During Metallica’s recent stop in Toronto, guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke with Sirius XM Canada. Talking about the band’s recording process and asked if he has his solos ready to go before he hits the studio, or if they are developed in the studio with the rest of the band, Kirk says the following:

“That's what I used to do… I used to go into a lot of preparation and just do a lot of homework and just get up a bunch of ideas. But this time around, I just made sure that my playing abilities were at it’s best, and the idea was for me to capture a moment, be totally spontaneous, be completely improvisational and see what comes out. And it was a beautiful experience, because I had no idea how the solos were gonna turn out at the end. I had no idea what they were gonna be like. So I went into the studio and just did it. And looking back at all the lead guitar playing on this album, I'm really just kind of blown away by it, because I know it's me but it doesn't sound like me, to me, because it's all stream of consciousness. And there's still at least seven or eight guitar solos I have to go back and sit down and re-learn because it just all flowed out from my mind, from my heart, from my gut.”

Metallica have issued the following update: "Yesterday we told you about a show just down the road from us in Los Angeles, today’s announcement takes us across the world to Shanghai, China and back to the Mercedes-Benz Arena on January 15th, 2017. We’re very excited to return to Shanghai, the only city in China we were able to visit when we traveled to the country for the first time in 2013. We fell in love with the city and its people, so it was a must for this trip!

Tickets will be available on December 13th starting at 2 PM through the ticketing hotline 400-610-3721 and online via Damai.cn. There just might be room for one more while we’re in Asia... keep watching..."

Metallica’s complete live itinerary can be found at this location.