Biography
Besides serving as one of Metallica’s original architects and principal songwriters, drummer Lars Ulrich also functions as the group’s primary public voice. Born December 26, 1963, in Gentofte, Denmark, he grew up with a father, Torben Ulrich, whose national reputation as a tennis champion made it seem inevitable that Lars would pursue the same path; the teenager therefore trained rigorously at the sport. A 1973 trip arranged by his father to a Deep Purple concert in Copenhagen first exposed the boy to hard rock and heavy metal, prompting a decisive turn away from tennis toward music centered on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Bands such as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Motörhead, and Def Leppard shaped his listening, and he soon took up drumming.
When his family settled in California in the early 1980s, Ulrich placed an advertisement in a local music paper seeking like-minded players, even though the British movement had not yet registered in the United States. Guitarist James Hetfield was among the earliest respondents, and the two quickly united around a shared desire to counter the glam-metal sound then dominating Los Angeles; Metallica was formally established shortly afterward.
Personnel shifted repeatedly until bassist Cliff Burton, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, Hetfield (by then also handling vocals), and Ulrich relocated to San Francisco, where live performances and widespread circulation of the demo tape No Life ’Til Leather cultivated a loyal following. The independent label Megaforce offered a contract on the condition that the band move to New York; they accepted, simultaneously replacing Mustaine with Kirk Hammett. The subsequent albums Kill ’Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984—their first release on Elektra), and Master of Puppets (1986) positioned Metallica among heavy metal’s most promising acts until Burton’s death threatened to end the group.
Choosing to continue, the remaining members recruited Jason Newsted, leading to the major commercial breakthroughs …And Justice for All (1988) and the self-titled 1991 album that confirmed Metallica’s status among the world’s largest rock acts. Throughout the 1990s the band maintained sold-out stadium tours and released further hit records, among them Load (1996) and Reload (1997). Newsted departed in early 2001.
Outside Metallica’s touring schedule during that decade, Ulrich founded his own imprint, Music Company, distributed through Elektra/Asylum, while also circulating among other rock musicians and film actors. In the late 1990s he drew sharp criticism from fans for his public campaign against the file-sharing service Napster; he sought to remove Metallica’s catalog from the platform and supplied the names of users who had downloaded the band’s material, resulting in the banning of nearly 300,000 accounts.
When his family settled in California in the early 1980s, Ulrich placed an advertisement in a local music paper seeking like-minded players, even though the British movement had not yet registered in the United States. Guitarist James Hetfield was among the earliest respondents, and the two quickly united around a shared desire to counter the glam-metal sound then dominating Los Angeles; Metallica was formally established shortly afterward.
Personnel shifted repeatedly until bassist Cliff Burton, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, Hetfield (by then also handling vocals), and Ulrich relocated to San Francisco, where live performances and widespread circulation of the demo tape No Life ’Til Leather cultivated a loyal following. The independent label Megaforce offered a contract on the condition that the band move to New York; they accepted, simultaneously replacing Mustaine with Kirk Hammett. The subsequent albums Kill ’Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984—their first release on Elektra), and Master of Puppets (1986) positioned Metallica among heavy metal’s most promising acts until Burton’s death threatened to end the group.
Choosing to continue, the remaining members recruited Jason Newsted, leading to the major commercial breakthroughs …And Justice for All (1988) and the self-titled 1991 album that confirmed Metallica’s status among the world’s largest rock acts. Throughout the 1990s the band maintained sold-out stadium tours and released further hit records, among them Load (1996) and Reload (1997). Newsted departed in early 2001.
Outside Metallica’s touring schedule during that decade, Ulrich founded his own imprint, Music Company, distributed through Elektra/Asylum, while also circulating among other rock musicians and film actors. In the late 1990s he drew sharp criticism from fans for his public campaign against the file-sharing service Napster; he sought to remove Metallica’s catalog from the platform and supplied the names of users who had downloaded the band’s material, resulting in the banning of nearly 300,000 accounts.
Singles
