Bill Ward professed his love of Metallica's oft-knocked drummer, Lars Ulrich, this weekend, spinning Enter Sandman on his radio show before singing Ulrich's praises and regaling audiences with tales of their friendship.
A legendary drummer in his own right, Bill Ward's bombastic playing with Black Sabbath has inspired countless young drummers to pick up the sticks and earned him a reputation with no equal amongst the rock and metal community.
During his regular 10 am Sunday show for KLBP's LA Radio Sessions, Ward threw his weight and undeniable drumming authority firmly behind Ulrich - the unfortunate subject of frequent derision from Metallica fans and disapproving commentators alike.
"First of all, he's the most huggable man. I was so happy that we could spend time together when we did the last show with Black Sabbath. We talked, I think, for about an hour nonstop. There's a lot of history [and] honour between us."
"I know that he's a huge fan of Black Sabbath and I'm a huge fan of Metallica. I just love Metallica. I love Lars's drumming. He's had to find himself, as have all the band, they've found a niche or a place where they can exist and dominate in heavy metal."
Ward continues, recalling his first encounter with Metallica and how far they've come since those early days: "When I first met them, they were really young. I first met Lars when he was about 18, 19 years old at the most. They have created their own society and a musical genre that is unto themselves. And it's such a great name, Metallica."
"Lars is a brilliant drummer. He's persevering, he works hard. I've seen him work hard. And he's such a nice man. I love him to death. When I put my arms around him, he could stay there forever. I love his family. I love how he plays. He's just one of the best people to know".
Back in July, Metallica were among guests who played alongside Black Sabbath for their final concert, Back to the Beginning. The show saw Metallica cover two Sabbath tracks - Hole In the Sky and Johnny Blade - along with several of their own songs including For Whom The Bell Tolls and Master of Puppets.
This isn't the first time Ward has sung Ulrich's praises - he expressed the same appreciation for Lars and his playing in October 2014 during his 'Rock 50' radio show. "Lars is an exceptional drummer. He's spiritually sound. I really like that."
"A lot of the paths that Lars has passed through, I've travelled myself. And I ended up with being able to take whatever my abilities are, and utilise that in whatever music we did with Sabbath or with my own bands now, or if I jam out with anybody, I just play whatever shows up."
"But I can remember going through a period over 20, probably 28, 25 or 26 years ago, where I stopped competing, so I had to find out what I could do and make good use of it. And it sounds like Lars has reached that settling ground as well. And I think he does such a good job of it."
As well as playing several Metallica tracks such as Enter Sandman, Master Of Puppets, Until It Sleeps and All Nightmare Long, Ward shared plenty more kind words for Ulrich's craft. "There are so many things, drum-wise, in all of those songs that are departure points, where other drummers can look at it and go, 'Well, this didn't exist before.' Then Lars created it and we can all listen to it and go, 'Wow!' We can nick some stuff as well."
"His drum creations have brought the sound of Metallica to the very edge of metal spearhead, and he's worthy of much praise. He's inspirational and a must-listen for the students. So go ahead, students. If you are learning drums or need to learn the new techniques and stuff like that, listen to Lars, man. He's got some really good stuff that you can learn from."
If that doesn't convince you that Ulrich has earned his place in rock history, Ward continued to reveal how eye-opening he found first Metallica in the early 80's: "I sighed a deep sigh of relief when I heard the black album. Everything musically had seemed to be distorted feng shui until I heard Lars and Metallica landing firmly with a statement that announced, 'This way.' And that's how it felt."
"I was in bad shape. I was coming off Sabbath and we'd been through all the Sabbath years and touring and grinding. It was 1980 and I was just waking up into a new life, I guess, and I was listening around, looking around for music, and I heard a couple of early Metallica albums and then I heard the black album, and I thought, 'Oh my god.'"
"It had the same effect that The Beatles' white album had on me. When I heard that and I heard Lars' playing, and I just was, like, you know, 'Wow! Something really neat's been accomplished here.' It pointed, 'This way, guys. This is the way we're going.' And it seemed like there was a multitude of music that followed that, and we've got this incredible heavy metal thing that we have today."
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