“We were all basket cases!”: Kirk Hammett says he was just as “ornery” and difficult as James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in Metallica’s early days
Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett has addressed claims he is the “peacekeeper” in the band, which used to be “fuelled” by toxic masculinity.
In an interview with The Telegraph [via Blabbermouth], Hammett shines a light on the true state of the early days of Metallica. “When I joined the band, I was right in there talking shit and doing crazy stuff, just as much as James [Hetfield, frontman] and Lars [Ulrich, drummer] and Cliff [Burton, then bassist] were. Sometimes prickly people turn on other people around them.”
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Elaborating further, Hammett believes the hostility was down to each member’s circumstances. “We were like a gang of youths and just looking for somewhere to belong. 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 that’s been our refuge. It’s been the one constant in our lives.”
Hammett goes on to explain that his father was a “full-blooded Irishman who liked to drink and liked to scrap”, adding that he was always in fights, “even fighting his friends”.
“He would get together with my uncles and it was just one big fucking toxic soup of masculinity, and that’s what I came out of.”
“I have to say, I do have a temper. I can butt heads with people. I butt heads with James and Lars occasionally,” he adds. Despite those conflicts, Hammett claims leaving Metallica isn’t on the table. “If I ever left Metallica, everyone in the world would remind me that I used to be in Metallica.”
For those reasons, Hammett says the real peacekeeper reputation belongs to bassist Robert Trujillo, who joined the band in 2003. Butting heads with bandmates is something that is “just part of being in a band and being with someone for 40-plus years,” he explains. “I was equally as ornery as Lars and James.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Hammett reveals he’s recently become interested in the difference between matriarchal and patriarchal societies. “In the last two or three years, I’ve gotten way into ancient history, and the interesting thing is that, back then, almost all the major civilisations were led by women,” he says.
“Matriarchal societies, they are very, very successful. This patriarchal society, with all this fucking masculinity stuff, it’s ingrained in all us males that, if males are leading at the top, that means all males in our culture need to be a leader.”
In other news, Kirk Hammett is partnering with Gibson to release The Collection: Kirk Hammett, a book which explores his extensive collection of instruments alongside interviews with him, and unseen photographs by Metallica photographer Ross Halfin.
The post “We were all basket cases!”: Kirk Hammett says he was just as “ornery” and difficult as James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in Metallica’s early days appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
