Justin Hawkins Defends Lars Ulrich's 'Iconic' Drumming in Video

Metallica's Lars Ulrich may be one of the more polarizing musicians in metal, but he's definitely got a supporter in The Darkness' Justin Hawkins, who decided to break down Metallica's "Sad But True" in the latest posting of his "Justin Hawkins Rides Again" reaction video series.

While the video focuses on breaking down the pieces of the song that Hawkins likes the most and adding his own commentary, there's a fair share of time dedicated to the Metallica drummer's work on the song.

"A lot of people slag Lars off, don't they," questions Hawkins at one point. "They're always saying that he's all over the place and they question his time-keeping and his ability to remember fills and stuff. I actually think he's a legend, a true legend."

He goes on to add, "You can more or less listen to anything Metallica's ever recorded with Lars Ulrich and sing along to the fills themselves. He plays iconic stuff, he really does and I think he's one of the most recognizable metal drummers there's ever been. I absolutely love him."

Some of the more humorous moments of the video come when Hawkins analyzes Lars' drum hits as being perfect for soundtracking your martial arts moves in a barroom brawl. You can check out the video in full below.

Hawkins, who recently performed on the same bills as Ulrich at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts, starts the video by proclaiming Metallica to be his "favorite metal band." "I see Metallica as the gateway band to the other areas of metal that would otherwise be inaccessible. Things like Obituary ... and Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death ... and a lot of the heavy stuff that I got into was as a result of Metallica and I will always be grateful to them for that," says the singer. Check out the video in full below.

The Darkness' Justin Hawkins Dissects Metallica's "Sad But True"