters . I would say he did best on No Leaf Clover to my ear .
Choosing One was a bold choice . Personally I think Justice is Lars at his best . So I can't say I preferred Nates take on One . That said One is a masterpiece and very hard to improve upon . Cool video idea though , Cheers Mike and Nate. 🥃
The only thing worse than Lars' drumming is his personality.
I always liked his drumming. Very musical player. Lars, Dave Lombardo, and Charlie Benante were it a n the thrash metal world back in the 80's, the era I was in my teens to early 20's.
Here's the thing. Lars is like Ringo. He is definitely not what a music scholar would call a good drummer. He has very poor technique, BUT he's got personality in his playing. There's a "punk" feeling in his playing, that gives the songs a certain "rudeness" and primitivity in the good sense of the term. That can't be replaced by technical prowess and skill, sure it would sound more "musical", but it won't be really better. That being said, I really liked what your friend did in Fuel and No Leaf, that are more groove based songs
You don't do disposable heroes and Frayed ends of sanity with poor technique, neither Blackened stuff
Ringo didn't have poor technique either.
@@Nissardpertugiu In 1984 I absolutely agree, but we're taking for the level of dexterity and technical prowess that most metal bands have achieved since the 80's , these are played by any GOOD drummer and with little difficulty. Can you imagine Lars in Slayer tough, or Megadeth, or Mercyful Fate? Any band, name it
@@soccrattes2295 aha , just one thing songwriting technique and skill as individual are different things.
Just because you don't put all your shops into what you write don't mean you re very poor .
Also who cares about competition of the neighboor.
If you re good at what you do and you have an unique style.
You go with that.
Tell me where you have to fit with the standards and the neighboor is doing ?
And what is the purpose of this ?
A little lesson of humility right there, even with guys ive met in the middle of nowhere ( ive spend new years eve 2019 with Stephen priestly, the guy who plays on a certain Morbid Tales...), bill ward, even Steve Vai, Donald Tardy, Cozy Powell , Chris reifert or Iggor Cavalera, Ian Paice....
Concentrate into what you do well and use it the best you can that fit the song and entity of yours.
They don't care about the stuff around..
They do what they do.
And they very aware of what they can't do and admit it without beign afraid in front of others drummers that are doing their specific stuff.
Everybody is better to something to someone at this own conception..
They re all creators, Lars was too.
He made great things on legendary songs that changed the genre, who fucking cares if there re people playing more notes or upped the speed after it ( initiated in part also by Lars ).
Why don't you all appreciate things the way they are for what they contribute and are ?
Why you feel forced to get that dick contest ?
And if others people took things further or play other stuff, why it would devaluate what Lars did ?
Or anyone else.
Lars and Mercyful Fate...
Yet you need to check Ride the Lightning , Master of Puppets again.
If some stuff as changes and fills on toms and coordinations with feet don't have a smell of Kim Kuzz with a more barbaric agression took from Phil animal, Judas Priest and Venom ,i don't know what it is.
Also some fills that took inspirations from Cozy Powell.
Some stuff from Justice as well.
Lars has some swing and facetts from guys such Keith moon, Ian Paice, Bill Ward, The 2 first budgie drummers etc...
Lars in 1998, did all the fills note for note of Melissa album on Mercyful Fate tribute , Live .
You don't seem aware also Lars did play really well with some swag on Return of the Vampire re recorded classic when Mercyful fate did his come back album in 1993 ?
But you know, Lars is perfect for metallica , thats enough.
Like you can't imagine the Beatles without Ringo , The Who without Keith , The Police without Steward and Trapeze without Dave Holland.
@@soccrattes2295 even if some stuff can be played by some good drummers like you say...
They came after Lars right ?
They may be able to play it
But did they created it ? In such influential songs ?
Do you think they could create it as well he did within the song DNA ?
No...
Because its not just how well you play, its how you think the music.
Did they created the part of
That is why I enjoy these latest songs from new album I love that punk/hardcore bang on these beats, that he is capable of making such satisfying rhythms at this age is amazing!
Im a guitarist, but i still got lars’ name printed on the back of my shirt. That tells you what i think of lars.
At the same time as for your friend, it takes gigantic balls to put yourself out there on the internet attempting to replace one of the greatest bands’ drum parts. :)
I don't find it sounds off at all. Timing wise it's on point. I found the One cuts sounded kind of over packed. No leaf Clover sounded awesome to me. There's something to be said about the chemistry between the band mates.
Chemistry between bandmates is huge!
It's such a trip hearing different drums over these. 1 Fuel was cool. I liked the tom groove part towards the end. 2 I'm not familiar enough with No Leaf Clover to give an honest opinion. 3 One had some sick fills. The weird floor tom/ride groove? thing was pretty sick. 4 unforgiven was my favorite Because the end made me laugh. Dude is a sick drummer. I feel like maybe if he had way more time to plan out what he wanted to do then practice the parts it could have been even better. Overall really cool video.
As you said it's Soooo difficult to detach your self from an original drummer and what your ear is used to, personally I couldn't, but I loved the experiment, u have a kick ass drummer there, thanks for the time and effort on this video.
Life-long drummer and I think my biggest take away from the way Lars drums is his particular way of accenting the guitar riffs. In a rhythm-heavy writing group, the drums are set in one pattern and the guitar stays close to that unchanging beat. With Metallica in the old days, it always felt to me like Lars was playing rhythm guitar on his drums. He very often mirrored the riffs so closely with his accents and beats. Much more so than any other band I can recall.
As for his skill level and application today....I will just enjoy my memories of the early albums.
Also, good luck to your drummer when he goes back and listens to the Justice album and tries to memorize all of the different fills and accents in each song, on that record.
When's the 72 Seasons song reaction coming???
10:10 that short halftime groove fits that part of the solo so well, it's actual eargasm material. The rest was take it or leave it for me.
A few of the best things to work on would be "And justice for all" and "Welcome home sanitarium" since you mention working on other tracks. "Sanitarium" is great for the droning quality and build up imho. "Justice" is a great track for practicing quick tempo changes that for better or worse don't work well with metronomes. Lot's of half-time feel and passages that speed up as you enter and exit them. There often is no static tempo much like dream theater.
His parts just dont fir Metallica. He's a solid drummer, but he doesn't do Metallica justice like Lars does. He's not a bad drummer. This is not bad drumming. It just doesnt sever these songs in this style as well. I actually have a whole new respect for Lars, but you can hear a lot of nuance in Lars' playing.
Your drummers ending to One wasnt bad.
Im gonna listen a few more times to see if that changes what Im hearing, but thats my honest opinion.
Oh, and his part to Unforgiven solo worked....except for the very end, obviously 😅
I can't do it, I can't un-hear the correct drums and all of this sounds weird and wrong to me. I'm sure your dude is great, I will definitely go check out your new song "Betrayal" and I'd love to hear more of his drumming to songs he actually knows. I love Lars' drumming on these songs and I wish you could've somehow known my least favorites so I could hear your guy's take on them instead. This is a really hard thing for anyone to do, so big respect to him for even trying. The STP thing he was talking about shows he knows his stuff. For example, the solo in "Unforgiven" would probably sound cool with a ride beat in an alternate universe. Thanks for the video Mike.
I don't really like it, tbh
He's doing too many fills, and it's a little dainty for the songs, especially when he played one
No confirmation bias, I can say that because a decade ago we covered 5 metallica songs progressve style, and even though I wasn't the drummer I wrote half of the drum parts. In metallica's music drums are there to support music. It's nearly impossible to keep the vibe without breaking this rule. Imo, your friend is cool. but it was a terrible execution add nothing to the overall music and taken away a lot of power.
This video makes me feel like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" after he get's his decoder ring, and receives the secret message from Little Orphan Annie.
"A crumby commercial?...Son of a Bitch..."
James Hetfield said it best. He says(paraphrased) they are all average players in their industry that sound great together. There are 8 year Olds on UA-cam covering Piert or playing eruption. Zakk Wylde sounds metal af playing a hello kitty guitar. Your drummer sounds great, but doesn't sound great doing metallica. Unforgiven wasn't half bad though.
To this day there are some Metallica songs I have yet to be able to play bc of the unusual approach and timing that Lars uses on those songs. My favorite album is ....and justice for all. The drumming on that is phenomenal. I was blown away as a kid listening to all the different changes and fills he did through just one song I couldn't imagine learning much less remembering all those parts. It's not so much the speed but just the complexity of the fills that I have yet to land while playing along to the songs.
Awesome video man \m/
I think my favourite was Unforgiven. The drumming really captured the mood of the song.
I really appreciate the hard work that went into this experiment. Nate is a fantastic drummer. I believe it really under scores how effective Lars is with his writing. He knows when to get out of the way, but still keep the song moving. He is an ideas guy just like Tom Brady is an "idea's guy" quarterback. Both have dad bods, both both use their brains ensure the devil is in the details. Lars said it best when he was once asked if he was the best drummer. He replied with "I'm the best drummer to play behind James Hetfield."
Love that little polyrhythmic feel during that 2nd part of that short breakdown. 8:01
1. One-I really liked it. Not the classic drums I fell in love with like Mike said, but still very good
2. The Unforgiven-Very good. Not much more to say
3. Fuel-Good, but too similar to the original to be the favorite
4. Not musically literate, but maybe the drums were too far forward in the mix and felt like they were intruding on the vocals. The drums were good, but I think the final product took away from that
I LOVE LARZ! W/OUT HIM... I WOULDN'T BE WHERE I'M AT TODAY AS A DRUMMER! WITHOUT LARZ... THERE'S NO METALLICA!!🎼🥁👊❤️👍😎🙏💯
"Do you have any opinions you didn't get from the internet" should be on a tee-shirt!!!
These are all really interesting! Nate is one hell of a skilled drummer, the dude plays with such fluidity. The "One" takes in particular stood out for me. Metallica is a guitar driven band. When more complicated drums come into the mix, especially for example in the outro to "One", it sounds like the drummer is trying to compete with the guitar parts and the song actually loses a lot of its power. It sounds like every instrument in the band is reaching for maximum attention all at the same time. It is something that I tend to notice in how a lot of modern metal bands play.
1) One: really cool creative bits using the Toms like crazy bongos 2) Fuel, if I were magically a drummer I would have added some crazy double kick parts and punk sensibilities like he did with one. I did really like the little phrases and intricacies he put in 3 & ) 4) No leaf clover joint with Unforgiven. I prefer the up tempo songa and these two sound quite similar and I couldn't really tell them apart
Loved fuel and unforgiven.
No leaf clover was take it or leave it.
One was the hardest to digest.
I had some very interesting part, especially some of the fills if placed correctly, although I believe the songs needs more minimal drumming to let the rythm shine at the outro.
Some fills didn't land as well as the originals imo, but I'd say that's due to improvisation vs written parts.
I did like all the drumbeats though, that's for sure! Don't know if I prefer them, but they fit the songs just fine
It's a challenge to play at Nate's level, but it's a bigger challenge to not. I've got chewed out many times for overplaying in the past and pushing the tempo, and the worst was when I added a gospel chop in a Sia cover song, truly embarrassing.
It was cool to see that interpretation especially when the goofy drummer appeared at the end of Unforgivon. I can relate to that. But, Lars does have his own approach and I think it does set him apart. Like some of the drumming on garage days (Jason's first recording, e.p.) I did appreciate it, thanks.