Lars Ulrich (born December 26, 1963) is the drummer, main songwriter (with James Hetfield) and co-founder of Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to a middle-upper class family. A tennis prodigy in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training, but instead of playing tennis, he ended up as a drummer. After publishing an advertisement in a local Los Angeles newspaper called The Recycler, he met James Hetfield and formed Metallica.
"Lars Ulrich's Biography on Metallica.com". Metallica.com. Retrieved on December 30, 2005.
"Lars Ulrich's St Anger Tour Setup". Tamadrum.co.jp. Retrieved on February 19, 2006.
"Lars Ulrich's Load/ReLoad/Garage Inc./S&M Tour Setup". Tama.com. Retrieved on February 19, 2006.
"Napster bans more than 300,000 for downloading Metallica". thefalcononline.com. Retrieved on June 19, 2007.
Lars' kit setup
Lars Ulrich Drummerworld.com profile
New York Times article about Lars' art collection
v • d • e
Metallica
James Hetfield · Lars Ulrich · Kirk Hammett · Robert Trujillo
Ron McGovney · Dave Mustaine · Cliff Burton · Jason Newsted
Studio albums
Kill 'Em All · Ride the Lightning · Master of Puppets · ...And Justice for All · Metallica · Load · ReLoad · St. Anger · Death Magnetic
Live albums
Live Shit: Binge & Purge · S&M
Extended plays
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited · Some Kind of Monster
Compilations
Garage Inc.
Videos
Cliff 'Em All · 2 of One · A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica · Live Shit: Binge & Purge · Cunning Stunts · S&M · Classic Albums: Metallica - Metallica · Some Kind of Monster · The Videos 1989-2004
Tributes
Metallic Assault · Metallic Attack
Singles
"Whiplash" · "Jump in the Fire" · "Seek & Destroy" · "Fade to Black" · "Creeping Death" · "For Whom the Bell Tolls" · "Master of Puppets" · "Battery" · "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" · "Eye of the Beholder" · "Harvester of Sorrow" · "...And Justice for All" · "One" · "Enter Sandman" · "Don't Tread on Me" · "The Unforgiven" · "Nothing Else Matters" · "Wherever I May Roam" · "Sad but True" · "Until It Sleeps" · "Ain't My Bitch" · "Hero of the Day" · "Mama Said" · "King Nothing" · "Bleeding Me" · "The Memory Remains" · "The Unforgiven II" · "Fuel" · "Better than You" · "Turn the Page" · "Whiskey in the Jar" · "Die, Die My Darling" · "Nothing Else Matters '99" · "No Leaf Clover" · "I Disappear" · "St. Anger" · "Frantic" · "The Unnamed Feeling" · "Some Kind of Monster" · "The Day That Never Comes" · "My Apocalypse"
Related articles
Band members · Discography · Bob Rock · Lloyd Grant · Demos · Awards · Megadeth · Exodus · Flotsam and Jetsam · Guitar Hero: Metallica
Categories
Members · Albums · Songs · Videos · Tours
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Ulrich"
Categories: Metallica members | Danish heavy metal drummers | People from Copenhagen | Danish Americans | 1963 births | Living peopleHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2008 | Articles with trivia sections from March 2008 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007
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Lars' father, Torben Ulrich, who was an acclaimed tennis pro from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, was also a musician, playing jazz with giants such as Stan Getz and Miles Davis; legendary saxophonist Dexter Gordon is Ulrich's godfather. In February 1973, Torben Ulrich 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 Lars. The young Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the performance, buying the band's Fireball album the very 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 at the age of thirteen, a Ludwig.
Later on in Life, in 1981, Lars discovered a British heavy metal band called Diamond Head. He was so excited about their style of music after getting hold of their 1980 debut Lightning to the Nations that he traveled all the way from San Fransico to London in order to see the band perform live at the Woolwich Odeon. However, the young Lars had not planned the trip out particularly well and was left without anywhere to stay after the gig. However, fortune was upon him that day and 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 Lars spent the next few weeks touring with the band. Lars still remains a big fan of the band and even helped mix their Best Of album.
In the same year Lars met James Hetfield in Downey, California and formed the thrash metal band Metallica. Ulrich's early work with Metallica led him to be dubbed as one of the thrash metal scene's drumming greats. 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, "Dyers Eve" from ...And Justice for All, and "Battery" from Master of Puppets. He has since been considerably influential due to both the popularity of his band and various drum techniques, such as the double bass in the song "One" (...And Justice for All) and the opening of "Enter Sandman" (Metallica). When discussing Metallica in an October 2007 interview, Evile frontman Matt Drake stated that "on The Black Album , the drums produce the best drum sound I've ever heard on any album".
In April 2000, Ulrich became a vocal opponent of Napster and internet piracy as Metallica sued the company for copyright infringement and racketeering. In July 2000, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee after Metallica's entire catalogue was found to be freely available for download on the service. The case was settled out-of-court, resulting in more than 300,000 Napster users being banned from the service. Due to his high profile role in Napster's legal troubles and subsequent demise, Ulrich faced significant criticism and ridicule from users of the service. Since the Napster ordeal, Ulrich was quoted by LAUNCHcast as having some regrets:
One such 'hit' was being featured in an episode of South Park in which the children are taught not to download illegally because millionaires like Ulrich do not get paid (a parody of the Napster case). Ulrich is seen looking very sorry for himself because he had to wait a few extra months before he was able to afford a gold plated shark tank bar to be installed next to his pool.
In March 2004, Ulrich separated from Skylar Satenstein (an emergency medicine physician and Harvard graduate who was the inspiration for Skylar, the love interest for Will Hunting in the movie Good Will Hunting), to whom he was previously married for seven years and had two sons, Myles (b. August 5, 1998) and Layne (b. May 6, 2001).
Ulrich is dating Danish actress Connie Nielsen and they had their first child, Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen, born in San Francisco on May 21 2007. Nielsen also has another son named Sebastian (b. 1991).
Ulrich is an endorser of Tama Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Remo Drumheads. He has said: "Zildjian cymbals are not just the best cymbals, but the ONLY cymbals". 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-Musser Drums, Gretsch Drums and Sabian Cymbals. Ulrich was an endorsee of Calato Regal Tip drumsticks, but changed to Easton Ahead in 1994. 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 currently is Tama's most expensive snare drum on the regular catalogue. Both snare drums measure 14x6.5".
