Metallica 'Load' Drum Setup: Lars Ulrich's 1996 Tama Star Classic Maple Kit | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

What drum kit did Lars Ulrich use on Metallica's Load?

Lars Ulrich recorded Metallica's Load (1996) on a Tama Star Classic Maple kit — Tama's flagship maple series and an upgrade from the Artist Maple used on the Black Album (1991). The configuration was a 22" bass drum driven by a double pedal, 10" and 12" rack toms, and 14" and 16" floor toms. The Star Classic's enhanced maple shell construction delivered greater warmth and resonance than the preceding Artist Maple, suited to Load's open, blues-influenced production approach. Bob Rock recorded the kit at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, with room microphones capturing the natural acoustic character of the shell rather than relying on the heavy gated reverb that defined the Black Album drum sound.

What cymbals did Lars Ulrich use on Load?

Load marked the beginning of Lars Ulrich's long-running relationship with Zildjian's A Custom series — a line that remains his primary cymbal choice today, making Load a pivotal moment in his equipment history. The A Custom setup for Load included 14" Dyno Beat Hi-Hats (replacing the A New Beats used on the Black Album), 16" and 17" Medium Thin Crashes, an 18" Medium Crash, a 22" Ping Ride, and an 18" China. The A Custom series has a brighter, more overtone-rich character than the A series, which suited Load's shift toward accessible hard rock. The Dyno Beat hi-hats in particular contribute to Load's more open, organic hi-hat character compared to the tighter Black Album patterns.

Why did Metallica change their sound so dramatically on Load?

Load's stylistic shift — from thrash metal toward blues-influenced hard rock — was a deliberate artistic decision by the band. James Hetfield has cited influences including Bob Seger, ZZ Top, and Neil Young on the songwriting direction. For Lars's drumming specifically, producer Bob Rock continued pushing him in the direction begun on the Black Album: away from technical complexity and toward feel, groove, and serving the song above all else. Load's songs, with their pentatonic riffs and slower tempos, demanded different drumming than the thrash-era material — and Lars's adoption of the Tama Star Classic Maple and Zildjian A Custom cymbals supported a production approach oriented toward natural warmth and room ambience rather than the compressed, close-miked thrash sound. Commercially, the gamble paid off: Load debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and went 5× Platinum in the United States.

How does the Load drum sound differ from the Black Album?

The Load drum sound differs from the Black Album in three primary ways. First, reduced gated reverb on the snare: the Black Album's snare has a distinctive reverb bloom gated to a sharp decay; Load's snare has a more natural, less processed character. Second, more moderate room microphone placement: the Black Album used room mics at 15–20 feet for a cavernous theatrical effect; Load uses closer room placement for natural tone. Third, the kit itself: the Tama Star Classic Maple used on Load has a different character from the Artist Maple used on the Black Album — greater resonance and warmth, encouraging a more open recording approach with less internal muffling. The net result is that Load sounds more naturalistic and less architecturally engineered than the Black Album, reflecting Bob Rock's evolving production philosophy across the two records.

Where was Metallica's Load recorded?

Load was recorded primarily at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, with additional sessions at Prairie Sun Recording in Cotati, California. The Plant Studios is a legendary Bay Area facility with a large tracking room that provided the natural acoustic environment Bob Rock wanted for Load's drum sound — spacious enough for genuine room ambience without uncontrolled reflections. Prairie Sun Recording, a residential-style studio north of Sausalito, offered a different acoustic character and contributed to the sonic variety across the album's 14 tracks. The recording sessions stretched from early 1995 through early 1996 — an extended process that gave Lars significant time to develop the Tama Star Classic Maple setup before the final tracking passes.

What happened to the Tama Artist Maple after the Black Album?

Lars Ulrich used the Tama Artist Maple for the Black Album (1991) and the extended Metallica world tour through 1993 — one of the longest tours in rock history. By the time Load recording began in 1995, Lars had transitioned to the Tama Star Classic Maple, Tama's refined flagship series that succeeded the Artist line. The Artist Maple kits from the Black Album era were retired from primary studio and touring use. The Star Classic that replaced them continued into the Reload sessions (1997) and represented Lars's primary setup through the late 1990s, making it the cornerstone of the most artistically controversial — and commercially successful — period of Metallica's mid-career.