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Saturday, April 7, 2012

The #34 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Kirk Hammett

We're up to #34 in Inside the Rock Era's special feature on the great guitarists of the Rock Era.  This guy has come up with some of the greatest solos of all-time.
#34:  Kirk Hammett, Metallica
34 years as an active guitarist
(some of his best solos)


Kirk Lee Hammett was born November 18, 1962 in San Francisco, California.  He has been a songwriter and lead guitarist of Metallica since 1983.

Hammett went to De Anza High School in Richmond, California.  He bought a 1978 Fender Stratocaster copy, then purchased various guitar parts in an effort to customize his sound, but ended up buying a 1974 Gibson Flying V. 


Kirk formed the group Exodus with lead singer Paul Baloff, guitarist Gary Holt, bassist Geoff Andrews and drummer Tom Hunting.  The group recorded a demo in 1982, but in 1983, Hammett was invited to join Metallica after that group fired guitarist Dave Mustaine.  Hammett had been taking guitar lessons from Joe Satriani and that training would pay off.  In 1983, Metallica decided to oust Dave Mustaine and Hammett was the choice to replace him.

Kirk played with Metallica live for the first time at the Showplace in Dover, New Jersey and the group began recording Kill 'Em All, their debut album.  Metallica recorded Ride the Lightning at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The title track was excellent, with "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Fade to Black", "Creeping Death" and the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu" being the other top songs on the album.


The group attracted the attention of Elektra Records, which signed them to a major contract.  Metallica played its biggest concert to date (70,000 people) at the Monsters of Rock Festival in 1985, when they opened for Bon Jovi and Ratt at Donington Park in England.  

Master of Puppets became the group's breakthrough album in 1986, reaching #29 and spending 72 weeks on the album chart.  It was the first album to reach Gold status (500,000 copies) and would go on to sell six million.  Metallica opened for Ozzy Osbourne on a tour, which is funny today considering how huge Metallica is and the level of success that Osbourne achieved in his lifetime.


On September 27, 1986, while Metallica was on tour, the bus driver lost control near Dorarp, Sweden and flipped the vehicle several times.  Bassist Cliff Burton was pinned under the bus and was killed.  The group auditioned 40 people, with Jason Newsted chosen to be the group's new bass guitarist.  


Metallica finished its tour in 1987 and the following year, the group scored its first Top 10 album with ...And Justice for All, which earned a Platinum award nine weeks after release.  Metallica was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the album.  Metallica also won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for the songs "One" and "Stone Cold Crazy".

In 1990, Metallica began working on its next album at One on One studio in North Hollywood, California.  The project ended up costing $1 million to finish, but it was well worth it.  Metallica, known as The Black Album, debuted at number one in ten countries and sold 650,000 in the United States in its initial week.  If people didn't know who they were already, they did with the release of The Black Album.  The album is now the 25th best-selling album of all-time and has been certified 15 times Platinum.


The album took Metallica away from its thrash roots--it was more simple and heavier than past efforts.  Hammett's riff for "Enter Sandman" has helped that song become one of Metallica's most popular songs.  The video for "Enter Sandman" won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video.  It was the first release from the Black Album.  The song reached #16, and it was followed by Don't Tread on Me", "The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Sad but True".  Metallica's great work was recognized when the group won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for the album.

The making of the album with painstaking detail and the group's tour was the subject of the documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica.  But on August 8, 1992, while Metallica was co-headlining a tour with Guns N' Roses, lead singer James Hetfield accidentally walked into a 12-foot flame, a new pyrotechnics display, and suffered second and third-degree burns to his arms, face, hands and legs.  Guitar technician John Marshall replaced Hetfield for the remainder of the tour.


After touring for nearly three years, including a headlining performance at Woodstock '94, Metallica began working on their sixth album.  The group spent a year writing and recording new songs, which culminated with the release of Load in 1996.  Like its predecessor, Load too debuted at #1 on the album chart.  Metallica headlined the Lollapalooza festival in the summer.  The group won American Music Awards for the album in the category Favorite Artist:  Heavy Metal/Hard Rock and for Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Song for "Until It Sleeps".  


The group has written enough songs for a double album, but decided to keep half of them for the follow-up album ReLoad.    ReLoad also debuted at #1 and Metallica promoted it by performing "Fuel" and "The Memory Remains" on Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.  The group was honored at the Billboard Music Awards for Billboard Rock & Roll Artist of the Year, and were presented a Diamond Award.

In 1998, Metallica produced a double album of cover songs by groups such as Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy on the first CD and the original The $5.98 E.P.:  Garage Days Re-RevisitedGarage Inc.Metallica won their fourth Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "Better Than You".


In April, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen.  The recording and concert footage were released as S&M, which debuted on the album chart at number two. 


In 2000, Metallica won another Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, this time for "Whiskey in the Jar", and in 2001, their work with Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony was recognized for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the Grammys for  "The Call of Ktulu".  The group also picked up Billboard Music Awards for Catalog Artist of the Year and Catalog Album of the Year (for The Black Album).

As the group readied to record a new album, Newsted left the band on January 17, 2001.  In April, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began shooting more than 1,000 hours of footage of Metallica's recording process.  The footage was compiled into the documentary, Some Kind of Monster, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.  Producer Bob Rock played bass during the recording of their new album.


Once the record was completed in 2003, Metallica auditioned several bassists before choosing Robert Trujillo as Newsted's replacement.  St. Anger was released in June and debuted at #1.    The title track won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance of 2004.  Metallica toured for two years in support of the album, then opened for the Rolling Stones in November, 2005 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.


In 2006, Metallica released a DVD with all of their music videos from 1989 to 2004, titled The Videos 1989-2004.  The group recorded a cover of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold" that earned a Grammy nomination in 2007 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Metallica released Death Magnetic in 2008.  It sold 490,000 units to debut at number one, making Metallica the first band to have five consecutive studio albums debut at #1 in the Rock Era.  The album it #1 in 32 countries all told and "My Apocalypse" captured the Grammy for Best Metal Performance.


Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax performed on the same night for the first time on June 16, 2010 in Warsaw, Poland.  They also played in Bucharest, Romania and Istanbul, Turkey.  The World Magnetic Tour ended on November 21, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia.  The group headlined the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


The album Lulu was recorded over several months and was released on October 31, 2011.  In December, Metallica celebrated 30 years as a band with four shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco.  


Metallica has been influenced by many heavy metal and hard rock groups, including Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, AC/DC, Rush and the Scorpions.  

Hammett has played guitar for several other artists, including Carlos Santana and Orbital.  Kirk has mastered pentatonic scales and has lightning-fast fingers.  He has come up with countless, timeless riffs and solos as a member of Metallica.  Hammett alternates between picking and tapping in his guitar playing, a variation of the technique known as legato (which means roughly pulling or tapping the strings with your left hand).

Kirk's favorite guitar is the KH-2 M-II "Boris Karloff Mummy".  Hammett also plays the KH-2 "Skully", the M-II Standard, M-II "Zorlac", the ESP Michael Schenker Flying V and the 1968 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

    In 2007, ESP Guitars announced the release of a 20th Anniversary Limited KH-20 Guitar to celebrate 20 years that Kirk has endorsed ESP.

    Hammett has used several different amplifiers.  He started out in Metallica with Marshall amplifiers and cabinets.  In 1986, he switched to a Mesa/Boogie MarkIIC+amplifier with Dual Rectifier heads.  Kirk switched to Randall Amplifiers in 2007 but still uses Mesa/Boogie.  

    Hammett uses many effects, including the Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Crybaby, the Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, the Shure UR-4D Wireless Receiver, the MXR Eddie Van Halen Flanger, the Ibanez Tube Screamer, the DigiTech Whammy, the TC Electronic G-Major 2 effects processor, the GCX Audio Switcher, the DBX 1074 Quad Gate, the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, the DigiTech Space Station and DL4 and MM4 Modelers from Line 6.


    Metallica has sold more than 100 albums worldwide, including 59 million in the United States.  They expanded the limits of thrash metal and are easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the 1980's.


    Metallica's sound has inspired many artists of today, including Korn, Godmack, Avenged Sevenfold and Machine Head.  


    On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame.  Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day".  Metallica was awarded the MTV Icon award in 2003.  Metallica was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.  Former bassist Jason Newsted joined the band on stage for "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman".  

    In a genre in which most acts burn out in a year or so, Kirk has proven a durable force for 30 years as one of the most influential guitarists of his generation.  Kirk Hammett ranks #34 for the Rock Era*...


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