One of the most respected Progressive Metal drummers, Mike Portnoy revealed that Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich drumming influenced him. The musician said that in an interview with El Estepario Siberiano (Transcribed by Blabbermouth), that he doesn’t understand why people criticize Ulrich’s playing.
Mike Portnoy explain why Lars Ulrich’s drumming influenced him
“I often say Keith Moon. But there’s a bunch of guys. Ringo Starr was a huge, huge one for me. Neil Peart was a huge, huge one for me. But seeing the type of drummer Keith Moon was made me want to be an animated drummer, ’cause somebody like Ringo and Neil Peart, as much as they’re my heroes, on stage, they’re very subdued, whereas when I saw Keith Moon just bouncing sticks off and throwing and twirling, you couldn’t take your eyes off him.”
I knew I wanted to be that kind of a drummer. And another one who gets such a beating, his reputation, but Lars Ulrich, believe it or not, was a big influence for me. And a lot of people give him a hard time over his technique and everything, but, to me, he was an influence for me because it was more than just drums. He was the leader of the band, he would write the setlist, he would deal with the fan clubs and the merchandise, and he was co-producing the albums and co-writing the music.”
Portnoy continued:
“He, to me, was a role model. And even to this day, he still is. I went and saw Metallica a few weeks ago, and more than just the drumming, his personality and his presence, he was so important for Metallica’s success that, to me, that was the thing. And Neil Peart too — Neil wasn’t just the drummer; he was the lyricist and he would oversee the artwork. So, it’s drummers like that, that do more than just play the drums. Those are my role models,” Mike Portnoy said.
Portnoy is best known for his work with Dream Theater, band he returned to recently, and was part of their 2025 album “Parasomnia”. Besides him, their current line-up has James LaBrie (Vocals), John Petrucci (Guitar), John Myung (Bass) and Jordan Rudess (Keyboards).
But he also was part of many other groups. Some of them are Adrenaline Mob, Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo, Metal Allegiance and BPMD. Portnoy was born in Long Beach, New York in 1967 and started his musical career in 1984.
