CLASSIC Rock 300
KIRKHAMMETT
The Metallica guitarist has long been a master of diverse musical styles, but only in his sixtieth year is he fully showcasing those talents, on his solo album Portals.
Interview: Grant Moon
To help mark our 300th issue, the Metallica guitarist calls Classic Rock from his car in the US en route to rehearsals with that goliath of a band. During our talk there’s the occasional twang of a guitar he’s noodling on (we’re hoping he has a driver…).
Turning 60 this year, Hammett’s releasing his first ever solo record, Portals, an ambitious four-track ‘audio-cinematic’ work that charts four eras of horror movies. Also, it turns out that this Hawaii resident is a regular Classic Rock reader.
It’s suprising that Portals is your first ever solo release. Why now?
I’m just a bit creatively restless. I had this music that was initially started for my museum exhibition [horror/sci-fi movie-art event It Lives!]. The goal was to continue writing for that, and that became two instrumentals, The Monster And The Maiden and The Jinn. I met [composer/orchestrator] Edwin Outwater when we were making [Metallica’s 2020 orchestral live album] S&M2. We connected over our love for horror movies, soundtracks and classical music. In a flash of inspiration I asked him to collaborate. And I was super-pleased with the results.