The Black Album Drums - Darrell Thorp, Mike Tacci (Metallica), Gunnar Olsen (Puscifer), Drum Doctors 

I’m a guitar player for 30+ years, but I swear I enjoy watching drum videos more 😂

Lars gets so much grief for his drumming but he's an icon. This album is ingrained in me and will always be in my top albums ever.

How did this not turn out to be a drum library. Some of the best sounding drums I've heard

"I wouldn't ask you to do a drum roll if your arm fell off" - James Hetfield

I wore my video player OUT watching a year and a half documentary now to see this i have goosebumps!!!! One of the many reasons I play drums!!!!

Can you just imagine what this video represents for any heavy metal drummer? I wondered what became to that kit all my life! The wait is over. Today is the day. THANK YOU LAUTENAUDIO!

We all thought it was TAMA. That great GRETSCH sound is real. Great video!

It's an iconic drum sound on an iconic album. The sound of the thunderous toms on Sandman were seared into my 12 year old brain. Chocolate Audio sampled this kit as a BFD E-Drum library, so I can play it whenever I want. An amazing sounding drum kit.

Can’t believe the studio looks EXACTLY the same as it did in 91!!

I’m just glad to see One on One is still around!🙌🏻

I'd always assumed that Lars owned the kit that was played. Had no idea it was a rental

That snare is like a phone book to the face!

Great sounds all around and fun to see/hear that kit. Major props to Gunnar on the drumming!

Fact is Tommy Lee was recording the Dr. Feel-good album with Bob rock, and invited Lars in the studio at a chance one day to hear what they had going on....Lars was blown away with what Tommy and Bob had created with Tommy's drums. So Lars kind of decided right there he wanted to really dial in a whole new thing for his drums when he went in to do their new album.Lars found himself talking with Bob Rock some about his ideas and months into it Bob was asked to record their album and also really put the work in to create Lars "drum sound" as he really felt Tommy's sound had just opened up things in the drum world sonically and this became main thing....drums and guitars at peak performance for how they felt was manditory.Bob and Lars had a hard time dialing in things with the kit,that's why all the shellacked hardwood sheets was screwed to the wall so the bounce of things could happen....and the rest as they say is....in the history books!!!

I happened to visit One on One while they were recording the Black Album, and here's a few things I remember. I remember walking in the control room and there were pieces of 2" tape EVERYWHERE hung on the rear wall with labels of what parts of what song they were from. It looked like some serious tape edits were happening. For example, they would have strips of tape hanging on the wall labelled, "Fills", or "Verse2". things like that. On the wall to the right of the console they had a shrine of hair metal magazine cut-outs of bands like Bon Jovi and Warrant with pictures of dicks pasted over where the microphones would be.. When I walked out into the live room, I immediately noticed the kit had a ton of mics all over it. Maybe 4 mics on each kick drum. D112 Re-20 Sm57 Fet47... That sort of thing. I wish I could remember the exact specifics. The other thing that I noticed was every cymbal had it's own mic. They looked like AKG451eb's... on EVERY cymbal, and there were a lot of them. Every Tom had top and bottom mics. It was a huge amount of microphones. Out in the room was a full PA system with giant sub-woofers (maybe 18") and a whole other console setup to pump the sound of the live drums through the PA back into the room. It was the craziest setup I've ever seen. They'd been there for many months and were almost done with drums at that time. Also in the main room (maybe it was a huge iso booth, but I thought it was part of the room) was a section of half stacks. I definitely remember a Mesa Boogie MkIIc through a Marshall Cab, and a 70's small script Marshall with a 4x12. I also remember a rack with another MkIIc and a bunch of random stuff in it (ADA preamp, FX's) and a JC120. Each cab had an Sm57 and a MD421 on it. I wish I would have paid better attention, but I was just there for a quick visit and didn't really think much of it at the time.

The drums, the room, the studio. OMG

INSANE DRUM SOUND

I watched those Year and a Half tapes like 1000 times when I was younger. They really inspired me at the time. Really nice to see this in more details. This past year I got to meet Lars in SF for the first time and told him how much he inspired me during the Black album times and how much watching the tapes helped push me in a certain direction.

Gretsch always getting it done in the studio.

new old dream unlocked. I rented the year and a half in the life of Metallica tape out of my local blockbuster with my best friend from middle school. We both decided to dedicate our lives to music in whichever way possible. Seeing this is awesome. Genuinely awesome. Thank you for making this video. Also, it’s very joyful knowing so many people feel a similar way, judging by the comments. This would make a great gathering at a pub!

I bought a bell brass because of this legendary kit. Nice to see a video dedicated to it! Thanks!

This is tremendous. Absolutely iconic kit that contributed to an iconic album. All us metal drummers have dreamed of playing that kit. Monster sound.

What a dream come true getting to play these iconic drums in the same studio!! Unreal!! 🤘🏼

Gunnar is my favorite drummer and I grew up on the Black Album era. This is absolutely amazing.

Wow! Thank you so much for this! I've heard some rumors that Gar Samuelson used the same Gretsch kit when recording Peace Sells!

I read the video description and i got goosebumps. Beautiful video. Thanks for doing this! A very important piece of music history!

...that one in a million combination with that drums...best guitars, best vox, best solos, best guitar sounds, best time, best ....it was just one in a lifetime...

This answered so many age old questions ive had all my career, thank you!

Thank you for such a gem of a upload!!!! This is why RU-vid is the best platform.

Well this is certainly the most awesome drum related content I’ve always wanted to see! Thank you!

The mics used in this video are so good you could hear dude scratching his beard hair by hair 😂😂😂😂😂

That´s unbeliavable, at least. I´m crazy about the black album and searched a lot for the drums and cymbals used in that album, but found just some videos from the actual recording. Now this. Amazing. Can´t tank you enough, guys.

This is coolest video I’ve found on you tube this year, love it

This is absolutely amazing!

Best drumming sound ever! Loved this!

As a fan of Metallica, and having not watched the documentary in years, this is just awesome! Love it

Great vid! Was fun to watch the Nothing Else Matters video afterwards. You can see Mike and the Black Album drums! So cool! Nice to connect the dots all these years later. I've always been a fan of music videos which had clips of the band in studio, however NEM might be my favorite. Thank you Drum Doctors and LautenAudio!

I would kill for a vst drum library of this entire kit in that room. The toms and that bell brass snare are amazing.

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen (and heard) The actual kit???? OMG

the BLACK ALBUM does have one of the best drum sounds ever, just pure thunder.

Awesome video, never thought watching something like this, thanks for sharing

Great stuff, guys!

Wow what awesome sounding kit !

AMAZING sounding kit awesome video 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

I wondered this video 25 years ago...thank you

This video came at the right time for me. Thanks Lauten Audio. It also amazes me how much Metallicas work is dissected

I just set up my big 8" studio monitors after treating my room and this kit is about the biggest sounding drums I've heard in my life. Will check out!

One day I hope to visit this studio. I did not know that AJFA was also recorded there. What a difference in the sound of those two albums to be recorded in the same place. Thanks for this video.

ive been waiting for this!

Amazing! Thank you very much. ❤

This is amazing. Thanks!

The amount of glee and pride Mike Tacci has is palpable.. this is so cool😭

More than just amazing! 💯

Aw man this is so cool! The actual kit that lars played for the black album, that snare is ridiculous and those toms are like thunder! The sound bob rock and the rest of the black album sound engineers produced from that kit will never be surpassed imo. Undoubtedly the best drum sound ever created for any album ever!!

Such a great sounding kit! Didn't realize how big the toms were. Massive! I just bought the Snare Mic and it's one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. Fantastic mic! Next on the list are Tom Mics. Thanks for creating these videos. Very educational!

I tripped across this video and am sooo incredibly happy I did.. I lived my early teen years through Metallica.. what a fuckin amazing kit…

Cool to hear such a close approximation of what the raw kit probably sounded like back in the day before the samples were added in for sweetening. Just a great sounding drum kit in a great sounding room. Can’t go wrong!

That kit is so incredibly iconic. It’s basically priceless at this point.. just to be in the presence of it would be amazing!

This is stupid cool - thank you guys 💪🏻

This is awesome. I don't remember to watch a 19 minutes video on youtube in a while. Everytime I see a video with 10 minutes, most of the time, after 2 minutes I'm bored. After 19 minutes of seeing this, I was like "it has already finished?"

You legends actually did it

Gunbuns living out scores of drummer's dreams! Also note uncredited cameo of Blair Sinta.

This is so great. I have spent hours of my life trying to imagine what it would be like in that room with those drums. This is probably the closest I’ll get. Finally all the little questions answered (except the long standing snare sample debate)

Damn i wish i got to play those what the hell it still sounds fresh all these years later

OMG as a Lars Ulrich and Black Album fan, I absolutely love this video! Thank you!

this history revealed! thanks Lautenaudio!

sounds amazing!!

This is amazing

Amazing.

Yep, I second a sample library here! It's awesome that kit is in use and not in a museum.

Fantastic stuff!

That's awesome!

Amazing sound. I want bottom mics on my toms. Great videos, guys

HISTORY RIGHT THERE!!

That snare just sounds exceptional

This Gretsch kit in this room...Can't get any better!

what a gem! thank you for making this video. super exciting to see this stuff! i love the sound of the drums but to me the china takes the cake. never have i heard a china cymbal that sounds more complete

The Black Album has some of the best Drum and Bass tones I have ever heard. Such a great production. And I didn't know that the drums for Justice and The Black Album were recorded in the same studio.

awesome!

Awesome

Gunnar!! Love this cat. WOW, snake drums baby, sounds amazing.

Hey, Mike Tacci!! He recorded my drums for Buenas Noches Rose in Spain, and he did an amazing job. Great guy, greetings!!

INSANE sound. Lmao.. that great Gretsch sound. I never knew it about this album. I switched to Gretsch USA Brooklyn a few years ago btw. It makes perfect sense. Those drums have massive character.

Omg so good❤❤

Very good sound! Well done! That xy pair gave the black album sound. If you mix em quite high you'll be 80% there!

So amazing, as a drummer, I’m wetting myself right now 😂

Those drum sounds on the black album are the bench mark for me. I love them so much. I’d kill to record there on that kit.

Legendary!

Fantastic video - Ear candy...

11:56 "I am diggin' it, and I'm trying to talk myself out of it." BRO I had the exact same thought process. I was thinking about how to best route the bottom one through the Sub-Aux when you said that 😂😂

I've been waiting 30+ years for this video...THANK YOU

Very Cool Stuff!

Incredible video, it really cheered me up immensely ❤❤❤❤

I own a big Gretsch USA Custom kit from this era. It definitely has a magic tone, especially the toms.

I would have taken that old stack of snare heads ! Beautiful sound; two different finishes. It doesn't matter !! A master tuner and beautiful Gretsch drums !!

HOLY CRAP!!! Was not ready for this when I woke up. I’m done with the internet today before y’all take all my money.

Sonor bass drum spurs. Cool to see Blair Sinta hanging out

HOLY SHIT !!!!!! They sound soooo fucking good dude !!!

Art in the making.

Rawwwwkin. Love it!!!