Larnell Lewis Hears "Enter Sandman" For The First Time (Reaction) 

I‘m as a drummer watching another drummer watching another drummer listening to the drums by another drummer

Was it perfect? No. Did he miss some parts and confuse some others? Yes. But who fucking cares? He listened to the song all the way through without stopping it once. One time only, and then got this close on his first pass. That’s so insanely impressive.

Larnell Lewis listening to Metallica's entire discography... "still open hi hats... ok"

"Just downloaded the song...in his mind..." Nah. If he had, Lars would have sued him.

While Larnell was listening to the tune, I was thinking "Wait 'til Bryan sees Larnell doing double kick pedal patterns - with one pedal".

I once saw Herbie Hancock live. The drummer was doing stuff with one foot pedal that sounded like 2. I almost gave up playing, then realized I should be inspired. I also once saw a jazz band and thought, "How could their playing be so tight?" I asked them and the guitarist says, "Man, were just jamming. I barely know these cats".

Who cares if he's not "note for note." He absolutely owns this song. And I love that he shows the freedom we have, as drummers, to add our own nuances to whatever we're playing.

Lewis indeed missed the part he knew he'd miss, and then proceeded to rewrite the outro with panache. Dude's a BEAST of a drummer

If Lars Ulrich reacts to this, then a wormhole will open up.

You can see Larnell looking at his kit while listening...he hasn't even heard the song all the way through yet and he's already mentally programming himself to play it. Starts out..."I know there were some hi-hats in the beginning..." LOL Amazing skill and talent!

You can really tell he's a Jazz drummer in how laid back his snare hits are as opposed to driving the tempo. Definitely an impressive performance! 👍🏽🤘🏽😎

aint gonna front, i know NOTHING about playing drums, though my stepson is a high school marching band drummer, (he lives in Texas, me in Virginia) that said i had to google Mr. Lewis to see who he was whilst listening to this. im not going to forget who this man is. on to the reaction (a guy who obviously know who Larnell is) loved the respect he paid to him. even the dismissive "it's Larnell" is meant as a monster compliment. all around enjoyable video, I intend to watch as much as I can find by both our host Mr. Bryan Force, and his " guest" Mr. Larnell Lewis.

He’s not listening, he’s downloading.

What he missed in accuracy, he made up 2x in creativity. Those ending fills were super tasty.

Dude. You're a Larnell fan who's never listened to Snarky Puppy?! Stop what you're doing and film a reaction to 'Lingus'. I can't WAIT to see your face on that one.

Not sure which video I enjoyed more, his or yours seeing your reaction!!

I love the respect that Larnell gives it, a true professional. To me, Lars makes Metallica. I always describe his style as kinda.. melodic drumming. He makes the drums a true instrument and not a fancy metronome. I don't know if I'm describing it properly but I expect people understand lol. We know what Larnell Lewis is capable of, but he clearly picked up on and stayed true to the theme and by the end was just having so much fun.

The man has a music mind. amazing to see.

The one beat he missed was when James Hetfield says "oooh" at 15:32 - in the song there is a beat on the snare that Larnell Lewis didn't hit. That was the only beat I saw him miss. And he called it in his active listening session at 7:05 when he says, "Oh, I'm gonna miss that!" So in a sense, it was perfect to the extent that he even called his missed beat ahead of time. And I think he later realized that in the bit afterwards. This guy is amazing - a human metronome.

This is so badass!!! I loved it!!! He killed it for only listening to the song once!!! Loved his take on it. Gotta start watching him now.

The obvious respect Bryan has for Larnell is honestly amazing. I love it

1/i arrived here from the original video which I love 2/i usually find reaction video quite useless 3/i am anything but a musician. I am basically a musictard. But I got weirdly emotional watching you watching this video. I don't know maybe looking at the loop of the "metalhead" watching the jazz guy going metal was the perfect picture of how music can bring people together (+knowing what larnell lewis says at the end of the original video about trying different style and accepting the culture of it). Anyway let's say conclude like this: you, my good sir, just put a smile on face for the rest of my day and you got yourself a new well deserved subscriber. Thank you.

Larnell seems to just genuinely LOVE music. Doesn’t matter what it is, he loves music. Enjoyed the hell out of watching this reaction. You got a new sub. Really enjoyed watching your reaction.

Geniuses over at the large hadron collider: “Then we go to the guitar solo...”

What really set Lars apart was his timing. There's nothing wrong with technical minimalism. You don't need a Jaco bassline on Greensleeves.

Larnell is such a joy to watch, and as a person in general. I would so pay to see him listen to a Bandmaid song and go ham on the drums like Akane does, haha. I feel like he'd have so much fun with one of those. But yeah, that was fun to watch. As expected. Thanks for reacting to it too.

"it feels like taking a math test" This is great! That's exactly how I explained the difference between people like Lewis and normal musicians. When I was playing jazz I was doing math. I was counting my ass off, doing transformations in my head, thinking really hard. So even though I got to be pretty good by hard work and lots of practice, people like Lewis breezed by me without looking back. The difference is the same as a native language speaker writing poetry and trying to write poetry in a foreign language. Lewis speaks music. More directly, he speaks drums fluently. So for him playing metal is just doing an accent or a dialect. Playing a pop tune or a country tune would be the same. Meanwhile, normal people are trying to translate from French into German.... And then write poetry. Sure, with study you can pull it off. But then you read a great German poet and realize how far away you are.

The ending felt like he really wanted to open up and get groovy. Seemed like this was too easy for him.

Its insane how he can almost predict what's going to happen in the song

Larnell listened to a song once and does a damn good effort of playing it on first try, I’m impressed!

You're spot on with the technical aspect. He didn't wow anyone with blast beats or off timing that flowed in and out of the song, but you always FELT those drums. It's Like the first time you listened to Feels Like Teen Spirit. Doesn't matter that it's just a couple cords strung together, damn did it make you bang your head.

You talked over his best part when listening: "Ooohh I am going to miss that bit!"

Man, you give me good vibes dude. And the fact that you're a metal drummer enjoying drummers of different genres, you get my sub. Awesome stuff dude, looking forward to more in the future

Sir Larnell play with anyone...Superb!!!

We are witnessing the origins of a never-ending meta drum RU-vid hole: to Larnell's reaction to "Enter Sandman"

If you want your socks blown off and your brain fried, definitely view Snarky Puppy playing Lingus. Not just because of Larnell Lewis on the drums, where he's on fire, but for Cory Henry on the keyboard solo, and the back and forth between the two. Pure magic.

Best part is Bryan's face. Smiling, appreciating other musicians other drummers. Amazing

Ohhhh I would love to see a split screen of Lars / Larnell to really have the comparison right in front of you. hee hee .. that was fun to watch. Thanks guys ..

5:46 YEAH you're right!! what ever they're saying to LARS you can't take away his writing and creativity!!!

love that he's adjusting his IEM's and glasses, like he's got all the time in the world!

Metallica has been my favourite band since I was FIVE. 1985. Larnell’s drumming gave me chills, bro. Incredible.

It's kewl watching him break it down into manageable sections.

Thank you for your video. I seem to have noticed your eyes water watching Larnell Lewis. I especially thank you for that. I always feel odd if this happens to me, but it does. Some pieces of art make me cry like a baby because it feels like you said: one feels a Genius working. Sometimes even several ones and they work together. I guess it is always similar. Althoug coming more from the classic corner of music, I felt touched: You never even get somewhere near to fathom virtuousity unless you once found out, how hard it is to get just one note straight (p. ex. on a violin). And then there come these people who, with their gift, but as well with their dedication, energy, lifetime-engagement in practicing while other people just close their laptops and get a beer.... They make something of a complexity lightyears beyond the average human's horizon look as easy as a smile and nobody sees all the hard work that has been put into that ability. You cannot honour this better than crying.

I may have found Mr. Lewis’s biggest challenge to date: Please let him wacht to the drum cam video of Tools “Pneuma” song. Incredible song en performance!!

Watching Larnell's original video was other worldly surreal. The cat is a genius. Watching you watch him was a treat that gave me joy. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Just watched the video earlier. Never seen the guy before but I think we reacted the same at every point. Great vid. Both of you 😂

I wondered how he would deal with Lars' "time keeping." That was the most impressive thing about seeing Metallica live, the ability of the other musicians to follow his tempo variations and keep it sounding tight.

You knew he missed a few spots but still recognized the skill. That is a huge credit to you... (it's wicked easy to act all high and mighty because he missed something you have spent years memorizing) and because of that humility you definitely earned a sub from me(Larnell Lewis is my hero but enter sandman was a pivotal part of me growing up)

For reals, though, I wonder how Lars would feel watching this; it could go so many ways. Perhaps he’d be honored, if not humbled to see a real jazz drumming prodigy doing a take on his song with the appreciation that a piece of art he made has transcended genre and reached so many people. Perhaps he’d feel indignant and prideful and try to cut down the imperfections and strict adherence to the track he wrote. Perhaps he’d get self defeating and go into a depressive state comparing his style to Larnel’s. Perhaps that look of surprise and amusement at the halftime prechorus, a sort of “real recognizes real” moment, and acknowledgment that the chosen genres of these two players call for very different structure and prowess will be the calming and peaceful thought that sends Lars off to a renewing rest every night till the end of his days.

I play guitar, and to hear the way he broke down the drum play, makes the Metallica song much more impressive. I look for more Larnell Lewis. It would be nice to see Lar's reaction, or to see both drummers play side by side.

OK now I don't feel so bad having never heard of Larnell Lewis until today

Yeah Brian, i hear ya...it was that good, it brought tears to my eyes as well !!! I was going to just watch the video for the first time and i saw your reaction in the list so decided to watch it with you instead.

it was silly the way I was feeling watching Lewis listen and play. Like this overwhelming pride and smile from ear to ear. Just silly I tell you.

Watching his process is amazing

Really gotta give you props for you high level of positivity and ability to just have fun with it. The lack of snobbery was refreshing. Have you reacted to anything by tatsuya amano? He's a ton of fun on a kit

This is like a college physicist showing their thesis to Stephen Hawking and him doing his version of it. The difference in drum theory is insane

Was really cool seeing Larnell drumming in his stlye to this, and watching you understand what and how he was doing it, and then seeing it through your facial expressions. What was nice was there was no envy, just pleasure and respect in listening to another talented musician, we need more people like you! Very wholesome!

saw this this clip recently on tiktok, and the comments were filled with, "He MiSsEd ThiS ParT" like any of us mere mortals could play any song half as good as this on our 10th listen

Seeing this breakdown really made me appreciate Lars' contributions to the song. Without all those variations it would've been a bit ordinary.

When Larnell cuts loose at the end you can feel a little fusion creeping in, lol. But I loved it. Imagine hiring Larnell for a gig. You know that he is REALLY going to listen to your tune and take it apart. Consummate magician. Er, musician.

Sure.. He missed stuff... But imo... His rendition of the song kinda hit harder and I love it

This was really enjoyable, good stuff....thanks. Agree 100% with your analogy about Lars, solid and methodical.

You can tell after the first verse/chorus, he really gets comfortable with it and has a lot of fun. Amazing. The only bit he really "missed" was at the end when the drums kick back in as James yells "Ooo!" but he still did a fantastic job regardless. Much, MUCH better than I think almost anyone would.

I like how casually fixes his glasses. Id a had to abandon those

Snarky Puppy - Lingus. The Larnell and Cory nail it.

You should check out the Godmother of Drumming doing "Down with the Sickness". Great, fun video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6wkCsnFRuwg.html

I kind of wish they had played a version without the drum track so that we could hear how Larnell would have played drums to it.

We know the song and all of it's intricacies... it's amazing to watch him anticipate the feel of the song as it evolves and NAIL IT.

love that look when the drummer who clearly doesnt listen to metal starts loving what he's playin

I've come to the conclusion that Larnell Lewis is my favorite drummer. I don't say that after only watching this video. I've probably seen a hundred videos of him by himself and with snarky puppy. Before I discovered Larnell Lewis, my favorite was Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band. Was never a fan of the overall Dave Matthews sound, but he was my favorite drummer and is now my second favorite drummer. In case you were going to ask, my third is Neil peart. Then probably Buddy. Rich then Marvin Smitty Smith. Marvin did an insane like 10 minute cymbal solo. Anyways, I ramble .This dude right here is insane.

Metallica: We need a drummer Larnell: I'm here Metallica: Do you know our music ? Larnell: I listened to it once..

People don’t realize that this is super simple to Larnell! Not as a knock on metal but it shows how great Larnell Lewis is, he hears a professional level drum part and it’s 10x simpler than what he’s used to playing. I mean he learns 10 minute drum parts while riding on planes to his gigs (Lingus by Snarky Puppy) and kills them. So this was no challenge to the man!

Dude you have an excellent vibe - so easy for anyone to just criticize, judge or crcify. So much heart and honesty in your feedback. A pleasure to watch your reaction and this video.

I really appreciate you giving Lars some props. I get why he gets the hate he gets but I grew up listening to the guy and he does write perfect drums for Metallica not to mention he had some great tone st. Anger aside

“I was like seven when I heard this for the first time” sent shivers down my spine. I find it fascinating how I’m so much younger than this man (18 years old 2021) and yet I experienced this song for the first time at the same age. It’s true and I don’t care what anyone says about it, music does truly create unity among communities that would never mix under ‘normal’ circumstances. Love from Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿(UK/Great Britain 🇬🇧) enjoying the content keep it up dude 👍🏻

Loved it. Like the way you think as well.

IANAD but I am a musician. Knowing what was coming in the song during the active listening and predicting what his reaction would be, and then it occurs....just gold. Yes I teared up.

Brooo I don’t care wether that was 100% or not. That was off the menu. Fire reaction bro🔥🔥🔥

His memory is amazing. He absolutely knows his stuff, too, calling ahead that x or y is going to happen. Brilliance. Absolute brilliance! ❤

Now have him listen to Lateralus by Tool. lol

I've never played the drums before but man, that's really entertaining to watch. Thanks for the video!

A church drummer covering Enter Sandman with a perfect groove

Watching Larnell in that video, my heart feels so full, but I'm crying at the same time. Glad someone else can understand how I felt. Absolutely incredible.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jd1X5JWaGgQ.html This is 100% what you should react to when you get around to another Larnell reaction. It's not solely Snarky Puppy, but it's got most if not all of the members + some extras

Man too bad you talked while he was listening you've missed the end when he was suprised ! You also shouldn't have cut his little conclusion afterward. BUT great reaction though ! Thanks.

Larnell is a Drummer prodigy!

geez just stumbled on the original video in my recommends, and went to this reaction, that guy is a genius

I've long been saying to Lars critics that he might not be the best technical player but his way of playing and personality are an integral part of why Metallica sound like they do...

Larnell Lewis playing Lars Ulrich... so, Larsnell Leuwlrisch?

Enjoyed that!

Larnell has got the memory of a damn computer. He knows his craft and it really shows.

Thanks 🙏

Thank you for being such a positive metal RU-vidr! It’s awesome to see more and more people like you in the community!

HOOOOOOLYYYYYYYYYYYY HELL!! 1ST TIME I'VE HEARD LARNELL LEWIS, I'M AN INSTANT, LIFELONG FAN!! SMOOTH, CRISP, YET RAW AND POWERFUL. MR DYNAMIC SHOULD BE YOUR NAME. INCREDIBLE, SIMPLY INCREDIBLE.

I love Larnell but c'mon, Enter Sandman is the Smoke on the Water for metal drumming.

I am the most basic of beginners on drums but i do wanna learn the timing, cymbals, drums pieces and whatever else there is. There is a drum set at my church and i do hv the opportunity to practice on them but just hv to find the time.

Watching you watching Larnell is so pure. I love this

You watching him is like me watching my mate play guitar them me trying to keep up

Bryan, when you give us "OH niiice" or "THAT was tasty" you should consider stopping the vid and explain why. What made what he did sound better to you than... whatever else might normally be there.

A reaction to a reaction..not long before we see the reaction to this reaction of a reaction of other people reacting to a reaction