Hear Metallica Guitarist Kirk Hammett’s First Solo Album
Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett recently released his first solo studio album entitled ‘Portals.’ The musician also announced the record by celebrating Record Store Day on his official Twitter account.
Hammett has been an irreplaceable member of Metallica for almost forty years with his great riffs, guitar performances, and dedication to metal music and the band. Besides his few collaborations with the bands or artists such as Septic Death, Orbital, and Pansy Division, Hammett never focused on a solo work before. He has an interesting story about what changed his mind about it.
The guitarist’s statement released on Metallica’s official website said he wanted to create background music for the ‘It’s Alive’ exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2017. Therefore, the first song he wrote was ‘Maiden and the Monster,’ later became the album’s track. It was followed by ‘The Jinn,’ ‘High Plains Drifter,’ and ‘The Incantation,’ Hammett shared ‘High Plains Drifter’ on April 14, 2022, as a single.
‘Portals,’ in which Hammett teamed up with Edwin Outwater as co-writer, was released on April 23, 2022. It has already received very positive reviews from the fans for now. He stated that classical music, soundtracks, horror movies, and Ennio Morricone influenced him throughout that process. Also, the guitarist wanted to drop his debut solo record on Record Store Day to draw attention to the importance of independent record stores worldwide.
The entire tracklist of the album follows:
“1. Maiden and the Monster
2. The Jinn
3. High Plains Drifter
4. The Incantation”
Hammett’s tweet read:
“Happy Record Store Day!“
You can check out the tweet and album below.
Happy Record Store Day !! #portalsEP #RSD2022 https://t.co/G0Fhr1s5zu
— Kirk Hammett (@KirkHammett) April 23, 2022