Kirk Hammett Picks His Top 3 Favorite Metallica Guitar Solos He’s Played
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is a guiding force of shred. And every heavy metal fan is sure to have their personal ranking of favorite Metallica guitar solos from the musician. But did you know that Hammett also has his own list of the Top 3 favorite Metallica solos he's ever played?
Indeed, the rocker does consider a handful of his guitar leads his favorites since he first joined the thrash titans back in 1983. And some of his choices might come as a surprise to Metallica lovers.
Hammett shared his picks in a recent interview with Metal Hammer. His Top 3 favorite solos he's shredded with Metallica are in the following songs: "Hero of the Day," "Fade to Black" and "One."
Regarding "Hero of the Day," a power ballad from Load, the musician said it's his favorite because of how "it goes from minor to major, it starts with a rhythmic thing, then brings the next part to the next level."
"A lot of people would disagree," Hammett added, "and I don't know why, but to me it's one of my favorite things I've ever done."
The guitarist's second pick for his favorite guitar solo with Metallica throws it back to the group's early days. It's his solo from "Fade to Black," a tune from 1984's Ride the Lightning.
Hammett called it "one of a slew of solos I love playing live because I get to improvise, change it all up, never play the same solo twice. I don't know what the fuck I'm going to play from the first lick, and I love that, I love knowing that I'm dancing on the knife-edge, that's the excitement I fuckin' live for."
How about the shredder's third favorite Metallica guitar solo he's performed? For that pick, Hammett looked to "One," a single culled from the band's fourth album, …And Justice for All. Looking back on its creation, Hammett remembered an urgent phone call from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.
"Lars called me and said, 'Can you come down? We need a solo on the new song demo,'" the guitarist recalled of the session. "I remember showing up with my guitar, Lars played me the track 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.' Next thing I know, my hand is tapping on the neck, following the chord progression, it just came out of air! Afterwards I was thinking, 'Well, that was kind of a trip!'"
And there you have it — Kirk Hammett's three favorite solos he's played with Metallica. There should be plenty more where those came from, too. Following 2016's Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, Metallica have already spent some of 2020 engaged in writing sessions for a new album.
Metallica, "Hero of the Day"
Metallica, "Fade to Black"
Metallica, "One"