Metallica’s Kirk Hammett opens up on his horror obsession

Kirk Hammett has spoken about his love of horror in a new interview.

The Metallica guitarist appears in a new video by Sotheby’s, who are auctioning a rare movie poster for classic 1932 horror flick The Mummy. Only three are known to exist, with Hammett owning one of them.

In the clip, Hammett talks about what sparked his fascination with horror, and how he began to collect his vast collection of posters, toys, artwork and books – and how the genre has influenced him in his career.

Hammett says: “I’m basically a day-dreamer, always have been, and when I pick up my guitar, which is the most ready way for me to express myself and my feelings, I have a tendency to play stuff that’s dark, haunting and in a minor key.

“I definitely attribute that to my earlier influence of the horror genre. It wasn’t just the movies, but it was also the books.”

Watch the full video below.

Hammett’s collection of horror memorabilia titled It’s Alive! was previously displayed at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts and will move to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto from July 13, 2019 to January 5, 2020.

Find out more.

Hammett features in the current horror issue of Metal Hammer magazine, which has been guest edited by Rob Zombie. The guitarist gives you his guide to the essential horror movies you have to watch this Halloween. It’s out now.

Metallica will reissue their 1988 album …And Justice For All on November 2 on CD, 3CD expanded edition, 2 x 180g LP, cassette, on digital platforms and a limited edition deluxe box set.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All Deluxe Box Set

<a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=38569&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FJustice-All-Remastered-Deluxe-Box%2Fdp%2FB07GVXHJPQ%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-21" data-link-merchant="Amazon UK"" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Metallica - ...And Justice For All Deluxe Box Set
Metallica will release their highly anticipated reissue of their classic 1988 album in November. It'll feature a remix of the record, along with demos, mixes, live material and more.

Metallica 2018/2019 tour dates
Oct 27: Buffalo Keybank Center, NY
Oct 29: Albany Times Union Center, NY
Nov 26: Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena, NV
Nov 28: Boise Taco Bell Arena, ID
Nov 30: Salt Lake City Vivint Smart Home Arena, UT
Dec 12: Spokane Arena, WA
Dec 05: Portland Moda Center, OR
Dec 07: Sacramento Golden 1 Center, CA
Dec 09: Fresno Save Mart Center, CA
Jan 20: Little Rock Verizon Arena, AR
Jan 22: Birmingham Legacy Arena At The BJCC, AL
Jan 24: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN
Jan 28: Raleigh PNC Arena, NC
Jan 30: Cincinnati US Bank Arena, OH
Feb 01: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Feb 28: El Paso Don Haskins Center, TX
Mar 02: Lubbock United Supermarkets Arena, TX
Mar 04: Wichita Intrust Bank Arena, KS
Mar 06: Kansas City Sprint Center, MO
Mar 09: Louisville KFC Yum Center, KY
Mar 11: Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldshouse, IN
Mar 13: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
May 01: Lisbon Estádio do Restelo, Portugal
May 03: Madrid Valdebebas, Spain
May 05: Barcelona Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Spain
May 08: Milan San Siro Hippodrome, Italy
May 10: Zürich Letzigrund, Switzerland
May 12: Paris Stade De France, France
Jun 08: Dublin Slane Castle, Ireland
Jun 11: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, Netherlands
Jun 13: Cologne RheinEnergieStadion, Germany
Jun 16: Brussels Koning Boudewijnstadion, Belgium
Jun 18: Manchester Etihad Stadium, UK
Jun 20: London Twickenham Stadium, UK
Jul 06: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany
Jul 09: Gothenburg Ullevi, Sweden
Jul 11: Copenhagen Telia Parken, Denmark
Jul 13: Trondheim Granåsen, Norway
Jul 16: Hameenlinna Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto, Finland
Jul 18: Tartu, Raadi Airport, Estonia
Jul 21: Moscow Luzhniki Stadium, Russia
Aug 14: Bucharestv Arena Națională, Romania
Aug 16: Vienna Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Austria
Aug 18: Prague Airport Letnany, Czech Republic
Aug 21: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Aug 23: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
Aug 25: Mannheim Maimarktgelande, Germany

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 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 maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to 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.