Ville Valo thinks Metallica’s Lars Ulrich is rock’s second most “important drummer”, after Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham

HIM’s Ville Valo shares the love for Metallica and drummer Lars Ulrich

Ville Valo and Lars Ulrich

(Image credit: Joonas Brandt, Scott Legato/Getty Images)

Ville Valo has shared his views on which drummers he believes to be the “most important”, in terms of legacy and skill.

In an interview with Heavy, the former HIM frontman discusses Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster, the San Francisco metal heavyweight’s 2004 documentary, which explores the most problematic period of their career during the making of their St. Anger album. During this time, the band faced addiction/rehab, interpersonal issues, lineup changes, and almost broke up as they readjusted to life after Jason Newsted.

Offering his thoughts on whether he agreed with Metallica’s up-close-and-personal approach in the film, Valo says (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “To be honest with you, Metallica can do whatever they wanna do after the great albums they’ve made. And they were trying to survive as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a ton of bands who’ve gone through very similar things. But Metallica, for whatever reason, chose to do it in public. I think that’s the main thing that is the issue here.

“I’m a very… a bit shy, or I don’t wanna draw too much attention to myself, as we Finns usually, it’s the way we are — a bit hermit-like,” he adds.

“So it feels so weird, the whole Metallica thing, when it came out. Because in our culture, it’s important to keep some stuff to yourself. Or the other way around — it’s not necessary to open up everything [to the outside world]. But then again, maybe that was the thing they needed to do to be able to make great albums afterwards.”

Then, the Finnish singer offers additional praise to drummer Lars Ulrich, declaring: “I love Lars. I think after [Led Zeppelin’s] John Bonham, Lars is probably one of the most important drummers. He has such a recognisable style.”

VV is set to release his debut solo album, Neon Noir, on January 13 via Heartagram Records, distributed by UMG/Spinefarm. So far, Valo has shared the singles Echolocate Your Love, Loveletting and The Foreverlost.