METALLICA Guitarist On RICK RUBIN, Family Life And Touring

July 27, 2009

Kirk Blows of TheLondonPaper.com recently conducted and interview with METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

TheLondonPaper.com: You're touring to promote your "Death Magnetic" album, seen by many as a return to form. Is that down to you guys or visionary producer Rick Rubin?

Hammett: People can pretty much think whatever the hell they want about the record. But Rick has an amazing way of getting people to try things they might have thought were taboo, like revisiting techniques to see if they're still relevant.

TheLondonPaper.com: Your live set doesn't include any tracks from 2003's "St Anger". What does that say about your thoughts on that album?

Hammett: We had to make that album to get to the point where we could make "Death Magnetic". It was the best album we could have made in very unusual circumstances.

TheLondonPaper.com: You're touring for a whole year. How do you cope without all the old excesses?

Hammett: We want to spend quality time with our families so we've devised a touring schedule where it's two weeks on, two weeks off in Europe, and one week on, one week off in the States. We can re-energize both worlds we live in — as musicians and family men — and the thought of touring for another year doesn't weigh so heavily on us any longer.

TheLondonPaper.com: Do you still think about pushing heavy metal to new extremes or just concentrate on being METALLICA?

Hammett: Definitely the latter. Metal is healthier than it was 10 years ago and there are some great bands out there. We try to make the best album we can and where it falls within the overall picture is where it falls.

TheLondonPaper.com: You're two years adrift of your 30th anniversary. How much longer can METALLICA continue?

Hammett: MOTT THE HOOPLE will play reunion shows with Ian Hunter in his 70s, and the STONES are in their 60s, so the bar keeps on getting raised. We'll keep doing it as long as it's still fun.

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).