Current Band Members: Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich is the outspoken drummer in Metallica and he has always been a loud and brash character who is anything but shy. His personality is reflected in his drumming and he pioneered fast thrash drum beats and exercised a big influence on the band. He formed a strong song writing partnership with James Hetfield and the pair are the only original members of Metallica whoâ??ve been ever present since the band was put together back in 1981. Ulrich was born in Denmark in 1963, the same year as Hetfield, and his father was a tennis pro and a Jazz musician. Lars followed in his footsteps and developed a real talent for tennis in his teens before moving to Los Angeles to train further. Once in California his desire to play tennis began to wither and he decided he would prefer to be a drummer in a band. Lars had fallen in love with rock after attending a Deep Purple concert when he was 9 and at the age of 13 his grandmother bought him a drum kit. As he lost interest in tennis his passion for music grew and he travelled to London to see Diamond Head and ended up befriending the band and touring with them. Back in California he answered an ad in The Recycler for a drummer which had been placed by James Hetfield and they formed the now legendary band Metallica. Hetfield’s childhood friend and original bassist Ron McGovney didn’t rate Lars at all at first but over time his drumming improved and his energetic style became the backbone of the band. As McGovney was replaced by Cliff Burton and Dave Mustaine made way for Kirk Hammett the band found success with Kill ‘Em All in 1983, Ride the Lightning in 1984 and the incredible Master of Puppets in 1986. It was obvious that the band was destined for success and Ulrich took on the role of spokesman, a position he continues to relish. Along with Hetfield he amassed writing credits on most of the band’s output and has been a strong influence on their direction and development. Ulrich had always taken an interest in the business side of the band and throughout the 90â??s he developed his business talents by forming his own record label. He has many celebrity friends and has taken a keen interest in art as well, spending some of his huge fortune accumulating an impressive art collection and managing to sell several works at a healthy profit. Lars first son was born in 1991 and then he had two sons with his first wife, Skylar Satenstein and when they divorced in 2004 he started a relationship with Connie Nielsen and had another son born in 2007. Lars hasnâ??t always been the most popular character with critics and fans because he says whatever he wants to say and can come across as an arrogant character. At the turn of the century he was at the centre of the Napster scandal, criticising the company extremely vocally and expressing a great deal of anger at people downloading Metallicaâ??s music for free. He has been parodied for his outspoken stance and ridiculed by many but in typical style he shrugs off the criticism.