Latest about Metallica
“Artfully aged by the Murphy Lab to match the look and feel of Kirk’s original”: Gibson’s Custom Shop takes on Kirk Hammett’s mod-heavy, “blacked-out” 1989 Les Paul Custom – and it’s safe to say it’s nothing like Greeny...
The Metallica guitar god debuts his latest signature Les Paul – and it’s a little different to his other recent custom shop build...
“We’d love to be plugging PRS guitars into Mesa/Boogie amps, but for now it’s an old, worn-out Gibson Les Paul Studio”: Return to Dust’s brand of grunge metal has millions of views on TikTok. Now they face the challenges of entering the real world
For guitarist Matt Joseph, 2024 is about acquiring skills now they’ve secured festival billing alongside Slipknot, Judas Priest and Pantera. For 17-year-old bandmate Sebastian Gonzales, it’s about handling being away from his family
“It was a huge risk – to this day I’m wondering if I pulled it off or not. But it was how I felt inside. I didn’t want picture-perfect solos”: Kirk Hammett reflects on his all-improv lead approach – and explains why he doesn’t sweat onstage mistakes
Kirk Hammett looks back on a landmark year in Metallica, reveals how Joe Bonamassa helped him snag one of the rarest Les Pauls ever made, and explains what caused him to mess up the intro to Nothing Else Matters – and why it doesn’t matter
“Lars said, ‘You’re not really used to this kind of music, are you?’” Les Claypool on his failed Metallica audition
According to James Hetfield, Les Claypool was “too good” for the thrash metal giants
“Big jets moving, bombers, people in battle, distress, crying – the Vietnam War added a lot of darkness to his playing”: Kirk Hammett on how Jimi Hendrix’s guitar style helped birth metal and psychedelia
The Metallica man and Hendrix fan argues that the guitar icon's influence on metal is under-appreciated
“I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Master of Puppets”: Mark Tremonti on how Metallica's classic record changed his life – and how James Hetfield's right hand shaped his picking style
The metal trailblazers had an immeasurable impact on the Alter Bridge axeman – here, he discusses what makes Hetfield and Kirk Hammett such a potent duo
“We called that riff ‘The Batman Riff’”: Kirk Hammett admits Metallica lifted the Batman theme on 72 Seasons
Thought that riff in Shadows Follow sounded awfully similar to a certain classic superhero theme? Turns out Metallica knew exactly what they were doing
“I hate to say it, but non-musicians – who are the majority of the listening world – are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says it doesn’t matter how good or flashy a solo is – most people are going to forget them anyway
According to the Metallica maestro, the average music listener doesn't share a guitar player's enthusiasm for a ripping solo
“We didn’t have another band to point to and say, well, Sabbath is using it or the Scorpions are using it. James had the foresight to say, ‘Let’s try it. Maybe we’re the people to embrace it’”: James Hetfield’s tech shows you his 72 Seasons live rig
Chad Zaemisch has been the Metallica leader’s right-hand man for 20 years. He discusses the metal titans’ amp modeling sea change, why his boss “chickened out” with his new 72 Seasons ESP Vulture, and what happens when things go very, very wrong onstage…
“The Double-Neck Montreal makes me think of the smell of your own burning flesh”: James Hetfield opens up about the agony of his 1992 pyro accident, and how his scorched ESP left a lasting legacy on Metallica
In this exclusive extract from his new book, the Metallica frontman describes the experience of getting torched by pyro while playing guitar, and offers a closer look at the damage done to his ESP double-neck during the band’s fateful 1992 performance in Montreal
