Kirk Hammet Is Waiting For Horror Movie Soundtrack Call
onstage during the 56th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.
Kirk Hammett is passionate about two things—making music and horror movies.
The Metallica guitarist has already combined these two crafts with his recent debut solo EP, Portals. It contains the tracks “Maiden and the Monster” and “The Incantation,” which all sounded like a mix of rock, metal, and horror.
In an interview with Guitar World, the rocker shared:
“That was a cool way of bringing the two genres together, and so when I wrote ‘Maiden And The Monster,’ it occurred to me that I could do the same thing musically, and knowing that was a huge lightning bolt of inspiration and creative determination.”
Now, Hammett said that he is willing to work on horror film soundtracks. However, he’s waiting for the directors to call him, instead of the other way around. Hammett told Loudwire in a recent interview:
“I’m waiting for the phone call. I never had any doubt that I could do it. I just never got around to putting it out there that I’d be interested. But I think, you know, rather than announce, ‘Okay, I’m ready to do soundtracks,’ I’m going to let them figure out whether or not they want to work with me.”
He added:
“We’re now going through the second golden era of horror. There’s so much great horror stuff out there — books, comics, toys, films, series. It’s so great. People are really pushing the boundaries.
“For a long time, during most of the ‘80s and a lot of the ‘90s, horror was just one big regurgitation of all the friggin’ themes. It was a bit much, you know? Then the whole zombie thing came in, and it was just everything zombie. And I was so tired. Then the ‘creepy kid’ thing came in, and it was just like, ‘Oh no — another creepy kid movie.’”
He then explained how things have changed with horror films, saying:
“Now, you have this whole folk horror genre. It’s a genre that was never really fully explored, and people are exploring it now. And the consequence is that you have some amazing films coming out, it’s so great.”
Noting 2019’s Midsommar, he said:
“[It’s] just like folklore, you know? It’s one of the best horror movies to come out in a while.”
