Kirk Hammett Shared His Top 3 Favorite Solos He’s Shredded With Metallica

Kirk Hammett

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is a shred guiding force. And every heavy metal fan is sure to have their personal ranking of the musician’s favorite Metallica guitar solos. But did you know that Hammett also has his own list of Metallica’s 3 favorite solos that he’s played?

In fact, the rocker considers a handful of his guitars to be his favorites since he joined the thrash titans in 1983. And some of his choices might surprise Metallica lovers.

Hammett shared his picks in a recent interview with Metal Hammer. The 3 favorite solos of his that he has torn apart with Metallica are in the following songs: “Hero of the Day”, “Fade to Black” and “One”.

As for “Hero of the Day”, a powerful ballad from Load, the musician said it is his favorite because of how “it goes from low to high, starts with something rhythmic, then takes the next part to the next level.”

“A lot of people would disagree,” Hammett added, “and I don’t know why, but for me, it’s one of my favorite things I’ve done.”

The guitarist’s second pick for his favorite guitar solo with Metallica takes him back to the early days of the group. It’s just his from “Fade to Black,” 1984 Ride the Lightning tune.

Hammett called it “one of the many solos that I love to play live because I can improvise, change everything, never play the same one just twice. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to play from the first lick,” and I love that, I love knowing I’m dancing on the razor’s edge, that’s the emotion I live for. ”

How about the third favorite Metallica guitar solo from Shredder that he has done? For that choice, Hammett sought out “One”, a single selected from the band’s fourth album, … And Justice for All. Remembering his creation, Hammett recalled an urgent phone call from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.

“Lars called me and said, ‘Can you come over? We need a solo on the new demo of the song,'” recalled the guitarist from the session. “I remember showing up with my guitar, Lars played the track for me a couple of times and I fiddled with it, figured out where [Metallica frontman] James [Hetfield] was going.”

Hammett continued, “I said, ‘OK, press record.’ The next thing I know, my hand is tapping my neck, following the chord progression, it just went off the air! Afterward, I thought, ‘Well, that it was kind of a trip! ‘ ”

And there you have it: Kirk Hammett‘s three favorite solos that he has played with Metallica. There should also be many more where those came from. After 2016’s Hardwired … to Self-Destruct, Metallica has already spent part of 2020 participating in writing sessions for a new album.

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