Kirk Hammett
Play Radio
Listen to Kirk Hammett Radio,
featuring artists like Ismaïla Toure, Static Heaven, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet and more…
-
Search on Spotify
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
7,817 plays (1,815 listeners)
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962 in El Sobrante, California, USA) is the lead guitarist in heavy metal group Metallica. Kirk is one of the most well-known guitar students of legendary guitarist/instructor Joe Satriani.
Hammett was born in El Sobrante, California to a Filipino mother and an Irish Merchant Marine father. As a child and teenager, he showed great interest in his older brother Rick’s extensive collection of hard rock records, including material by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and UFO. One of his biggest influences was Jimi Hendrix and he has performed parts of his songs during his guitar solos. He took up the guitar for the first time at the age of fifteen, beginning with a Montgomery Ward catalog special and little more than a shoebox with a four inch speaker for an amplifier. After picking up a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts, eventually falling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. He even took a job at a Burger King restaurant to raise funds for a Marshall amplifier.
Hammett’s musical interests eventually drew him into the fledgling thrash metal genre. In 1982, he formed the group Exodus with vocalist Paul Baloff, guitarist Gary Holt, and drummer Tom Hunting. Exodus was a crucial early player in the Bay Area thrash movement.
Hammett was invited to join Metallica after the 1983 dismissal of the band’s original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine for substance abuse.
Hammett was born in El Sobrante, California to a Filipino mother and an Irish Merchant Marine father. As a child and teenager, he showed great interest in his older brother Rick’s extensive collection of hard rock records, including material by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and UFO. One of his biggest influences was Jimi Hendrix and he has performed parts of his songs during his guitar solos. He took up the guitar for the first time at the age of fifteen, beginning with a Montgomery Ward catalog special and little more than a shoebox with a four inch speaker for an amplifier. After picking up a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts, eventually falling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. He even took a job at a Burger King restaurant to raise funds for a Marshall amplifier.
Hammett’s musical interests eventually drew him into the fledgling thrash metal genre. In 1982, he formed the group Exodus with vocalist Paul Baloff, guitarist Gary Holt, and drummer Tom Hunting. Exodus was a crucial early player in the Bay Area thrash movement.
Hammett was invited to join Metallica after the 1983 dismissal of the band’s original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine for substance abuse.
Shouts:
140 shouts
Shoutbox
-
rzotkiewczi wrote:
Siemaneczko Kirkaneczko :D [3]
-
kidofthe90s wrote:
happy birthday ♥
-
Masafaka wrote:
WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH
-
camilapacomio wrote:
He's not the best guitar player ever.. but he's pretty good, one of the best, yeah! I love him.
-
Sentenced001 wrote:
good, but overrated. [6]
-
outofthecellar wrote:
good, but overrated. [5] it's funny that this guy gets way high up on 'best guitarist' polls, when if it wasn't for Hetfield's riffs making him famous he'd have been not worth commenting on.
-
Robesko wrote:
good, but overrated. [5]
-
nakkiman wrote:
Similar Artists: Björn Ulvaeus :D
-
A-lunia wrote:
Siemaneczko Kirkaneczko :D [2]
-
DarklighterK25 wrote:
good, but overrated. [4]
-
AnastasiaTaylor wrote:
I ♥ Kirk [2]
-
Tompac5 wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7N4P7ejddw :O!
-
Gagarinek666 wrote:
Siemaneczko Kirkaneczko :D
-
rockgirl-molli wrote:
I ♥ Kirk
-
portishphonic wrote:
love him
-
larsulrich_link wrote:
http://www.metcoverart.com/photos/albums/reload/kirkandlarskissing.jpg
-
Masej wrote:
Happy Birthday!
-
JasperNL wrote:
Kirk Hammett ftw!
-
IDissappear wrote:
Guitar God! [2]
-
DocPhilli wrote:
So Kirk's music world's most overrated guitarist ever. Extremely discarded technology, repetitive solos and his fuckin wah wah use to hide his mistakes. He plays so crappier that he hurt himself. Therefore, he uses a fucking tape.
Videos
-
Play
Little Wing.
1 shout
-
Play
Melbourne solo
-
Play
guitar solo in memory of Cliff…
1 shout
-
Play
Traffic School Song
Top Listeners
-
Pavel_Durant
Top Listener
-
qotsafan1
Top Listener
-
some_kid6
Top Listener
-
oliverzurita84
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
BarbaraZerpa, Sky_Henrique, VictorAbicalil and 2 other people added Kirk Hammett to their libraries. 2 hours ago
-
littlepunkqueen tagged Kirk Hammett with ‘thrashmetal’. Friday evening
-
littlepunkqueen, tacozzrgood, gabriba87 and 54 other people added Kirk Hammett to their libraries. Friday evening
-
MietowyJasiek linked Kirk Hammett to a deleted event. last month
-
sj_rcube, DermaGear, BrunaTatsch and 33 other people added Kirk Hammett to their libraries. last month
-
Serb2012 wrote about Orbital – Work 1989-2002 in Orbital. November 2009
-
mactiste wrote about Orbital – Work 1989-2002 in My CD Collection. May 2009
Related Journals
-
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World
by Milkshake8 |
16 Mar 2011
-
TOP TEN Rock Guitarists of All-Time
by TheOnlyHelicon |
20 Sep 2010
-
Orbital
by Serb2012 |
24 Nov 2009
Groups (23)
-
Guitar Gods
1,956 members
-
Metallica '83 - '88
1,141 members
-
Big Four of Thrash Metal
1,000 members
-
Addicted to Guitar Solos
589 members
-
MetallicA is our top artist
391 members
More Information
- Links
