METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett recently spoke with Kenny Herzog at The A.V. Club about his new book Too Much Horror Business - The Kirk Hammett Collection. An excerpt is available below:

AVC: Would you say being a horror buff usually coincides with an indoor-kid personality?

Hammett: "Getting sequestered and not really knowing what to do with your time and then discovering, “Oh, I can watch a bunch of horror movies” has probably played out in a lot of people’s discovery of horror. For me, one of the most perfect times to watch a horror movie is when it’s cold and raining outside and there’s pretty much no outdoor activity to be done. It kind of sets the mood."

AVC: Do you think there’s a larger, underlying kindred quality that causes fans to gravitate toward the genre?

Hammett: "I think it goes without saying that a lot of big horror fans are just nerds and geeks (laughs). I say that with the utmost love and respect. I’m aware of the fact that it’s very trendy to be geek-ish or whatever you want to label yourself, but back in the day when I was first collecting comic books and monster magazines, we were a pretty outside bunch. I would say a large percentage of horror fans or comic fans or monster-movie fans are on the fringes of society. And again, I say that in the most endearing terms. A lot of the main characters in horror movies are outsiders as well, so that outsider syndrome reverberates within horror fans and geeky collectors. It’s kind of a rallying call that brings fans and collectors together who are a little socially retarded, maybe. It’s connecting in a way that maybe we have trouble connecting in other ways."

AVC: Because of how public your life with Metallica has been, is it important to have this collection as a sanctuary?

Hammett: "Definitely. For years, I told people this is the thing I do other than music. And it’s true. I’ve been obsessed with music for a long time, but I’ve been obsessed with this stuff for a long time, and it’s a nice thing to have as an alternative place of refuge mentally and artistically that I can run to whenever I feel burnt out from the whole Metallica thing. The fruits of my collecting are so great now that that’s why I’m putting out this book. One day I turned around and I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to share this with people,' because it’s grown into a monumental collection of stuff. It would be a shame for me to not let other people see it.

Go to this location for the complete interview.

On November 1st, Hammett presented a Day of the Dead / Too Much Horror Business book release event at Public Works in San Francisco. The event included zombies, burlesque dancers, horror face painting, special guests DEATH ANGEL and JUDGEMENT DAY. Footage of Hammet joining DEATH ANGEL on stage is available below:

A photo gallery is available here.

Documenting Kirk’s love of all things horror, and the legendary collection of horror memorabilia he has amassed over the years, Too Much Horror Business is a stunning 228 page, hardback, large format coffee table book featuring well over 300 full color images from Kirk’s private collection and exclusive set photography by Mark Leialoha and Joe Gibbs. There are also three extensive conversations with writer Steffan Chirazi covering the importance of collecting in Hammett’s life from childhood, plus personally-written captions by Kirk for many of the items displayed in the book.

“This is my gift to all the other horror nerds out there who are just like me,” says Kirk, “it’s been made with great love for all the many characters and movies which guided me through childhood, into adulthood and which still keep me on track today.”