Metallica's Lars Ulrich Talks "Super Fun" Idea to Score Film With Only Drums | Page 3 | Revolver

Metallica's Lars Ulrich Talks "Super Fun" Idea to Score Film With Only Drums

Thrash percussionist considering more movie work after tracking "thunderous" drums for 'Triple Frontier' feature starring Ben Affleck
metallica lars ulrich HUBBARD, Jimmy Hubbard
photograph by Jimmy Hubbard

In a new action-packed film starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac and others as ex-military members who set up a mission to rob a drug lord, fans might notice a familiar pounding in the movie's dark score: that of famed Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Composer Rich Vreeland, a.k.a. "Disasterpeace" sought out Ulrich based on his signature "thunderous" sound. "I think the word he kept using was 'thunder,'" said Ulrich, taking on the composer's voice to say, "'I would love to add some thunderous drums to the score.'"

"I have no interest in playing with anybody else other than Metallica," Ulrich told Rolling Stone in a recent interview about the gig. He notes his interest was piqued by the "experience" of it all, which can only help him build a bigger, more well-rounded viewpoint to take back to the thrash quartet. The drummer spent two days behind his kit while watching high-octane scenes from the film, building big, boisterous segments to amp up the intensity. 

The job seems to have had a very positive impact on Ulrich, who says he continued to get deeper into the film's plot as the score came together and enhanced the on-screen action. As a result, he is interested in potentially crafting an entire score out of only percussion instruments today. 

He told the magazine, "I started thinking what it would be like one day to make a score for a film only out of drums and rhythmic instruments. It would not have a score or any kind of melodic instruments — just rhythms and pulses and beats. You can go so many places in how you manipulate the sound. It would be super fun."