Kirk Hammett Has “A Lot of Stuff Written” for Next Metallica Album

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett infamously lost his phone, which allegedly had hundreds of song ideas recorded on it, shortly before Metallica began writing and recording what would end up becoming Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.

In a new interview with Cosmo Music, Hammett, who presumably is taking precautions to back up his song ideas this time, revealed that he already has a lot of ideas recorded for Metallica’s next album:

“I have a lot of stuff written that I’ve put aside for the band — a lot of stuff. Because last album, I didn’t have any stuff, ’cause I lost most of my ideas when I lost my phone — over 500 musical ideas… It took me a long time to recover from that. And I got it into my head I had to produce twice as much — basically, I overcompensated. So, as it stands, as we speak, I have a lot of material — really kick-ass, great material — that I just can’t wait to show the other guys and turn into some music, record, get the album out and have more kick-ass metal.”

Metallica just announced they will be headlining five major American festivals in 2020, playing two nights at each. They are also touring South America in April, and presumably will at some point announce rescheduled dates for Australia and New Zealand after canceling their late 2019 run when James Hetfield checked into rehab.

You can get tickets for all upcoming Metallica shows right here.