Kirk Hammett picks the greatest solos of his career
Players must tick a long box list to become a bonafide guitar hero. A combination of big riffs, technical proficiency, and generally, doing something different from the norm have always been the deciding factors, and one man who did so with aplomb was Kirk Hammett. Since joining, the Metallica lead guitarist has been their secret weapon; it’s no surprise the quality of their output increased exponentially after he replaced Dave Mustaine.
Metal has its definitive set of guitar heroes, and Hammett is certainly one of them. After finding his feet in the early thrash metal band Exodus, he was called by Metallica frontman James Hetfield, who asked him to audition. Faced with the decision of staying with his own outfit or joining a band that looked primed for something really special, Hammett took the plunge and flew out to New York to audition.
Within moments of playing ‘Seek and Destroy’, his expressionist take on metal made the members, Hetfield, bassist Cliff Burton and drummer Lars Ulrich, unanimously realise he was the man they needed. He was instantly asked to join the band. Pointing to his friend’s strength as a guitarist, Hetfield would later recall that moment: “The first song we played was ‘Seek and Destroy’, and Kirk pulled off this solo, and it was like … things are going to be alright!”.
Since joining Metallica, Hammett has shown his prowess as a guitarist in many ways, but he made his name a master of solos before anything else. When speaking to Metal Hammer in 2022, he even named what he thinks are the three greatest solos he’s ever captured.
Given that he’s committed many solos to tape, there were bound to be surprises, and the first pick was just that; ‘Hero of the Day’ from 1996’s critically derided Load. While he knew people would disagree, he’s just always enjoyed playing it and, particularly, the way it “goes from minor to major”. It’s one of his “favourite things I’ve ever done,” he added.
The second song was a classic, ‘Fade to Black’ from Ride the Lightning, a number Hetfield had already marked as “a big step” for the group. Hammett explained: “One of a slew of solos I love playing live because I get to improvise, change it all up, never play the same solo twice. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to play from the first lick, and I love that, I love knowing that I’m dancing on the knife-edge, that’s the excitement I fuckin’ live for.”
Unsurprisingly, the final track was ‘One’, the highlight of 1988’s …And Justice for All. It’s arguably one of the top three Metallica songs of all time, and it’s not a coincidence that it features one of Hammett’s best solos and finest performances in general.
Hammett recalled: “Lars called me and said, ‘Can you come down? We need a solo on the new song demo.’ I remember showing up with my guitar, Lars played me the track a couple of times and I fiddled with it, figured out where James was going. I said, ‘OK, press record.’ Next thing I know, my hand is tapping on the neck, following the chord progression, it just came out of air! Afterwards I was thinking, ‘Well, that was kind of a trip!’”
These three solos are just the tip of the iceberg for Hammett; he has many great ones under his belt. ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Creeping Death’ are stone-cold classics.
