Kirk Hammett has been Metallica's lead guitarist since April 1983, when he replaced Dave Mustaine days before the recording of Kill 'Em All. Born in San Francisco, he came from Exodus, a seminal Bay Area thrash band, and arrived at Metallica with training the others did not have: he studied with Joe Satriani, and the difference is audible. His role in the band is counterweight. Where James Hetfield is rigid, metric and monolithic, Hammett is melodic, blues-inflected and flexible — his solos use singable phrases rather than displays of speed, and the wah pedal is practically his signature, to the point of becoming a running joke among guitarists. That opposition of temperaments is what gives the songs relief: someone has to sing over the wall Hetfield builds. Away from music, Hammett is a serious collector of horror film memorabilia — posters, props and original artefacts gathered over decades, which produced the book Too Much Horror Business (2012) and museum exhibitions. That world also fed his first work outside the band, the instrumental EP Portals (2022). He was inducted with Metallica into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
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