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| Lars Ulrich |
Lars Ulrich, pronounced [ul-rick], (born December 26, 1963) is a Danish heavy metal drummer, best-known as one of the founding members of the American heavy metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather than playing tennis, he became a drummer. After publishing an advertisement in a local Los Angeles newspaper called The Recycler, Ulrich met James Hetfield and formed Metallica.
Ulrich's father, Torben Ulrich, who was an acclaimed tennis player from the late 1940s into the early 1980s, was also a musician, playing jazz with musicians such as Stan Getz and Miles Davis; legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon was Ulrich's godfather. In February 1973, Torben obtained five passes for five of his friends to a Deep Purple concert that was being held in the same Copenhagen stadium as one of his tournaments. When it was discovered that one of the friends could not go, their ticket was handed over to the nine year-old Ulrich. The young Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the performance, buying the band's Fireball album the next day. The concert and the album had a considerable impact on Ulrich, inspiring his entrance into the world of rock and roll and later on, heavy metal. As a result of his newfound interest in music, he received his first drum kit from his grandmother at the age of twelve, a Ludwig. Ulrich originally intended to play tennis, as this was the reason for moving to America, though the plan was later changed when he formed Metallica.
Later, in 1981, Ulrich discovered British heavy metal band Diamond Head. He was excited about the band's style of music after purchasing its debut album Lightning to the Nations (1980). He traveled from San Francisco to London in order to see the band perform live at the Woolwich Odeon. However, Ulrich had not planned the trip out properly and was left without anywhere to go after the performance. He managed to meet the band backstage and explain the lengths he had taken to see them. The band warmed to him and lead guitarist Brian Tatler let him stay with him in Birmingham, where Ulrich spent the next few weeks touring with the band. Ulrich remains a fan of Diamond Head and mixed its album The Best of Diamond Head.
The same year Ulrich met James Hetfield in Downey, California and formed the thrash metal band Metallica. He got the name "Metallica" from a friend, Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a heavy metal fanzine he was creating, and Metallica was one of the options, the other being "Metal Mania". Lars encouraged him to choose Metal Mania, and used the name Metallica for himself. He became known as a pioneer of fast thrash drum beats, featured on many of Metallica's early songs, such as "Metal Militia" from Kill 'Em All, "Fight Fire with Fire" from Ride the Lightning, "Battery" from Master of Puppets and "Dyers Eve" from ...And Justice for All. He has since been considerably influential due to both the popularity of his band, as well as his drum techniques, such as the double bass drum in the song "One" (...And Justice for All) and the opening of "Enter Sandman" (Metallica). Since the release of Metallica, Ulrich adopted a more focused and precise style of drumming, and reduced his kit from a 9-piece to a 7-piece.
Ulrich's voice can be heard in a few Metallica songs, including "Hero of the Day", "Battery", "The Memory Remains", "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven II", "Frantic", and "Purify". Ulrich's voice can also be heard in the opening seconds of "Leper Messiah" and he also counts to four in Danish on the St. Anger music video.
He will make his acting debut in the HBO original film Hemingway & Gellhorn, which began filming in March 2011.
Lars was also ranked #5 on the top 5 metal drummers from That Metal Show.
Ulrich's drumming style has changed throughout his career. During the 1980s he was known for his fast, aggressive and, more or less, basic thrash beats. He would often utilize the double bass technique, which has become highly popular among heavy metal drummers. The best examples of this are "Fight Fire with Fire" (Ride the Lightning), "Battery" (Master of Puppets), "Damage, Inc." (Master of Puppets), "Blackened" (...And Justice for All), "One" (...And Justice for All), "That Was Just Your Life" (Death Magnetic), "All Nightmare Long" (Death Magnetic) and, arguably his most extreme, "Dyers Eve" (...And Justice for All), among others. Ulrich uses groove in his drum style, including clean and fast double bass beats in many songs and heavy drum fills. He has been known to drum in sync with the rhythm guitar played by James Hetfield. However, during the 1990s and early 2000s he simplified his drum rhythms in order to fit the simplification in Metallica's overall musical style. This started with Metallica, and very roughly ended with St. Anger. With Metallica's ninth album, Death Magnetic, Ulrich returned to his style from the 1980s, in which he played more complex and fast rhythms. Ulrich has also named other heavy metal drummers such as Ian Paice and Bill Ward as influences on his playing
Ulrich has been married twice. His first marriage was in 1988 to Debbie Jones, a British woman he met on tour, but divorced in 1990 due to Ulrich's constant absence while touring and recording The Black Album. His second marriage was to Skylar Satenstein, an emergency medicine physician, from 1997 to 2004. They have two sons, Myles (b. August 5, 1998), and Layne (b. May 6, 2001).
Ulrich has dated Danish actress Connie Nielsen since mid 2004 after his divorce from Skylar and the couple had their first child, Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen, born in San Francisco on May 21, 2007. Nielsen also has another son named Sebastian (Born 1991).
He and Connie currently reside in Marin County, California, north of San Francisco.
Ulrich is a noted collector of art. His father, Torben, was also a fan of art and paintings. Ulrich grew up surrounded by art and music, and both have always been a part of his life. After forming Metallica, he began visiting museums and art galleries during the band's long periods on tour. In an interview from 2002 Ulrich said: "I felt I could lose myself in art and get away from the music world. It became this great hiding place."
In 2008, in an interview with Stereo Warning, he said: "We had art all over the house when I was growing up. It's been a passion of mine for 20–25 years. It's one area where I can go and be myself. It's not about being in Metallica or being the drummer in a rock band. I'm accepted for who I am in the art circles. I love going into artist spaces and galleries and auction houses. It's great because it has absolutely nothing to do with Metallica. It's my place of sanctuary."
When he and the rest of Metallica were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009, Ulrich was the first Dane to receive the honor.
Lars, along with fellow band members Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, and Robert Trujillo, was one of the main characters in the rhythm game Guitar Hero Metallica.
Ulrich endorses Tama Drums (where he is one of the few endorsees to have had a full signature drum kit as well as a signature lacquer finish), Zildjian Cymbals and Remo Drumheads. He is rarely, if ever, seen without these brands onstage. He has, however, been known to use a mixture of brands when recording in the studio, including Ludwig Drums, Gretsch Drums and Sabian Cymbals. Ulrich was an endorser of Calato Regal Tip drumsticks, but changed to Easton Ahead in 1994. It is known that during the St. Anger era, Lars was endorsed by Suvinil, a famous wall paint brand in Brazil. After that, Tama Drums has produced two Lars Ulrich Signature Snare drums, one with a steel shell (with diamond plate-like finish) and another made out of bell brass which was once Tama's most expensive snare drum on the regular catalogue. Both snare drums measure 14x6.5".
