Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammettis the lead guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth18 November 1962
CountryUnited States of America
I was really, really wild in my early twenties and a bit self-destructive.
I'm very fortunate to be doing the thing I do best, which is play guitar. There aren't many other things I could do.
When you're first starting out, there's always the temptation to hide behind distortion because it lets you get away with murder. But, when it comes to rhythm work, you've gotta back off that gain control a bit, especially if you're playing with another guitarist.
I love 'True Blood.' I love 'The Walking Dead.' Those are fantastic series.
The movie 'Black Cat,' from 1934, is one of my favorite movies.
I love horror movies in space. I love it when the genre switches over and what was sci-fi becomes horror.
My musical tastes change every week.
I don't think success has changed us as people at all. We are the same lunatics that we were when this band first got going. We never see ourselves as being on a higher level than our fans.
It really shocked me just to hear of the fans' response to 'St. Anger' not having guitar solos.
It's definitely true that Stevie Ray Vaughan is one of my all-time favorite guitarists.
Guitar playing is both extremely easy for me and extremely difficult for me at the same time.
We never see ourselves as being on a higher level than our fans.
We wanted to offer something new to our audience. I hate it when bands stop taking chances.
Guitar players in the nineties seem to be reacting against the technique oriented eighties.