Kirk Hammett loves what he does, and feels Metallica have killer songs and an amazing fan base

Kirk Hammett loves what he does, and feels Metallica have killer songs and an amazing fan base

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was recently;y interviewed by Steffan Chirazi as part as So What!‘s The 72 Seasons Interview.

Towards the end of the interview, Hammett let Chirazi in on the following ” little secret”:

“[Smiles broadly] I love what I do. I love what I fucking do, okay? There’s been times when the negative aspects have totally taken over me, and I’ve spent a lot of time highlighting those negative aspects, but don’t get me wrong. The positives still outweigh the negatives, and I love what I do. Basically, it’s getting up there, playing guitar for people, and showing them a good time. Because when I’m up there, I’m having a really good time. And ever since I was a kid, I have thought, “If I’m up there having a good time and people see me having a good time, they’re going to pick up on that good time and have a good time too.”

I learned that when I was 17 years old and first started playing shows in Exodus. I believed it then, and I believe it now, and yes, I’m having a great time up there because I’m playing guitar. I’m playing good songs that are fun to play. We write songs that are fun to play because that’s what we want to do. We don’t want to write songs that are a bummer to play. Fuck that! I’d get bored. I’d probably fall asleep or walk off stage or just start soloing in an inappropriate manner (and I’m good at that).

But we have killer songs. I’m playing with killer musicians. They’re my bros. We have an amazing fan base who understands us and then some. I still love it. And I love the fact that we can get into a big room – 50,000 people – and everyone, everyone, when we play a song, is in the same focus and the same awareness and the same presence of mind on the same thing. And we feel connected. To feel connected, all of us – 50,000 people – in a song… That feeling of community? That’s what you’re really feeling when you go to a rock show. It’s elation from celebrating the fact that we’re all together, seeing something that we all love, and experiencing something that we all want to do together.

Huge, huge, powerful stuff, man. And to be in that situation – to be at the forefront of it, guiding it, supplying it, and steering it – is magic, man. It’s pure love. L-O-V-E. People laugh, but I challenge anyone who might think that’s corny: go to the core of it. Go to the core of what is really motivating you to be entertained.”

You can read the interview with Kirk Hammett via So What!‘s website.

Metallica‘s “72 Seasons” video: