Lars Ulrich's Drum Setup on Metallica's St. Anger (2003) | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does St. Anger snare sound different?

The St. Anger snare sounds different because Lars Ulrich left the snare wires disengaged on the bottom head and tuned the batter head extremely tight for most of the recording. With the wires off, the drum no longer produces the buzzing crack that defines a normal snare — it produces a dry, metallic "clang" that listeners frequently compare to a trashcan lid. Lars has said the choice began by accident — he forgot to turn the wires on while working out a riff, liked the result, and kept it for the rest of the sessions — before it became a deliberate aesthetic decision aligned with the album's raw, industrial production brief, not a hardware problem. The sound has been one of the most polarising production choices in modern metal since the album's 2003 release.

Did Lars use snare wires on St. Anger?

No, not for most of the record. The snare wires were left disengaged for the bulk of the St. Anger recording. The drum used was a Ludwig Vistalite acrylic snare — a "Plexi"-style snare that producer Bob Rock had bought to experiment with and lent to Lars during pre-production rehearsals. Once the wires were off, the batter head was tuned to extremely high tension, producing the metallic "clang" sound heard across most of the album. This was confirmed by Lars Ulrich and Bob Rock in interviews and documented visually in the Some Kind of Monster film. It was not a recording mistake — it was an aesthetic choice the band has consistently defended for more than twenty years.

What drum kit did Lars Ulrich use on St. Anger?

Lars Ulrich used his longstanding Tama Starclassic Maple kit on St. Anger, finished in Green Sparkle — continuous with the Tama setup he had used through the Black Album, Load, and ReLoad eras, with no change of drum brand. The kit was configured with two 22"x16" bass drums (a true double bass setup, not a single kick with double pedal), two rack toms (10" and 12"), and two floor toms (16"x14" and 16"x16"). What did change for this album was the snare — a borrowed Ludwig Vistalite acrylic snare, not a Tama. Cymbals were a Zildjian Z Custom and A Custom hybrid, pedals were Tama Speed Cobra HP910, sticks were Ahead aluminium-core signatures, and heads were Evans throughout (EMAD on kicks, EC2 on toms, Heavyweight on the snare batter). The kit was assembled at HQ — Metallica's San Francisco facility inside the Presidio — for the album sessions.

Was the St. Anger snare sound intentional?

Yes. The St. Anger snare sound was an entirely intentional production decision made by Lars Ulrich and producer Bob Rock. The brief for the album was a raw, industrial, garage-band drum sound that rejected the polished, room-mic-heavy approach of the Black Album, Load, and ReLoad. Disengaging the snare wires and tuning the batter head ultra-tight was the most direct way to deliver that aesthetic. The decision is documented extensively in the Some Kind of Monster film, has been defended in numerous interviews by both Lars and Bob Rock, and was committed to across the entire record — there is no "corrected" version of any track. Listener reception has been deeply polarised since release, but the band has never described the sound as a mistake; it was the sound they meant to make.