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 feel really fortunate that, in playing guitar and surfing, I've found two things that mean so much to me, and which really complement each other. There's definitely a spiritual thing to both of them; they totally connect you to a higher realm.
Jeff Beck is one of my heroes and has been since I first picked up a guitar.
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.
It really shocked me just to hear of the fans' response to 'St. Anger' not having guitar solos.
Guitar playing is both extremely easy for me and extremely difficult for me at the same time.
Guitar players in the nineties seem to be reacting against the technique oriented eighties.
I didn't want to fall into the trap of competing with all these other great guitar players. I just want to sidestep the whole thing and get out of the race.
Ampeg made incredible guitar heads in the early Nineties and then stopped. And I don't know why. The one we used had a nice clean, warm sound, and it blended well with the other amps that were in the studio.
I would have to say I'm bored with the standard rock, guitar solos, but I've done it for five albums now, and this time I wanted to go in a completely different direction. I wasn't interested in showing off any more.
If a guitar is too easy for me to play, it makes me too laid back. I like to battle with my guitar.
My guitars are my umbilical cord. They're directly wired into my head.
We're the underdogs. We haven't had a top ten hit, and we look like a bunch of bums out there. Amidst all this glam, and this huge production, we're going to stick it out. But that's what we're here for - and that's what put us here in the first place.
The word 'retirement' doesn't really sit well with me. There comes a time when you reach a position in society or culture where people will not let you retire. You can say, 'Alright, I'm going to hang up my guitar,' but people will still not let you retire.
Because of things like iTunes and streaming and social networking, it's destroyed music. It's destroyed the motivation to go out there and really make the best record possible. It's a shame.