Kirk Hammett

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Kirk Hammett

Born November 18, 1962 (age 44)
Flag of United States San Francisco CA
Genre(s) Heavy metal
Thrash metal
Hard rock
Affiliation(s) Metallica
Exodus
Notable guitars ESP KH-2 and KH-3 Signature models
Years active 1982 - present
Official site Metallica Website

Kirk Lee Hammett (born on November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist in the band Metallica. Hammett is one of the better-known students of guitarist and instructor Joe Satriani.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in San Francisco California to a Filipino mother and an Irish Merchant marine father, he later attended De Anza High School in El Sobrante, California when his family moved to the East Bay. As a child and teenager, he showed great interest in his older brother Rick's extensive collection of guitars and hard rock records, including material by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and UFO. One of his biggest influences was Jimi Hendrix and Hammett was quoted as saying he wanted to be Jimi. He has also performed parts of Hendrix's songs during his guitar solos. He took up the guitar for the first time at the age of fifteen, beginning with a Montgomery Ward catalog special and little more than a shoebox with a four inch speaker for an amplifier. After picking up a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts, eventually falling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. He even took a job at Burger King to raise funds for a Marshall amplifier.

Hammett's musical interests eventually drew him into the fledgling thrash metal genre. In 1982, he formed the group Exodus with vocalist Paul Baloff, guitarist Gary Holt, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting. He played on Exodus's 1982 Demo. Exodus was a crucial early player in the Bay Area thrash movement.

Hammett was invited to join Metallica after the 1983 dismissal of the band's original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine for substance abuse, just before Metallica was to record its first album, Kill 'Em All. At the time Hammett was taking private guitar lessons from now famous Joe Satriani. In 2002, he became the first inductee into Guitar World magazine's "Hall of Fame". He has recorded and toured with Metallica for more than twenty years.

Though he is primarily Metallica's lead guitarist, Hammett has written and contributed riffs for Metallica songs since the mid-1980s (particularly in the 1990s during the Load era). One of these riffs, used in "Enter Sandman", was written in a hotel room at 3:00 am, and became one of Metallica's most popular songs. It was the first track and first single on Metallica's self-titled "Black Album" and was ranked 399th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Also the riff for 'Creeping Death' was originally an Exodus riff that Kirk took with him to Metallica. Kirk has often been criticised for his extensive use of the wah-wah pedal in his solos (particularly on more recent albums), but he insists, "The wah-wah is an extension of my personality". He usually adds harmonies to his solos, as seen on Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Disposable Heroes and The Thing That Should Not Be. Kirk wanted to have guitar solos on Metallica's 2003 album, St. Anger, but drummer Lars Ulrich and producer Bob Rock thought that the solos did not sound right in the songs. He later himself admitted, "We tried to put in solos but they sounded like an afterthought so we left them out".

Kirk Hammett has been married twice. His first marriage to ex-wife Rebecca ended in 1990, during the recording of the Black Album, which consumed the band members' lives for almost an entire year. He now resides in San Francisco with Lani, his second wife, whom he married in 1998. On September 29th, 2006, Kirk and Lani gave birth to a son. His name is Angel Ray Keala Hammett. His brother Richard Likong, a photographer, has photo credits on Metallica's Master of Puppets album featuring a live shot of then bassist Cliff Burton.

In 2006, Hammett voiced himself on The Simpsons ("The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer"). He also provided various voices on the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse, including a two fingered fan ("The Curse of Dethklok"), The Queen of Denmark ("Happy Dethday"), and a Finnish barkeep ("Dethtroll")

At Mid-January 2007, ESP Guitar Company has announced the release of a 20 piece Limited KH-20 Guitar, to celebrate 20 years of relationship with Kirk Hammett (based upon the KH-2 guitar with some modification). Picture

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Guitars

  • ESP KH-2 (Main touring guitar) Kirk's signature model guitar is based upon the modifications he made to his M-II. (Nicknamed "Skully" because of the skull and crossbone inlays) Picture
  • ESP KH-2 M-II - Boris Karloff Mummy graphic (Kirk's favorite guitar. A one of a kind as well, as Kirk owns the rights to the image on it) Picture
  • ESP KH-2 M-II - Ouija Picture
  • ESP KH-3 Eclipse - Pushead Spider graphic Picture
  • Gibson Les Paul Custom 1968 also known as "Black Beauty"; Kirk also uses regular Les Pauls at some performances Picture
  • Jackson Randy Rhoads Model RR1T
  • ESP KH-1 Flying V Picture
  • ESP KH-2 M-II - Skull & Crossbones II
  • ESP M-II Red Frankenstein graphic
  • ESP M-II Skull & Crossbones I
  • ESP WaveCaster Blue- Wave Machine (Only 3 in existence) Picture
  • Fender Stratocaster 1998 - American black and green Stratocaster
  • Gibson 1974 Flying V (Used mainly for recording the first four albums. In 1989 he replaced the stock pickups with EMG 81s. Was the third guitar he ever owned.)

Kirk Hammett's first guitar was a cheap Montgomery Strat copy. The pickups had gold aluminum foil on them, and there wasn't even a name on the headstock.

[edit] Amplifiers

[edit] Cabinets

[edit] Pickups, effects and other equipment

  • EMG 81 pickup at bridge and neck positions
  • DigiTech Whammy pedal
  • rack-mounted Dunlop Cry Baby with expression pedals (he is also known to use the Dunlop Crybaby Classic)
  • EMB Audio Remote Wah system
  • Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9
  • Line 6 MM4 modulation & DL4 delay effect stompboxes
  • Lovetone Meatball pedal (used on I Disappear)
  • Jim Dunlop Tortex 0.88mm custom picks (green)
  • Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom (.10-.52) strings
  • custom Levy's strap
  • Radial Tonebone Hot British distortion pedal

[edit] Discography

[edit] Exodus

[edit] Metallica

(see Metallica discography)

[edit] See also

[edit] References


 v • d • e Metallica
James Hetfield • Kirk Hammett • Robert Trujillo • Lars Ulrich

Cliff Burton • Dave Mustaine • Ron McGovney • Jason Newsted

Albums and Extended Plays: No Life 'Til Leather • Kill 'Em All • Ride the Lightning • Master of Puppets • Garage Days Re-Revisited • ...And Justice for All • Metallica • Load • ReLoad • Garage Inc. • S&M • St. Anger • Some Kind of Monster • Ninth studio album

DVDs and videos: Cliff 'em All • 2 of One • A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica • Live Shit: Binge & Purge • Cunning Stunts • S&M • Classic Albums: Metallica - The Black Album • Some Kind of Monster • The Videos 1989-2004

Related articles

Hetfield/Ulrich
v • d • e
Exodus
Rob Dukes | Gary Holt | Lee Altus | Jack Gibson | Tom Hunting
Former members: Paul Baloff | Steve "Zetro" Souza | Kirk Hammett | Rick Hunolt | Geoff Andrews | Rob McKillop | Michael Butler | John Tempesta | Paul Bostaph
Discography
Albums: Bonded by Blood | Pleasures of the Flesh | Fabulous Disaster | Impact is Imminent | Force of Habit | Tempo of the Damned | Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Live and compilations: Good Friendly Violent Fun | Lessons in Violence | Another Lesson in Violence
Related articles
Primus | Metallica | Exodus photo gallery
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