AS LEAD GUITARIST of one of the biggest-selling bands in history, Kirk Hammett needs little in the way of an introduction. While Metallica have been teasing fans with the promise of a new album since last summer, Hammett has emerged as the first band member to step from the mothership and fly solo with his new four-track horror movie-influenced EP, Portals.
Originally conceived as background music to accompany his It's Alive! exhibition of horror-flick posters and memorabilia, the self-produced Portals, as Hammett explains, evolved to become a collection of "soundtracks to the movies in your mind." The EP contains four high-concept instrumental tracks: "Maiden and the Monster," "The Jinn," "High Plains Drifter" and "The Incantation," each inspired by a different era in horror movie history. The latter two tracks were co-written by conductor Edwin Outwater, whom Hammett met while working on Metallica's 2020 live release, S&M2. Outwater leads orchestral players from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to give Portals its baroque-meets-metal aesthetic.
Speaking from his home in San Francisco, Hammett discussed the origins of his new music and his go-to gear for these new recordings. And tellingly, he dropped a hint about the next Metallica album.
How did Portals come about?
The first couple of songs - "Maiden and the Monster" and "The Jinn” were my attempt to write background music for my museum show of horror movie posters. Then I met Edwin Outwater. He's a big horror fan as well, so I said, "Let's collaborate on something and make it horror movie-influenced and cinematic." That's where "High Plains Drifter" and "The Incantation" came from. It's funny: I have these four pieces of music, and I still don't have any background music for the exhibition. I just realized that!
Which came first, your love of guitar or your love of horror?
Bu hikaye Guitar Player dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Guitar Player dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
UAFX
Teletronix LA-2A Studio Compressor
MAN OF STEEL
He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
CLOSER TO HOME
Rehearsal space, studio, vessel and abode Diego Garcia's boat is the home base for his new album, as well as his musical life as the seafaring Spanish guitarist Twanguero.
Medium Cool
Striking the middle ground between its Thinline brethren, Gibson's ES-345TD remains a versatile, if underrated, gem.
MY CAREER IN FIVE SONGS
The Moody Blues scored a dozen top 10 hits in their five-decade prog-rock reign. Justin Hayward says these are his favorites.
TIPSHEET
Doing what comes naturally is at the heart of Zakk Wylde's advice.
POP ART
With Dad Rock, Sadler Vaden crafts an album whose songs and guitar sounds recall the best days of classic rock.
PRS
PREVIOUSLY PART OF PRS's Maryland-built guitar line, the SE NF3 was recently reissued in the company's offshore-produced SE series. The SE NF3 is so named for its Narrowfield Deep Dish (a.k.a. DD) \"S\" pickups. These unique PRS-design units have deeper bobbins to accommodate more windings and extra metal pieces between the magnets to yield a more powerful \"single-coil\" tone, while remaining noise-free because they are in fact humbuckers. A control set consisting of master volume, tone and a five-way blade switch allows the usual selections of bridge, middle and neck pickups by themselves and the neck-plus-middle and bridge-plus-middle combinations that allow the SE NF3 to veer into Strat-like territory in switch positions two and four.
EPIPHONE
Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V and 1959 ES-355
CERTIFIED GREATNESS
Fingerstyle master Tommy Emmanuel combines unique musical instincts and breathtaking technique to become an acoustic tour de force.
