Kirk Hammett Says Things Are Different Now With Metallica

In his recent interview, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett reflected on his recently released first EP, ‘Portals,’ without the contributions of his band. The guitarist discussed if the solo venture messed with Metallica, especially with their rule of not doing something aside from the group.

Metallica is one of the best-known acts of metal music. They built years of trust with their fans and released many songs, and performed extensively for them. Formed in 1981, the band went through some lineup changes but never disbanded.

The band’s original bassist, Cliff Burton, passed away in a tragic tour bus accident in 1986. Jason Newsted replaced him, which took him and the band some time to adjust to this incident. The band members warned Newsted about not working on side projects or jamming with anyone other than the band.

The band was strict with this rule for years. However, after 40 years of a successful career, they seem to care less about this rule as their long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett recently released a solo EP and got the support of his bandmates. The guitarist talked about his bandmates not having a problem with this decision and even highly supported him.

According to Hammett, Metallica has nothing left to prove to the world. They have already established their talents, shows, and reputation. Working on different projects while still being in a band is not a big deal for their future. He also continued to say that even though he created all of the music without the band, they inevitably influenced this EP because of the long years they spent and learned from each other.

Here is what Hammett said about Metallica’s rule shift:

“There have been attempts in the past with not very good results. And those attempts in the past have been well documented. But things are just different now with Metallica. I mean, we’re just a lot more mature, I guess. A lot more responsible, I guess? And so it seems like a solo album.

It’s a different understanding. I think the understanding nowadays is that we’re all artists, and we all create, and we should have the opportunity to express ourselves, put out whatever art we want to put out to the world.”

He continued:

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t at this point. What do we get to prove? We’re friggin’ one the biggest bands in the world these days, you know? I mean, how can anything dilute our influence these days? I believe that putting out an album like this only makes us look better. And it’s not just my solo album.

This album is the result of those guys’ influence, too. Look, I have been playing with them for the last 40 years. They’re on this album as much as I am. Just subjectively, not objectively. We’re all influenced by each other when it comes to being in a band. There’s no way around it.”

You can watch the interview and listen to Hammett’s EP below.