Metallica Didn't Expect To Snare Controversy

Keavin Wiggins | 07-30-2020

Metallica's Lars Ulrich says that he stands behind his controversial snare drum sound on the "St. Anger" album "a hundred percent, because at that moment, that was the truth," and admits that he didn't expect the reaction to it.

Lars was asked about the often criticized snare drum sound on the 2003 album during an interview on SiriusXM on Wednesday (July 29th) and he defended it and explained the inspiration for it. Ulrich said,, "I stand behind it a hundred percent, because at that moment, that was the truth.

"Just my personality, I'm always just looking ahead, always thinking about the next thing. That's just how I'm wired," he continued. "Whether it's Metallica always thinking ahead, or in my personal life, or in relationships, whatever I'm doing, I'm just always thinking ahead. Sometimes, arguably, I spent too much time in the future, but I rarely spend any time in the past. And so the only time this stuff really comes up is in interviews.

"I hear 'St. Anger'. That's a pummeling and a half, and there's a lot of incredible, raw energy, and it's, like, 'Woah!' It's been slapped around a little bit. But the snare thing, it was like a super-impulsive, momentary... We were working on a riff. Hetfield was playing a riff in the control room. And I ran up. I was, like, 'I need to put a beat behind that.' I ran into the tracking room and sat down and played a couple of beats over this riff to not lose the energy of the moment, and I forgot to turn the snare on.

"And then we were listening back to it, and I was, like, 'Wow! That sound kind of fits that riff, and it sounds weirdly odd and kind of cool.' And then I just kind of left the snare off for the rest of the sessions, more or less. And then it was, like, 'Yeah, that's cool. That's different. That'll f*** some people up. That sounds like that's part of the pummeling,' or whatever. And then it becomes this huge, debated thing. And sometimes we'll kind of sit on the sidelines and go, like, 'Holy sh*t! We didn't see that one coming,' in terms of the issue that it turns into."