Metallica’s Lars Ulrich recently talked about Rush. In an interview with Sirius XM talk radio icon Howard Stern, was asked about covering other bands and if he would be able to play Rush songs on drums.
Lars Ulrich opens up on the matter
The topic raised when discussing Ulrich’s participation in the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in London and Los Angeles, where played on all-star covers of Black Sabbath and AC/DC songs.
He said:
“I love Rush — [but] If they had said, ‘Come up and play ‘2112’ with Alex [Lifeson] and Geddy [Lee], I’d go, ‘I think there’s somebody more qualified to do that than me.’ But playing those AC/DC songs with the four Foo Fighters guys and Brian was just a f***ing next-level magical experience,” he recalls, “And then in L.A., a couple of weeks later, we did a Black Sabbath medley with Geezer Butler, O.G. bass player and absolutely one of the geniuses of the early days of hard rock and metal, we did a couple of Black Sabbath songs. So it was great fun to go do that.”
Circling back on the Rush comment, Stern urged Ulrich and asked if he could play a Rush song with the band’s two surviving members, Lifeson and Lee.
“Could I do it? Obviously, playing with Alex and Geddy would be incredible,” the drummer responds, naming Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Grohl as two peers who handled that Rush material well onstage at the tribute events.
As for himself, tackling Rush “would be an uphill thing,” he says.
“It would take a lot of rehearsal, a lot of prep. ‘2112’ would probably be too much of a bite of the apple for me,” Ulrich freely admits. And for any drummer, that particular prog rock epic would be quite the challenge.
Going back to what he enjoys most, the Metallica skinsman reiterates, “But in terms of just feeling comfortable and kind of doing the thing that exists sort of where I am, that AC/DC stuff is right in my f***ing pocket. And I love that so much.”
