Metallica music sounds like Death Magnetic - Kirk

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett says the material created so far for their 10th album is similar to 2008 release Death Magnetic.

But he’s not sure that will remain the case by the time the long-awaited work is completed.

Frontman James Hetfield confirmed earlier this month that recording had finally started.

Hammett tells UCR: “We’ve got some heavy stuff going. It delivers on that front for sure. I would say a lot of it is along the lines of Death Magnetic.

“But I’m a little bit wary to comment too much on the album because then people pick up on it. Then, people think that’s the final definitive statement on what this album is, or how much of it is done, or what it sounds like – and that’s not really the case. It’s not accurate. We’re still working on it.”

He continues: “At this point, we’re still just doing basic backing tracks. James is doing his guitar stuff, and I’m just waiting patiently to go in there and do all of my guitar stuff.”

Hammett wants to lay down his rhythm tracks then follow immediately with his solos. He says: ”It works better for me rather than the piecemeal here and there, like the other guys like to do it.

“I want to wait until all the tracks are done, then I go and just spew guitars forever. That’s when I’m going to break this stuff out, get it committed to tape and make a real serious documentation of this stuff on the album.”

Metallica recently released a video of their performance of Harvester Of Sorrow, recorded in Quebec City, and also launched their own brand of beer in Canada.

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Scott Munro
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Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.