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The Latest Breaking News from Kirk Hammett

“On Load and ReLoad we tried to get a little looser, a little bluesier. Greasy is the word”: Watch James Hetfield lead Metallica in a swampy blues version of Fuel with a Danelectro 58 Longhorn Baritone

In 2009, Hetfield told us that the Fuel era was all about loosening up and on Friday night at the Helping Hands charity gig he made good on it as Metallica reimagined Fuel, slower and lower

MusicRadar

“A good heavy metal song is like a good horror movie, and vice versa. Heavy metal sounds evil and horror movies are evil!“: Inside Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett’s lifelong love of horror

When it comes to horror Metallica’s Kirk Hammett is the man

Metal Hammer

“I went to Lars’ house, and he played me the tape of Hit the Lights. I said, ‘This song sucks. You need more guitar solos’”: They forged a new sound, and in 10 years, they were the biggest band in the world

The story of Metallica's meteoric rise – as told by the people who were there, including Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian, Kerry King, Gary Holt, and, of course, Metallica themselves

Guitar World

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“Reveal coming soon”: At long lost, is Gibson finally working on James Hetfield signature guitars?

The Metallica frontman is poised to receive a Gibson Custom Shop creation that pays homage to his famed ‘So What’ 1984 Explorer. Could signature guitars be next?

Guitar World

“It was finally time to see if we could do a second build of this revered Boogie”: The iconic Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ is officially back – 40 years after the holy grail high-gain amp was last produced

Beloved by James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, John Petrucci, Steve Lukather and countless others, the original IIC+ is one of the most coveted amps ever created… and now it has finally been revived

Guitar World

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett’s signature Gibson Flying V is available with $6000 off at Sweetwater... and frankly, Nothing Else Matters any more

Buy the Metallica lead guitarist’s signature model for $8,999 in Sweetwater's Black Friday sale (wah-wah pedal not included)

Metal Hammer

“Cliff was the strongest of the four of us emotionally”: Lars Ulrich on how Metallica recovered from the death of bassist Cliff Burton

And how they chose Cliff’s replacement among 60 candidates

MusicRadar

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“I’m all about Dimebag and Zakk Wylde!”: Tetrarch guitarist Diamond Rowe salutes the giants of metal

Plus: the secret to her aggressive tones

MusicRadar

“There was a very real chance that James wouldn’t be coming back. And all that time we spent waiting was horrible”: The tumultuous inside story of Metallica’s St Anger album

In 2003, Metal Hammer flew to New York to interview Metallica ahead of St Anger. We found a band who were bruised, battered but defiant

Metal Hammer

“Add some gain and it’s got this weird kind of chainsaw distortion that I love... of course I feel in love with it”: Kirk Hammett has a second Les Paul that was previously owned by Gary Moore – and Moore said it sounded even better than Greeny

The Metallica lead guitarist offers Mark Agnesi a tour of his epic guitar collection on GibsonTV, with a coffee table book to follow. But will we ever see his ESP KH-1 with the onboard theremin?

MusicRadar

“I gave my friend a call and said, ‘What have you got for me today?’ He goes, ‘Oh, I have a guitar for you…’” How Kirk Hammett ended up in possession of the legendary ‘Greeny’ Les Paul – and why he had no interest in it at first

The Metallica guitarist never intended to buy Peter Green and Gary Moore's iconic single-cut – but changed his mind once he finally got his hands on it

Guitar World

“Greeny is my Excalibur!”: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett says he’s still in love with that famous guitar

He calls it “a magic piece of wood”

MusicRadar

"His kid goes to our kid’s school, he's a lovely guy": how Metallica's Robert Trujillo and James singer Tim Booth became unexpected lunch buddies

The James frontman has been hanging out with the Metallica man in LA

Louder

“I can’t stop being bewildered by all these people who say, ‘That guy sucks!’ I’ve got news for you – you don’t get to where you’re at if you suck! Okay?” Kirk Hammett on why bad solos are dying – and dealing with armchair guitar critics

Towards the end of 2023, we caught up with Metallica's affable lead guitarist to take stock of one of the greatest years in the Bay Area metal behemoth's history, and to talk guitars, songwriting and gear

Guitar World

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Latin Times

From 'metal' to banda: Metallica thrills Mexico with their cover of "La Chona"

Metallica thrills Mexico with their cover of "La Chona", during their first show after seven years without a show there

Metal Hammer

"You had guys who would jump into the crowd and then walk across people’s heads." Inside the year that turned thrash metal into a global phenomenon

From Anthrax's Fistfull Of Metal to Exodus's Bonded By Blood and Metallica's Ride The Lightning, 1984 was the year thrash broke big

MusicRadar

"To my ears, it sounds like me when I was 15 years old": Michael Schenker reveals how he hears his influence on Kirk Hammett's playing in Metallica

"People who copy that particular style will sound a little undeveloped because my vibrato wasn’t right"

Metal Hammer

Fun fact of the day: Metallica use or give away 6,000 guitar picks a night

The metal superstars also haul 64 guitars around on tour and make their way through 25 drumsticks per show

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Metal Hammer

Watch Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo cover Rush anthem Working Man in Canada

The Metallica duo’s latest ‘doodle’ covered a Canadian classic turning 50 this year

Guitar World

“I don’t think bad guitar solos even exist anymore. Everyone is just so much better than they used to be”: Kirk Hammett doesn't pay attention to solo trolls – and thinks “bad” solos are a thing of the past

The Metallica guitarist's lead effort in Lux Æterna came under intense fire from online commenters upon its release, with some even recording their own 'improved' versions

Metal Hammer

“I don’t think the underground or extreme metal scene will ever dig us. It’s elitist”: How Trivium defied the gatekeepers and split the critics with The Crusade

Trivium broke big with 2005’s Ascendancy – but a year later, The Crusade saw the backlash hit

Metal Hammer

Watch Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo jam Ministry’s Just One Fix live onstage

The Metallica duo have also done ‘doodles’ of songs by Iron Maiden, Prince, Abba and more

Metal Hammer

"The annoying thing is that our album played Madison Square Garden before we did": the night Metallica launched The Black Album with the world's biggest listening party

The band hired an arena to unveil their monster fifth record to fans

Metal Hammer

“Lots of people hated it at first. Fans wanted them to do Kill ’Em All 20 per cent faster”: how Metallica defied the haters and changed the course of metal with Ride The Lightning

Metallica’s second album Ride The Lightning turns 40 on July 27 – this is how they made one of metal’s greatest records

MusicRadar

"The first time I saw him, James and I had gone to the Whisky a Go Go in '82. We saw Cliff play, and just absolutely lost our minds.": Memories of Metallica's lost bass titan Cliff Burton as band launches virtual exhibit

The first of four planned exhibitions includes interviews, photos, early recordings, letters and more

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