Former Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has been under the radar after the whole Sabbath drama last year. Ward has not been out of the spotlight though, as he records a weekly online radio program called Rock 50.
Ward was offering advice to fellow drummers and called out Lars Ulrich as somebody drummers should try to emulate. Ward says he sees a lot of similarities between himself and Lars and how they chose to approach the instrument:
“Lars is spiritually sound – I really like that. A lot of the paths that Lars has passed through, I’ve travelled myself.
“I ended up with able to take whatever my abilities are, and utilise that in whatever music we did. So it's like, 'This is what I've got.' I can remember going through a period, probably 26 years ago, where I stopped competing. I had to find out what I could do and make good use of it. It sounds like Lars has reached that settling ground as well. And I think he does such a good job of it.”
“His creations have brought the sound of Metallica to the very edge of the metal spearhead. There are so many things in all those songs that are departure points – other drummers can look at it and go, 'Well, this didn't exist before.'
“If you’re learning drums, listen to Lars, man. He's got some really good stuff that you can learn from."
I think it's honestly very sound advice not just for drummers but for any artist hoping to excel in any creative field. Exploit the things you're really good at while avoiding showcasing your weaknesses.
Also, if I were Lars, I would see this as the hugest compliment coming from one of the most notable drummers in heavy metal history!
[via Metal Hammer]
