The Metallica guitar solo Kirk Hammett was bullied recording: “Cut to the chase and play”
Inspiration isn’t something that can be rushed. Even for the most prolific writers, there’s nothing more uninspiring than a record executive demanding a specific number of songs by the end of a tour. That’s when music starts feeling like a job. However, in the case of Metallica, ‘The Unforgiven’ came together under pressure, thanks to the guidance of producer Bob Rock.
Rock was already known for being a hard-edged producer before he had worked with Metallica. He had worked magic for artists like Bon Jovi and helped oversee Aerosmith’s rise to fame in the 1980s with Permanent Vacation. But he also didn’t suffer fools gladly, and the thrash metal titans were eager to listen.
When first talking to him, Kirk Hammett remembered being taken aback by how matter-of-fact Rock was about the sound he was aiming for, telling them that they hadn’t captured anything that they had done live on a record. And Justice For All was already an incredible feat for thrash metal, but Rock knew that he could take them further to become superstars,
Since Metallica had been known for making the gnarliest heavy metal known to man at that point, the thought of them trading that in and letting the guy who made ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ toy with their sound was bound to be a gamble. But Rock was willing to get it right, even if it came at the expense of Kirk Hammett.
Although ‘The Unforgiven’ was gearing up to be the traditional hard-edged ballad of the record, Hammett had a hard time getting into the headspace for a solo, later recalling in Classic Albums, “I came into the studio with a solo that I worked really hard on, and everybody hated it.” Any guitar solo would have to be worked on before it’s ready for primetime, but Rock wasn’t willing to have Hammett phone it in and make something that people would remember.
In the documentary on The Black Album, Rock can be heard fuming at Hammett, telling him, “Cut to the chase and fucking play. Now that you’ve warmed up, let’s hear the fucking ‘Guitar Player of the Year’ solo.” Every other producer would have probably gotten a punch in the mouth for saying that to a group of Metallica’s stature, but after that speech, Hammett’s rage led to him turning in the solo used on the record.
But once the rest of the group tried to play the tracks from top to bottom in the studio, Rock wasn’t the only one getting tense within the group. Elsewhere in the documentary, James Hetfield is seen being extremely frank with everyone, including one clip telling Lars Ulrich that if he wants to hear the song with vocals, then he should just go and sing the damn thing himself.
It might have been the stress talking, but all that blood, sweat, and tears at least gave the group an album that could compete with classics like Dark Side of the Moon and Rumours as one of the best-selling records ever. Whether it was worth it is up for them to decide, but there’s no arguing that some of Rock’s tough love on Hammett that day at least resulted in a great tune.
