I'll take your word about the biography since I haven't read it. But, if he was THAT bad, they'd have fired him regardless of Cliffs death IMO.

His technical abilities aren't great. He's not Mike Portnoy or Niel, but I think his creative style kinda made Metallica (at least for me). I've seen Kirk Hammett fall behind too. Nobody gives him a hard time like Lars.

I hear it all the time that he "sucked". I dunno. Any average drummer off the street couldn't do what he did. Sure, Travis Barker could probably do Lars' music with one hand tied behind his back, but who cares?

The drum parts in One, Battery, and Dyers Eve were pretty awesome. I think I heard Dyers Eve took a bunch of takes though😆. I liked his contributions and I don't know if the band would've been what it was without him.

Here's Lars at peak performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=2X-WqG2GZqTpsCHd&v=_yHJBDeshPA&feature=youtu.be