How to Recreate "Enter Sandman" by Metallica on Drums | What's That Sound? EP 43

Deceptively simple, groove-based and huge sounding; the drums of "Enter Sandman" sit comfortably alongside its iconic guitar riff. Lars Ulrich's pounding toms and shotgun-like snare sound incredible and Noam & Jessica have given it the "What's That Sound?" treatment. How did they do?
Read more about the gear in this video here: bit.ly/3PTN9iT
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#metallica #larsulrich #entersandman #drums #drumrecording #howto #blackalbum #whatsthatsouond #reverb
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - The Drums
2:06 - Mixing Overview
3:30 - The Kick
5:36 - The Snare
7:05 - The Toms
8:23 - The Overheads
9:36 - The Room Mics
11:59 - Blending Reverbs

[@adam872]

Loved that. The snare and toms sounded enormous, which is exactly what the track requires.

[@Andyanddiana467]

All kidding aside, I like how you point out how the sound for these drums was created FOR A SPECIFIC CONTEXT. Alone, outside of a mix, the drums may some unusual, but with the rest of the instruments, it sounds right. Like an old engineer told me, "stay off the damn PFL buttons as much as possible when you're mixing."

[@joecordell1714]

Please keep this up! Love the format. Start with the finished sound (where you want to go), then the set up and processing and what each bit sounds like, then describe the "how and why" of the processing. Great series.

[@shaunketterman2985]

Bob Rock has mentioned in a video (can’t recall which one, this was a while ago) that they did use a sample for the snare, but it was sampled from the actual snare they were using (Tama Bell Brass). They made the sample themselves, “in house”, and used it as needed.

[@brentharmonmusicproduction]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b16zZqqpmNmLhrM

[@chrislongo221]

Love this series! Please keep 'em coming!

[@alvaroruizruiz7538]

The drums on this album were a gretsch kit with pinstripe heads on toms, and the "terminator" snare aka tama bell brass (there's your "shotgun" sound, although samples could be used, at least for ambience, who knows), all rented and tuned by drum doctor

[@stevevorass]

I’d say you guys nailed it! I love the attention to detail and your engineer’s explanation of each choice of gear and why. All of that being said, I totally get why sample packs are so popular. It would cost $100k to get this setup 😅.

[@eDWICHt]

Fair play to you guys for doing this series. The results are mostly somewhat in the ball park and above all it makes for an interesting watch because of you guys just being cool dudes and the comprehensive walk-through of your approach. On this one there's a considerable 'but' for me, though: The snare really, really needed not to be a shallow wood shell but a deeper metal shell instead and I just can't imagine how you came to the conclusion that the Mapex was the one for this. Kinda seems like borderline trolling, in which case: Go you! (;

[@MadGearBand]

Fair points, but the black panther seems to be a mostly metal line of snares. The one they used looks like it’s probably a black beauty knock off.

[@Andyanddiana467]

Awesome! ...just PLEASE don't do St. Anger next.

[@Reverb]

Maybe good news, maybe bad news, but we've already done it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5yVkJWfndyLhdE

[@mrparkinson]

Good work! I dig what you did here, but the link to the samples from this session dont seem to have the Enter Sandman samples listed?

[@jolyvallejo]

Excellent job as always! Can you recreate the drum sound of Green Day´s American Idiot? I would love to see it.

[@imcharming4808]

I love your playing as always! You’re so consistent with your hit power, which is powerful IMO. These drums will never be replicated. Hell, Lars himself has never even played the track as it appears on the record 😂

[@clubTSI]

Dude always looks like he just finished a 20 Hour shift in the ER.

[@JulianFernandez]

Jessica for the WIN

[@joermnyc]

If you can do it: “Percussion Gun” of White Rabbits second album “It’s Frightening”. The trick is, they have two drummers, but the second drummer doesn’t have a full kit, just toms and cymbals.

[@rosiejoeoffical]

Can u do Rearview by Brenn? It has one of the best drum sounds and I really need to know how to get that sound.

[@adampavelec857]

I knew I’d hear another “bombastic” adjective in the video! LOL!

[@LaterHolmes]

Please recreate the drum sound of "Looking for the Magic" by Dwight Twilley. It is crazy.

[@buffgoat716]

Hey, so you're at Rax Trax in Chicago... When are you going to do some Ministry drum tones? Unless the methodology for all those is mostly "drum machine through a Rat" or something...

[@scottv8410]

The attack is pretty close but the girth is missing

[@ashworthhausaudio]

Am I being dim or is the sample pack not in the link?

[@tglafredo]

Jessica rules!

[@JujuGlueshoes]

Could you do either Coffee & Tv by Blur or Sexy Sadie by The Beatles?

[@sovietcomrade4970]

I think it tuned out a little thin. In the original Drums had a lot more fundamental frequencies.

[@DavidOakesMusic]

in before all the bitching starts.

[@EmieldeNennie]

Sex Pistols - Holydays In The Sun amazing aggressive drum sound

[@scottcollier9178]

Drink every time Noam is going to say “bombastic”?

[@easternsouvenirs]

😂

[@RobbieWhiplash]

Shotgun blast snare sound that was probably a sample? It’s called a Bell Brass Snare drum, which is what he used. It’s almost like there is a 3 hour long movie out documenting the album recording with tons of footage of the drum kit and the mics and placements 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Sunkenballs12]

They sampled the bell brass snare.

[@JohnnyCashavetes]

The tom sound reminded of Cars - You're All I've Got Tonight (without the flanger), which is a sweet tom sound, but not what Enter Sandman sounds like.

[@twosnakse]

It’s interesting you’re mentioning layered samples with the snare, it’s not something I’ve really heard about it. Given there’s a full length documentary of the recording of the album, as well as a ‘Classic Albums’ documentary which plays through the mixing board, you’d think it would have been mentioned or at least picked up on a bit more?

[@allmetaliswelcome]

I've come across a video at some point with Bob Rock sitting at the board and you can clearly see tracks labeled "sample" tried looking for it recently and couldn't find it anymore

[@joshdemarco4308]

Everyone uses a triggered snare sample

[@twosnakse]

Neither of these replies are compelling lol

[@dougiemanross]

Yeah, sampling wasn’t something rock bands were particularly super proud of doing until somewhat recently but it’s been done for decades. From my research, the snare was mixed with a triggered sample.

[@atgred]

@@allmetaliswelcomeYes! There is a moment in the video Bob is holding the multitrack sheet and you can see that there is a track for a snare sample. And you can here it especially when Lars does “crescendos” the soft hit don’t have the sample. Bob Rock even talks about using sample in Tommy Lee’s kit because Tommy wanted his kick drums to sound as big as the rap albums of the time.

[@Downhuman74]

They didn't use a sample on the snare - it was a Ludwig Black Beauty bell brass snare mic'd to the nines. Brass gives it that extra sharp crack - which is missing here, sadly. The sample thing gets thrown around a lot lately for some reason but it's right there on A Year and a Half in the Life. Bob Rock wasn't using samples. It was different heads, mics and different drumsticks all working in combination. Bob Rock wouldn't have done all that work just to throw a sample on top of it. They worked on that drum sound for weeks.

[@Sunkenballs12]

Your incorrect. They sampled the bell brass snare and used it pretty frequently.

[@samruffdrums]

that snare sound is not even close

[@rickenbacker40011]

Sooo 80's

[@nebyenrub]

Nailed it, sounds awful!

[@markdwighttadina7655]

Up next : ST. ANGER 🤣🤣🤣

[@nanchanger]

Saw them live, it was the only good song...

[@klinsmann6706]

The only song you knew on the setlist.

[@gersonalves6041]

NOT EVEN CLOSE..............

[@revolutionday1]

Not even close, really. That shit sounded like Creedence.