{"id":38439,"date":"2026-05-18T22:08:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.matts-guitar-shop.com\/rock-legends\/kirk-hammett\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:44:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:44:41","slug":"kirk-hammett","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.matts-guitar-shop.com\/en\/rock-legends\/kirk-hammett\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirk Hammett"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Metallica \u2013 The lead guitarist of the biggest metal band<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ admin_label=”Ligne” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”80%” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|300|||||||” text_font_size=”16px” header_font=”|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”36px” header_2_font=”–et_global_heading_font|300|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#ddab05″ header_2_font_size=”24px” text_orientation=”justified” background_layout=”dark” width=”100%” width_tablet=”” width_phone=”100%” width_last_edited=”on|phone” module_alignment=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Origins and Early Years<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Kirk Lee Hammett<\/strong> was born on November 18, 1962<\/strong> in San Francisco<\/strong>. A founding member of the thrash band Exodus<\/strong>, he joined Metallica<\/strong> in April 1983<\/strong>, replacing Dave Mustaine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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With Metallica<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

He has played on every Metallica album since Ride the Lightning (1984)<\/strong>. Master of Puppets (1986)<\/strong> is considered one of the greatest metal albums<\/strong> of all time. Metallica<\/strong> (the \u201cBlack Album\u201d, 1991<\/strong>) sold over 16 million copies<\/strong> in the United States alone, driven by “Enter Sandman”<\/strong> and “Nothing Else Matters”<\/strong>.
Hammett was a student of Joe Satriani<\/strong> and brings a melodic lead playing style influenced by blues<\/strong> and classic heavy metal<\/strong>.
Kirk Hammett is also a passionate collector of horror films<\/strong> and horror memorabilia. He published the book Too Much Horror Business (2012)<\/strong> and created a touring exhibition, “It’s Alive”<\/strong>, showcasing his collection. This passion is reflected in his custom guitars decorated with horror-themed designs.<\/p>\n

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Legacy<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Metallica has sold more than 125 million albums<\/strong> and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame<\/strong> in 2009<\/strong>. It is the best-selling metal band in history<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Iconic Guitars<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Kirk Hammett is closely associated with his Gibson Flying V<\/strong><\/a><\/span> (notably the \u201cDracula\u201d model), his signature ESP KH<\/strong> guitars, and his heavy use of the wah-wah pedal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See the Gibson Custom Shop \u201cNeil Young style\u201d makeover owned by Kirk Hammett<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Metallica \u2013 The lead guitarist of the biggest metal bandOrigins and Early YearsKirk Lee Hammett was born on November 18, 1962 in San Francisco. A founding member of the thrash band Exodus, he joined Metallica in April 1983, replacing Dave Mustaine.With MetallicaHe has played on every Metallica album since Ride the Lightning (1984). Master of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38418,"parent":24295,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-38439","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nKirk Hammett: guitarist of Metallica<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica, a key figure in thrash metal and co-creator of Master of Puppets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.matts-guitar-shop.com\/en\/rock-legends\/kirk-hammett\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kirk Hammett: guitarist of Metallica\" 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