In a recent interview with The Telegraph (U.K.), METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett opened up about his role as the “peacekeeper” within the band, admitting that he does, in fact, have a temper. “I have to say, I do have a temper,” he confessed. “I can butt heads with people. I butt heads with [frontman] James [Hetfield] and [drummer] Lars [Ulrich] occasionally.”
When asked what they often disagree on, Hammett responded humorously, “Oh, everything. It’s just part of being in a band and being with someone for over 40 years.”
Reflecting on his early days in METALLICA, Hammett acknowledged that he wasn’t always the calm voice of reason. In fact, he revealed that he was just as fiery as Hetfield and Ulrich when he joined the band in 1983. “When I joined the band, I was right in there talking shit and doing crazy stuff, just as much as James, Lars, and Cliff [Burton, METALLICA’s bassist at the time] were. Sometimes, prickly people clash with each other.”
Hammett also discussed the toxic masculinity that fueled METALLICA’s energy during the band’s early years. “We were like a gang of youths, just looking for somewhere to belong,” he explained. “I came from a broken home, James came from a broken home, Lars came from a broken home. The most well-adjusted person was Cliff Burton. We were all basket cases. But we created this thing called METALLICA, which has been our refuge. It’s been the one constant in our lives.”
Hammett opened up further, recounting his upbringing. “My dad was a full-blooded Irishman who liked to drink and scrap,” he said. “He was always fighting people, even fighting his friends. He’d get together with my uncles, and it was just one big f*cking toxic soup of masculinity, and that’s what I came out of.”
Despite the occasional clashes within METALLICA, Hammett made it clear that leaving the band is not an option for him. “Leaving METALLICA is not an option,” he said firmly. “If I ever left METALLICA, everyone in the world would remind me that I used to be in METALLICA.”
