This Is the Song You Can Blame for Kirk Hammett’s Abuse of the Wah Pedal

Thin Lizzy have inspired scores of metal musicians over the years, in ways both positive and negative.

This story is not about one of their positive influences.

In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett discusses his notorious abuse of the wah pedal. After first making his effect of choice sound like a colonoscopy (“It actually creates a better connection to the deeper part of me”), Hammett reveals which song first introduced him to the onomatopoeic pedal:

“Hendrix wasn’t actually the first person I heard use a wah-wah pedal – that was Brian Robertson from Thin Lizzy! The first time I became aware of it was the song ‘Warriors’ on [1976’s] ‘Jailbreak.’

“He comes in with this totally wah-ed out two-three notes, and I said to my friend, ‘What is that?!’ He said, ‘That’s a wah-wah pedal.’ ‘Wow, fantastic!’ I made a mental note of that…”

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[via Metal Injection]