During an interview on the 45th episode of ‘The Metallica Report,’ Kirk Hammett discussed his experience returning to the road after a six-month break with the ‘M72’ world tour. When the topic switched to health and lifestyle, the guitarist mentioned that he maintains a physically active routine and added how ‘remarkable’ it is to get paid to play guitar:
“Well, I keep up on my pretty physically active lifestyle anyway. When I’m at home, I am continuously walking or biking, swimming. I can’t really run or do any surfing these days ’cause of aforementioned knee issue. But hopefully that’s just a transitional thing — I know it is a transitional thing.”
Even after six months of not touring, Hammett says he was ready and was in shape:
“But going into this tour, I was totally ready for it and in shape, which is pretty remarkable considering that I have a lot of responsibility at home and whatnot. But I managed to get it all together miraculously — miraculously so. And so it was just, like, ‘Yeah, we’re going on tour. I’m ready.’”
He added:
“I mean, let’s face it. I’m a musician. I’m a guitar player. And so it becomes a huge opportunity, ’cause I play my guitar every day — to be able to get paid for it, yeah, of course I’m gonna… ‘Cause I’m gonna be playing my guitar anyway. I might as well get paid for it.”
Hammett Believes They Don’t Tour Enough
Although the band has toured many times over the years, Hammett believed there was always space for another one. They are currently on the M72 tour, which took a six-month break. During the same conversation, Hammett shared his excitement about getting back on the road and said:
“I’m just happy to be out here and bringing the music to the people, man, like I always am. And I’m happy having the feeling of, like, Metallica is a working, touring band, ’cause sometimes I miss that feeling, ’cause I don’t believe we tour enough.”
‘My Friends Could Play A Better Solo’
When Metallica released ‘Lux Æterna,’ the first single from their new album ’72 Seasons,’ some YouTubers criticized Hammett’s use of the Floyd Rose tremolo system. They even posted their own versions and labeled Kirk’s solo as the band’s ‘worst.’ One video was titled ‘Why everyone hates the solo in Metallica’s new song?’
In an interview with Total Guitar, Hammett addressed the criticism that his solo on ‘Lux Æterna’ lacks difficulty. He responded to online critics challenging guitar shredders who think they can play better than him. He also criticized sweep picking and called it easy but not worth doing:
“Yeah, my f*cking friends down the street could probably play a better solo than ‘Lux Æterna’ – but what’s the point? For me, what’s appropriate is playing for the song and playing in the moment.”
You can hear the new episode here.