
Lars Ulrich

From the moment of their first independent release in 1982, Metallica had passion and potential to burn. With their third album, Master Of Puppets (Elektra), Metallica not only outdistanced the rest of the speed metal pack, but began to change heavy metal forever.

Lars Ulrich, Chris Pennie, Marcus Baylor, Stanton Moore, Johnny Vidacovich, Flo Mounier, Oscar Seaton, Simon Collins, Ari Hoenig, Byron McMackin, John Fred Young, Ranjit Barot, Cyro Baptista, Jeff Ocheltree

Travis Barker, Ed Shaughnessy, Chris Hesse, Lars Ulrich, Randy Jones, Danny Carey, Tommy Stewart, Kevin Miller, Robin Diaz, Larry Fratangelo, Steve Smith, Simon Phillips, Mike Mangini

Lars Ulrich, Kirk Covington, Brad Wilk, Neil Peart, Elvin Jones, Charlie Quintana, Sol Gubin, Paul Cook, Jason Cooper, Darin Pfeiffer, Bernie Dresel, Al Webster, Mike Portnoy, David Garibaldi,

In this Issue: Lars Ulrich, Billy Higgins, William Kennedy, Deen Castronovo, Billy Cobham, Roy Haynes, Casey Scheuerell, David Garibaldi, Tommy Aldridge, Chuck Morris

J.R. Robinson, Lars Ulrich, Ricky Lawson, Phil Collins, Joe Porcaro, Ralph Humphrey, Steve Houghton, Casey Scheuerell, Steve Schaeffer, J.M. Van Eaton, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, Neil Peart
Posted: September 28, 2022

Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert
By Alex Kluft Photo by Andreas Neumann On March 25, 2022, the world lost one the greatest drummers and member of one of the most important and biggest rock bands of all time, Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. To honor Hawkins, Dave Grohl put together two of the biggest …
Posted: May 8, 2017
“It’s Electric” With Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Airs Every Sunday on Beats 1
Unscripted, unfiltered and featuring no “genre-fication” whatsoever, “It’s Electric!” is a weekly window into the mind of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. Hear music that excites him, as well as chats with artists who inspire him…all wrapped in magnificently mindless banter. The program airs every Sunday at 3 pm PST with an …
Posted: November 13, 2015
R.I.P. Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, Ex-Drummer With Iconic Punk/Metal Band Motörhead
Phil “Philthy Animal??? Taylor wasn’t technically Motörhead’s original drummer. That distinction goes to Lucas Fox, who left the band during its first recording sessions. But Taylor was the man who played on its iconic early albums, and who, in doing so, set a template for heavy drumming that has never …
Posted: November 19, 2014
News: Big Band Debuts New Website for Ahead Products
A year in the making, the new Ahead website is designed with a fresh look, user-friendly navigation, and updated information on all Ahead products and artists….
Posted: November 22, 2013
Pilot of Louna
Hey, everybody! I’m Leonid “Pilot??? Kinzbursky. I’m twenty-four years old, and I’m the drummer for Louna. Louna just finished its first big tour in America with the Pretty Reckless and Heaven’s Basement….
Posted: July 11, 2012
NYC Independent Drummer Chad Elrod
I try to be as simple as possible in the decisions I make as a musician. But this isn’t simple at all! It’s actually really difficult….
Posted: July 10, 2012
Slipknot Percussionist M. Shawn Crahan Releases Photography Book
Slipknot founder/percussionist M. Shawn Crahan, a.k.a. Clown, has released his first book of photography, The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey. The title, which is being released exclusively through MTV Books, presents 187 manipulated medium-format Polaroids. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich penned its forward….
Posted: February 24, 2012
Michael Vafiotis of 4ARM
Hey there, MD readers, my name is Michael Vafiotis, or, as I’m better known, “Juice.” I currently play drums for the metal band 4ARM. Over the last year I’ve spent most of my time recording and preparing for the release of our third album, Submission For Liberty. For those who …
Posted: October 8, 2011
On the Beaten Path: Beginning Drumset Course, Levels 1, 2, and 3
by Rich Lackowski
Learn the drums by copping beats that are part of the everyday musical landscape.
Posted: July 5, 2011
Joao Lencastre
My name is Joao Lencastre and I was born in Lisbon, Portugal. I started to play the drums at the age of thirteen. Since I started playing I’ve been collaborating with many different groups in all styles of music, including metal, reggae, Afrobeat, electronic, big band, alternative rock, and all …
Posted: June 24, 2011
Deftones’ Abe Cunningham
From the pages of the July 2011 Issue…It took a tragedy to make the members of Deftones stop their bickering and get back to the business of making music. Still, the band’s drummer reveals that some things—good and bad—never change….
Posted: January 10, 2011
Adventures Of Power’s Ari Gold
Go ahead, say it: “My name is ___ ____, and I am an air-drummer!” You know it’s true. Even Neil Peart pounded magazines on his bed long before he ever had a drumset. As for me, my name is Ari Gold—yes, real name—and at long last, my air-drum comedy Adventures …
Posted: November 1, 2010
Graham Fisk of Apollo Run
Greetings from NYC, it’s Graham Fisk here from Brooklyn-based band Apollo Run. It’s a huge honor to be given the opportunity to contribute to moderndrummer.com. Since I first picked up a pair of sticks at age thirteen, Modern Drummer has been more than just an invaluable resource for my drumming …
Posted: April 22, 2010
Chad LaRoy of Cavo
What’s up, MD followers! This is Chad LaRoy from Cavo. It has been a year since the band and I finished recording our first major-label record, Bright Nights, Dark Days, with the brilliant producer David Bendeth. Since then, we’ve been touring the country with Halestorm and Rev Theory. Summertime was …
Posted: January 12, 2009
Great Drum Parts = GENIUS
The March issue of MD (out now) features Billy Ward’s fascinating conversation with Simon Phillips, Doane Perry, Marco Minnemann, Thomas Lang, and Jerry Marotta about the grooves that inspired them to play drums early on, and that continue to today. It seemed to make perfect sense for MD’s editors to …
Posted: October 20, 2008
Lars Ulrich: For The Greater Good
“Metallica is a bunch of guys having the time of their lives,??? Lars Ulrich proclaims…
Posted: June 20, 2008
Deen Castronovo: The Journey Of A Decade, The Career Of A Lifetime
During the heyday of metal music in the ’80s, an underground subgenre known as “shred metal??? emerged.
Posted: December 15, 2006
Rocky Gray of Evanescence
All it took was one wildly propulsive radio single to plaster drummer Rocky Gray’s performances all over the musical map. His band, the Little Rock–based alternative rock act Evanescence, entered with its commercial radio knock-out nearly four years ago via an epic hit, “Bring Me To Life???….
Posted: November 16, 2006
Travis Smith: The Sickest Feet in Metal
A decade after getting his start behind the kit, Smith has become one of the most recognized, rising drum stars in extreme metal.
Posted: May 12, 2004
John Otto
Four years ago, when John Otto was first featured in Modern Drummer, the then twenty-three-year-old spoke with a wisdom and knowledge that belied his age….
Posted: May 12, 2004
Scott Phillips: The Vortex Of Success
Creed is a phenomenon. They’re the first band in history to have four number-1 rock radio singles from a debut album. (By the way, that album, My Own Prison, went on to have a remarkable seven consecutive number-1 rock radio singles.) Their second album, Human Clay, entered the Billboard charts …