METALLICA Guitarist KIRK HAMMETT - "I Try To Bring An Element Of Improvisation To The Band So We Don’t Sound The Same Every Single F@#king Night"
October 31, 2019, 5 years ago
As part of their "Musicians On Musicians" feature, Rollling Stone paired Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett with art rocker Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, who asks Hammett about riffs, band politics, and turning rage into music. An excerpt follows:
Clark: "I got to watch you guys last night, which was so fucking awesome. I was thinking about the elemental puzzle that Metallica is. It just seems to me like you get to be the water or air element within the band. It’s like, there’s this awesome rigidity, and you get to come in with this energy of fluidity that’s so beautiful. It’s tough, menacing, awesome. But you get to be this soprano."
Hammett: "Thank you. I try to bring an element of improvisation to the band so we don’t sound the same every single fucking night. I don’t like rigidity. I came from a generation of musicians whose mantra was never to play the song the same way. I only play certain guitar solos like the album, because I know that’s what the audience wants. But then there are solos where I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to play. I love putting myself into a scary situation."
Read more at Rollling Stone.
