Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Announces Debut Solo EP

We love Metallica, sure, but we especially love Kirk Hammett. The guitarist is a huge horror nerd, which we can relate to, and according to the guitarist of The Sword has the best weed in metal. So we’re delighted to learn that Kirk has just announced his first solo EP, to be released this April.

Kirk Hammett’s new album will be called Portals, and will act as a mixture of rock music and soundtrack — which makes sense, given what a film buff the dude is. The album will drop April 23rd.

According to its press release:

True to its title, Portals is a collection of gateways to myriad musical and psychic destinations. Recorded in multiple locales ranging from Los Angeles to Paris to Oahu, Portals is both the result of musical and metaphysical journeys. An invitation to inner worlds accessible only by music and the psyche it fuels.

And here’s how Kirk describes the record:

“Initially, before I even had the idea for a solo EP, I was inspired by the need to create some sort of soundtrack music to accompany The Kirk Hammett Collection for the first ‘It’s Alive’ exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, 2017. I wanted to conceive music to play on a loop in the background as people walked through the exhibit. I sat down one night with a progression, and before I knew it, all the parts were there for ‘Maiden And The Monster’.

“The initial concept for ‘Portals’ started with that one song. Following that, I realized I could create different soundtrack moments. These songs are what I call ‘audio cinematic’; I’m creating sounds and pieces of music for the movies playing in my head. Hopefully they’ll create movies in other people’s heads in a similar fashion.”

We’re here for it, dude!

Keep your eyes peeled for new music and a preorder for Portals in the near future! Meanwhile, check out the cover art below: