But Portnoy insists he'd rather watch Ulrich entertaining the crowd instead of a technical wizard any day of the week. He tells Sticks For Stones: "I don't judge drummers based on their technical ability - I judge them based on the overall package and what they bring to the music they're part of.

"What Lars brings to the music of Metallica is absolutely invaluable. So I could care less if his meter might be slightly up and down, or if his fills are slightly sloppy. I don't care about that. There's way more to being a good drummer than precision and technique."