The classic Metallica song that doesn’t feature Kirk Hammett
There has always been a bit of contention surrounding Kirk Hammett’s role in Metallica. Although he may be behind some of the greatest guitar solos in metal history, the sudden dismissal of original guitarist Dave Mustaine combined with Hammett’s abundant use of effects like wah-wah has made some people believe he’s a one-trick pony. Despite Hammett’s obvious musical thumbprint on every Metallica track, some classics have him on the track in a limited capacity.
Throughout Metallica’s history, Hammett was always the secondary riff writer to James Hetfield, who normally pumped out menacing licks with machine-gun-like intensity as Hammett made insane squeals come off his fretboard. While the songs may have been about bringing as much power and precision to one’s instrument as possible, Hammett was happy to take a bit of a back seat when it came time to record The Black Album.
Working with studio perfectionist Bob Rock, Hammett remembered the time in the studio being more simplistic, telling Classic Albums: “The Black Album for me was the easiest record. Because the songs are always screaming for a certain kind of guitar solo in the mix”. Even with the simple backdrop, Hammett was still up to his fair share of surprises, using the sound of his wah-wah to great effect and improvising in unusual scales like the Eastern flavour on ‘Wherever I May Roam’.
While the group was working away on capturing a specific performance for every song, one of the album’s biggest hits doesn’t feature Hammett on lead guitar. On their biggest commercial ballad, ‘Nothing Else Matters‘, Hetfield plays every single part. Being a very delicate song that he wrote about his wife, Hetfield put layers upon layers of guitars onto the rhythm track alone, being inspired by how Brian May used to orchestrate his guitar parts with Queen.
As the band began woodshedding different parts for the solo, Hetfield took over for Hammett, thinking up a solo that feels like a whirlwind of emotion, as if he’s translating that lonely feeling of a man on the road pining for his lover back home. Although it’s clear that Hetfield is not as technically proficient as Hammett in terms of soloing, his note choices are always tasteful, including some of the most gorgeous guitar harmonies heard on any Metallica project.
This approach to soloing would also become a lot more prevalent in the next few years of Metallica. Once the band started to change their image for their Load era, Hammett scaled back from his fretboard acrobatics in favour of the lyrical bluesy style heard here. Sometimes it would be slow and plodding, or it would be intense as hell, with later tracks like ‘Fuel’ combining both versions of Hammett’s style under one roof.
Even when the band plays ‘Matters’ today, Hetfield is still taking the solo onstage, squeezing every bit of life out of the notes to create something far more effective than any guitar riff ever could. Kirk Hammett might be a phenomenon when put in the right song, but ‘Nothing Else Matters’ is the perfect exercise in restraint on his part. As easy as it would be to do a shredding solo, one of the hardest challenges a musician can face is knowing when to bow out.
