10 Times Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Was Really, Really Cool (PHOTOS)

10 Times Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Was Really, Really Cool (PHOTOS) | Society Of Rock Videos

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Happy Birthday, Kirk Hammett!

November 18th is Kirk Hammett’s 53rd birthday and in honor of Kirk’s 53 trips around the sun, here are 10 cool facts about our favorite Metallica axeman!

1. Kirk collects vintage toys.

photo credit: wordpress.com, via uncouthreflections

When Kirk’s not shredding away onstage or, I dunno, losing an entire iPod full of future Metallica music, you can find him surrounded by an array of vintage toys from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Pretty cool, huh?

 

2. He’s humble. So humble, in fact, that he took a job at Burger King to afford an amp.

photo credit: guitarscollector.com via montyjay @ freewebs.com

There’s zero shame in doing what you gotta do to support a dream. Kirk flipped burgers at a local Burger King as a kid to afford a decent amp to accompany the 1974 Gibson Flying V in this photo. Aww!

3. Before Metallica, there was Exodus.

photo credit: pinterest.com

Yep. Kirk got his start with one of the most influential thrash metal bands in the world, Exodus. Before he was shredding “Master Of Puppets,” he was sharing stages with a band that set the foundation for bands like Metallica.

4. Kirk’s favorite band of all time is UFO!

photo credit: wikipedia.com

Yep! Surprising, right? Hammett says that the moment he heard UFO’s guitarist Michael Schenker on “Mother, Mary,” it changed his life forever.

5. He was also Joe Satriani’s last guitar student.

photo credit: pinterest.com, via Jay Blakesberg

Metallica fans know that Kirk trained with master guitarist Joe Satriani. What you don’t know, though, is that he was Joe’s final student. Shortly after Kirk left to work with Metallica, Joe’s album Surfing with the Alien took off, eliminating his need to teach guitar lessons – and the rest is history.

6. Kirk also collects horror memorabilia!

photo credit: sfgate.com

The guitarist boasts a pretty impressive collection of horror memorabilia. From movie masks to posters and action figures, Kirk’s into all things creepy.

7. Solos don’t come easy for him.

photo credit: mylespaul.com

Kirk says even he doesn’t like a lot of the solos he writes, and in the studio he’s recorded one solo 100 times – only to scrap it all and start over.

 

8. In his spare time, Kirk plays a lot of jazz and blues.

photo credit: fulltone.com

He loves blues greats like Robert Johnson, and jams to blues and jazz to unwind after Metallica shows. We may even see a blues album from Kirk sometime in the future!

9. The inspiration behind the “Enter Sandman” riff was … Soundgarden. Wait, what?

photo credit: albumoftheyear.org

Yep, you read that right – Kirk drew inspiration for ‘Enter Sandman’ from Soundgarden’s 1989 album Louder Than Love. Shoutout to Chris Cornell for influencing one of the greatest Metallica songs ever written!

10. According to Kirk, we’ll be seeing him onstage with Metallica until he’s old and gray.

photo credit: hollywoodrooster.com

Well…grayer

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