It had to happen but now it’s official; Metallica’s drumming Dane, Lars Ulrich, has accepted the gauntlet and is set to square off against celebrity lookalikes Will Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith.
Earlier this week, the doppelgänger duo named Ulrich as their next drum-off target after Ferrell and Smith finally settled their differences in a “traditional drum-off with traditional rules” on US network television.
“Lars gets pissed because he gets mistaken for both me and Chad Smith,” the Hollywood funnyman said of the “eerily similar” looking Metallica drummer. “He can settle that score now, too.” The Chili Pepper then confirmed the challenge, “there it is. The gauntlet is down.” “Two pieces of advice for Lars: Leave the double bass drums at home and load up on cowbells!!”
Self-confessed “dead ringer” Ulrich has taken up the sticks and accepted the pair’s challenge in high spirits.
“It was a little lonely on the sidelines during the first drum-off, given the somewhat forced nature of the lookalike element between Chad Smith and Will Ferrell, when I’m TRULY the one carrying that dead-ringer gene around!” Ulrich says in a statement issued to SPIN.
The Metallica member further admits that topping Ferrell’s skills (as Step Brothers proved) will be difficult.
“As for any further drum-offs, I’m sure that with a bit of practice, I could give Chad a run for his money. But Will? That’s a whole different story. He rules the ‘bad-ass drummer universe’. I mean, you’re talking about a guy who’s so next level, actually, so beyond next level, that he may just be completely unreachable! That said, I’m definitely up for the challenge…Bring it on!!!”
Writing in reply on his Facebook page, Smith responded: “two pieces of advice for Lars: Leave the double bass drums at home and load up on cowbells!!”
[include_post id=”407912″]
One person that won’t be backing Ulrich to win the doppelgänger drum-off is Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, who said the Dane was “unbelievably bad” while labelling Metallica “shite”, as one of the harsher-worded protests against the metal legends’ billing as headliners of this year’s Glastonbury, along with Arctic Monkeys and 25,000 animal activist petitioners who want Metallica banned from the iconic UK festival.
Responding to the petition and the Glastonbury critics, Ulrich tells Metal Hammer, “If somebody sits there and talks about petitions or what some other guy says, there’s a point that it just becomes ridiculous. We’re fairly thick-skinned. Obviously if Mick Jagger has something [positive] to say, or Alex Turner [of Arctic Monkeys] – it’s cool. But if some guy in some other band… it’s like, ‘Huh? What? Who are you?'”
Here’s an idea… whoever wins the Ulrich/Smith/Ferrell three-way drum-off gets to headline Glastonbury instead?
