Kirk Hammett quotes

Basically I just had to say, "Screw everyone around me - from now on I'm just gonna play what I think is important to me and our music." So I gave the big finger to all the current trends in technical wizardry, and just went off and did what I felt was best for the songs. (Kirk Hammett)
Cliff was a very smart guy, a reader, very eloquent. I just don't understand why he went, and not one of us. View quote
Kirk Hammett
And I thought to myself: I actually have a conection to this place, it's part of my musical legacy. [Hammett talking about Scorpions]. View quote
Kirk Hammett
The same sensations that you get in heavy metal are in horror movies. Heavy metal sounds evil and horror movies are evil, ha ha! View quote
Kirk Hammett
After months of playing air guitar to 'Free Bird', what really got me into guitar was watching a documentary about Jimi Hendrix and picking up the Woodstock soundtrack. Listening to his version of 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'Purple Haze.' My brother played acoustic guitar and, idolising him, I thought, 'I'm going to get a guitar.' View quote
Kirk Hammett
Metallica is like the phoenix rising from the ashes. We set everything on fire, and this is what has risen from it - 'St. Anger' being the fire and 'Death Magnetic' being the phoenix. View quote
Kirk Hammett
[about Nothing Else Matters] James always wanted to be perceived as this guy who is very confident and strong. And for him to write lyrics like that - showing a sensitive side - took a lot of balls. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I think heavy metal is therapeutic - it's music that blows the tension away. I think that's why people who have had really bad childhoods are attracted to heavy metal. It allows people to release aggression and tension in a nonviolent way. Also, heavy metal seems to attract all sorts of scruffy, lost animals, strays no one wants. View quote
Kirk Hammett
For me, one of the most perfect times to watch a horror movie is when it's cold and raining outside and there's pretty much no outdoor activity to be done. It kind of sets the mood. View quote
Kirk Hammett
A life lived unexplored is a life not worth living. View quote
Kirk Hammett
Everyone has a side to them that's kind of unexplained and feels misunderstood. (Kirk Hammett)
If a guitar is too easy for me to play, it makes me too laid back. I like to battle with my guitar. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I don't think success has changed us as people at all. We are the same lunatics that we were when this band first got going. We never see ourselves as being on a higher level than our fans. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I think it goes without saying that a lot of big horror fans are just nerds and geeks. View quote
Kirk Hammett
For a while I was collecting Satan and devil stuff - you know, anything that had to do with old Beelzebub or Lucifer. But I had to put the brakes on it, because there's a lot of stuff out there, and the collection was just growing too quickly. View quote
Kirk Hammett
Although I'm a lead guitarist, I'd say that a good 95 percent of my time onstage is spent playing rhythm. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I went through a whole blues period in the Nineties, and that had some influence on 'Load' and 'ReLoad.' View quote
Kirk Hammett
Guitar players in the nineties seem to be reacting against the technique oriented eighties. View quote
Kirk Hammett
Jeff Beck is one of my heroes and has been since I first picked up a guitar. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I've learned that there's a signature Metallica sound, and if we stray too far from that, our fans get impatient, or they just don't understand, or they miss the point. And I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing; it's just something we have to contend with. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I think it's morally wrong to keep someone away from what keeps him happy. (Kirk Hammett)
My musical tastes change every week. View quote
Kirk Hammett
My guitars are my umbilical cord. They're directly wired into my head. View quote
Kirk Hammett
I didn't want to fall into the trap of competing with all these other great guitar players. I just want to sidestep the whole thing and get out of the race. View quote
Kirk Hammett
Just because you know umpteen billion scales, it doesn't mean you have to use them all in a solo. View quote
Kirk Hammett