METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT Interviewed In Austin; Video Available

Jonathan Novack of KPRC-TV, the NBC television affiliate in Houston, Texas, conducted a short interview with METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett video prior to the band's "secret" gig Friday night (March 20) at Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin, Texas as part of the "Guitar Hero: Metallica" showcase during the Texas capital's annual South By Southwest music and media festival. Watch his one-and-a-half-minute report and the seven-minute "raw footage" below.

Guitar Hero: Metallica arrives in stores on March 29 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. The PS2 and Wii editions of the game will most likely follow in early May. The game contains 28 METALLICA tracks, along with tunes from FOO FIGHTERS, ALICE IN CHAINS and others.

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo told The Pulse of Radio why he thinks the Guitar Hero franchise is great for music. "I'm not a gamer, but I actually think it's a great thing in the sense that it's helping to educate our youth and older people about rock 'n' roll and heavy metal in particular, you know, bands like IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH, and I think that's important," he said.

The band had to go through an extensive motion-capture process in order to make them come to life in the game, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett told The Pulse of Radio the final result was a little unsettling. "Once they've actually made a virtual you and you start seeing that virtual you playing METALLICA songs, it's a trip, man," he said. "It's like watching a hologram of yourself or, you know, a cartoon of yourself or whatever. It's strange because it's weird and different but oddly familiar at the same time."

Report:

Raw interview footage: