In an interview with Gibson, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett recalled the very beginning of his relationship with Metallica and unveiled his initial thoughts when he watch them performing live for the first time.
Before joining Metallica, the iconic guitarist Kirk Hammett formed the band Exodus in 1979 while he was only 16 years old. Later in 1983, following the dismissal of their lead guitarist Dave Mustaine due to his substance abuse, Metallica asked Kirk Hammett to join the band.
Recently, Hammett joined a conversation with Gibson to talk about the time he met Metallica back in 1980s. Kirk recalled the time when he was playing with Exodus and mentioned a man named Paul Baloff visited them during the rehearsals. Apparently, Paul told them about a new band he heard on the radio whose music was so heavy.
Later, that man invited Kirk to see Metallica live at The Stone in San Francisco, California. Apparently, when Hammett heard them playing live, he thought Metallica was ‘pretty goddamn good.’ He claimed that it was actually the very first moment his relationship with Metallica began.
Here’s how Kirk Hammett recalled the very first time he saw Metallica:
“I realized, after listening to a lot of rock radio, that I liked loud, fast drums, distorted guitars, power chords, riffs… I remember we were just sitting out around one day and the singer of Exodus, a guy named Paul Baloff, he walked into the rehearsal and said, ‘Metallica! So heavy! They’re so heavy!‘
I was like, ‘Metallica…’ He said, ‘Yeah, they’re playing at The Stone in San Francisco tonight and we gotta go check them out.’
And so we went down there. I remember watching Metallica that night, thinking, ‘Wow, these guys are pretty goddamn good.’ That was just, you know, the beginning of my relationship with them.”
Click here to read the entire interview with Kirk Hammett.
