KIRK HAMMETT Says METALLICA Is More Of A 'Brotherhood' Than A 'Marriage'

May 7, 2013

Tanya Nefdt of eNews Channel Africa spoke to METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett last month when the band returned to South Africa for three shows — one in Johannesburg and two in Cape Town. You can watch her report below.

Asked how METALLICA managed to stay together after playing with each other for more than 30 years, Hammett said: "I tend to think of it not so much as a marriage, but as a brotherhood. We're four brothers who are pretty much stuck with each other, like it or not, so we might as well make the best out of it. We love what we do, we love what we do together, as a collective."

Speaking to Music Review about what made METALLICA decide to come back to South Africa seven years after the band's last visit, bassist Robert Trujillo said: "The real reason is the fans. It sounds like such a cliché, but it’s very important. Look at tonight, there's a lot of people out there to see us. There's a lot of love, I guess METALLICA is still relevant in this part of the world. We had two great shows in Cape Town that were a bit more intimate, but wow, the energy was pretty spectacular! I thought Van Coke Kartel had great energy; I know that a lot of people said they aren't really the genre, but that doesn't register on our radar. We like bands that like to have fun and rock out and really deliver live. I really enjoyed watching them. The last show went really well for us and we all left with big smiles on our faces."

Trujillo added in a separate interview with AllAfrica.com: "We always try to get to places where we know we have a strong fan base and it is difficult to get here; it is sorta off the beaten path. The population here is so diverse, you may just have a small legion of metal fans, you know what I mean? So to have the fans really want us that bad makes the desire to come here to play all that much stronger. But it's involved, 'cause our production is big, it's expensive, you know. It's not easy, but we're here and we're going to have a great time and hopefully we will be back again."

Following recent live dates in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, METALLICA performed on Thursday night (May 2) at the Revolver Golden Gods awards in Los Angeles, where the group was also honored as "Golden Gods."

The band is also gearing up to headline its second annual Orion Music + More festival, scheduled for June 8-9 in Detroit.

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