In a recent interview with Sticks For Stones, ex-DREAM THEATER and current THE WINERY DOGS and METAL ALLEGIANCE drummer Mike Portnoy was asked if he thinks somebody like METALLICA‘s Lars Ulrich is a good drummer.
He responded (transcribed by Blabbermouth.net):
“Well, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lars, even though he takes a beating in the drum community. To me, his value is not necessarily in drumming, but it has to do with him being a part of a musical revolution that he was a huge, huge part of starting. He’s been a tremendous asset to METALLICA, not only as a writer, but as a businessman and his abilities to market things and his ability to arrange music and his performance on stage — he’s a very animated player on stage. And to me, I would rather watch somebody like Lars Ulrich on stage than one of these technical drummers that can do quadruple paradiddles at 240bpm. To me, that’s boring. Who cares about that?”
He continued: “I’d rather be entertained and go to a show and watch a drummer and have somebody that makes me actually smile. So I don’t judge drummers based on their technical ability; I judge them based on the overall package and what they bring to the music they’re part of. And what Lars brings to the music of METALLICA is absolutely invaluable. So I could care less if his meter might be slightly up and down, or if his fills are slightly sloppy; I don’t care about that. To me, there’s way more to being a good drummer than precision and technique.”
Entire interview can be heard below:
