Kirk Hammett says Metallica shoots down his ideas ‘all the time’
By Saige Miller on November 4, 2019
By: Saige Miller
It’s crazy to think someone as talented Kirk Hammett, it would be hard to turn down his ideas. Well, that’s not the case for Metallica. The guitarist for the rock band admits his ideas get shot down “all the time.”
In an interview with indie music icon St. Vincent for the Rolling Stone’s “Musicians on Musicians” series, Hammett confessed he plays a ton of music that has never made it onto a Metallica record.
“I can play a lot of different stuff. I’ll play some jazz, bossa nova, blues, gypsy jazz, I play all that stuff. But no one knows I can play this stuff. It’s so crazy,” said Hammett.
The multiverse guitarist admits he’s “always trying to sneak in jazz voicings and chords, little techniques here and there in Metallica,” but is often patrolled by the “tone police.”
On Hardwired… To Self Destruct, the lead guitarist didn’t have a single writing credit on the album.
Nonetheless, Hammett understands “you need tone police” because “tone is super important.”
