Metallica's Kirk Hammett discusses his love of horror, his friends Exodus, 'Kill 'Em All' & more

By Doug Moore

Metallica at the Apollo Theater, 2013 (more by P Squared)

You may recall that Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett is holding a metal + monster movie-themed festival called Fear FestEvil (groan) at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom from February 6 – 8, where he’ll play encores with Exodus and Death Angel. (Tix are on sale.) We caught up with Hammett over at Invisible Oranges for a chat about the festival:

How did your passion for horror films and heavy music evolve to the point where you are now?

I would say that now my collection has reached a certain point, and I’ve done my book Too Much Horror Business, and I’ve done the two Orion Festivals, which had Kirk’s Crypt in it, and now I’m finally doing this convention. I really feel that I’ve finally been able to bring my two real passions together into one solid format. It’s taken thirty or forty years of evolution to come to that point [laughs]. But, more importantly, it’s taken me that long to come to that point and actually be serious about it and feel like I actually have something to offer and feel like I have something that’s new and different and something to potentially be a very unique experience for anyone who wants to experience it. It’s a huge victory, a huge triumph for me to be able to blend these two things together.

Other subjects of conversation include, his relationship with his former West Coast thrash peers, last year’s 30th anniversary of Kill Em All, and Metallica’s upcoming plans.

For instance, Metallica had previously announced that they’d debut a new song on their upcoming European and South American tours. Hammett waffles on the subject in this interview, though: “I don’t know [laughs]. We know that we’ve gotta do something, and so whether or not that happens or not, we don’t really know.” Hammett has expressed tepid sentiments about Metallica’s upcoming studio time elsewhere recently, telling Billboard that the band were “procrastinating greatly” on their new album and that they had “run out of excuses” for not starting it. Such enthusiasm!

Read our whole interview over at IO, and don’t forget that Metallica will be performing at the Grammys on 1/26, alongside the likes of Paul McCartney, Daft Punk, Stevie Wonder, and more. With friends like those, who needs a new album?

Check out all of Metallica’s upcoming international dates below…

Metallica South American Dates
March 16, 2014 – Bogotá, Colombia – Parque Simón Bolívar
March 18, 2014 – Quito, Ecuador – Parque Bicentenario
March 20, 2014 – Lima, Peru – Estadio Nacional
March 22, 2014 – São Paulo, Brazil – Estádio do Morumbi
March 24, 2014 – Asunción, Paraguay – Jockey Club
March 27, 2014 – Santiago, Chile – Estadio Monumental
March 29, 2014 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

Metallica European Dates
May 28, 2014 – Hietaniemi Beach, Sonisphere – Helsinki, Finland
May 30, 2014 – Gardet Royal Park, Stockholm Fields – Stockholm, Sweden
June 1, 2014 – Valle Hovin, Sonisphere – Oslo, Norway
June 3, 2014 – Horsens Gaol, Jailhouse Rock – Horsens, Denmark
June 4, 2014 – Imtech Arena, Sonisphere – Hamburg, Germany
June 5-8, 2014 – Rock Am Ring – Nürburgring, Germany
June 6-9, 2014 – Rock Im Park – Nürnberg, Germany
June 9, 2014 – Pinkpop Festival – Landgraaf, Netherlands
July 1, 2014 – Ippodromo Capannelle, Rock in Rome Sonisphere – Rome, Italy
July 3, 2014 – Rock Werchter – Werchter, Belgium
July 4, 2014 – St. Jakob-Park Basel, Sonisphere – Basel, Switzerland
July 6, 2014 – Sonisphere Knebworth – Stevenage, England
July 8, 2014 – Aerodrome Festival – Prague, Czech Republic
July 9, 2014 – Krieau Rocks – Vienna, Austria
July 11, 2014 – National Stadium, Sonisphere – Warsaw, Poland