Lars Ulrich Called An ‘Unbelievably Bad’ Drummer
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has been called an ‘unbelievably bad’ drummer by Mogwai member Barry Burns.
Metallica‘s headliner status in this summer’s Glastonbury lineup is quite the subject of discussion among U.K. artists surprised by the historically non-metal-friendly festival’s decision to make room for one of rock’s heaviest bands. In a new interview, Lars Ulrich says that all the resulting talk — which now includes a petition to get the band off the bill — has gone too far.
“Glastonbury is like the Holy Grail in England, and we’re respectful to that,” he explains to Metal Hammer. “But if somebody sits there and talks about petitions or what some other guy says, there’s a point that it just becomes ridiculous.”
This all began when a member of the Arctic Monkeys told reporters he’s “not sure [Metallica’s inclusion] adds up.” Then the guys from Mogwai weighed in. The veteran Scottish post-rock band took a few shots at Metallica in an interview with Gigwise, with multi-instrumentalist Barry Burns joking of Lars Ulrich, “I can’t wait to hear that guy play the drums again — unbelievably bad. He’s terrible.” Singer Stuart Braitwaite quips that “it would be good if they could go back in time to 1989,” and added “I just can’t wait until we go all quiet and you can hear ‘Enter Sandman’ in the background, because we’re on at the same time. I don’t really see the fuss. They’re a pretty big rock band and it’s a pretty big rock festival.”
Mogwai’s drummer kept things brief when asked why he thought Metallica had been booked for Glastonbury, shrugging, “Because they’re s—.” Ulrich’s response to Mogwai’s attacks is even briefer: “Huh? What? Who are you?”
More bands added their two cents in a separate Gigwise post, with a member of the Bombay Bicycle Club sniffing, “I personally don’t think [Metallica are] a very good booking…I think the lineup is a bit disappointing, generally. My ideal lineup was Prince, Fleetwood Mac and Kanye West…I’m sure it will be great, though.” But former Smiths member Johnny Marr defended the choice, saying, “You wouldn’t think of Metallica being the underdog, would you, and suddenly they’ve become the underdog — so I’m all for ‘em now.”
And for U.K. radio personality Nick Grimshaw, it’s pretty much perfect: “You don’t really need to know [their music]. When it’s a band like Metallica and they’ve got to that stage of touring forever, there must be a reason why they’re that big a rock band and headlining. Even if you don’t know you’re a fan, you’ll go and watch and be like, ‘Wow, I love this.’”