Kirk Hammett felt excluded from Hardwired writing sessions

News
By ( Metal Hammer ) last updated

Exclusive: Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett says he struggled with his diminished role on Hardwired – as Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield took the reins

Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett (Image credit: Getty)

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett admits that he felt excluded from writing sessions for forthcoming album Hardwired… To Self Destruct.

In the upcoming issue of Metal Hammer magazine, due out next week, bassist Rob Trujillo explains that drummer Lars Ulrich felt it was “really important” to connect with vocalist James Hetfield on the long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s Death Magnetic by involving him more in the creative process.

Trujillo tells Metal Hammer: “Lars focused more on simplifying the creative journey, and locking into James and really bringing him in for this album. It’s Lars’s vision, and I’m happy to support whatever we need to do.”

Hammett recently recalled the “devastating” time in 2014 he lost his phone containing hundreds of song ideas for the 10th record – which meant he “had to start at zero” again. But he admits he still found Metallica’s new songwriting plan a “very bitter pill to swallow.”

He adds: “For me, being in this band, I always want to contribute. I always have a lot of musical concepts and ideas to bring to the table. Obviously, that was not meant to be this time, and I had to accept that fact.

“So I focused on my solos, just making sure that my playing on the album was at its best – at its full potential. Hopefully I can bring my ideas to the next Metallica album. I just hope it’s not another eight years.”

Metallica will celebrate the launch of their forthcoming record with an intimate show in London’s House Of Vans on November 18. They also released live footage of Battery and Ride The Lightning from their show in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Watch the videos below.

Hardwired... To Self Destruct artwork

Hardwired... To Self Destruct artwork

Metallica Hardwired… To Self Destruct tracklist

Disc 1

  1. Hardwired
  2. Atlas, Rise!
  3. Now That We’re Dead
  4. Moth Into Flame
  5. Dream No More
  6. Halo On Fire

Disc 2

  1. Confusion
  2. ManUNkind
  3. Here Comes Revenge
  4. Am I Savage?
  5. Murder One
  6. Spit Out the Bone

Metallica tour dates 2016-17 so far

Nov 05: San Jose Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica
Jan 11: Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea
Jan 20: Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo, China
Jan 22: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Feb 03: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 07: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 09: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Mar 25-26: Sao Paulo Interlagos Racetrack, Brazil
Mar 31,-Apr 01: Buenos Aires Hippodrome San Isidro, Argentina
Apr 01-02: Santiago Parque O’Higgins, Chile

Metallica frontman sees funny side of 'the Hetfield memes'

Christina O'Neill

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.