Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has shared details of a debut solo EP. The axeman will deliver Portals on April 23 in digital and physical editions, the latter arriving to mark Record Store Day 2022.
Produced by Hammett, the four-track Portals is said to be "a collection of gateways to musical and psychic destinations," recorded around the world and "heavily influenced by classical music, soundtracks, horror movies, and maybe a little Ennio Morricone."
Hammett explains in a statement that before the idea of a solo EP crossed his mind, he had his mind set on composing a soundtrack to accompany his exhibition It's Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection, which was shown in Toronto in 2019 and 2020.
"I wanted to conceive music to play on a loop in the background as people walked through the exhibit," he shares. "I sat down one night with a progression, and before I knew it, all the parts were there for 'Maiden and the Monster.' The initial concept for Portals started with that one song. Following that, I realized I could create different soundtrack moments. These songs are what I call 'Audio Cinematic;' I'm creating sounds and pieces of music for the movies playing in my head. Hopefully they'll create movies in other people's heads in a similar fashion."
Contributors to Portals include drummers Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age), Abe Laboriel Jr., Greg Fidelman (bass), Edwin Outwater, Blake Neely and Bob Rock. You can find its four-song tracklist below.
Hammett recently shared a story of former bandmate Cliff Burton meeting a bass guitar god. He and his Metallica bandmates last delivered Hardwired... To Self-Destruct in 2016.
Portals:
1. Maiden and the Monster
2. The Jinn
3. High Plains Drifter
4. The Incantation
Produced by Hammett, the four-track Portals is said to be "a collection of gateways to musical and psychic destinations," recorded around the world and "heavily influenced by classical music, soundtracks, horror movies, and maybe a little Ennio Morricone."
Hammett explains in a statement that before the idea of a solo EP crossed his mind, he had his mind set on composing a soundtrack to accompany his exhibition It's Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection, which was shown in Toronto in 2019 and 2020.
"I wanted to conceive music to play on a loop in the background as people walked through the exhibit," he shares. "I sat down one night with a progression, and before I knew it, all the parts were there for 'Maiden and the Monster.' The initial concept for Portals started with that one song. Following that, I realized I could create different soundtrack moments. These songs are what I call 'Audio Cinematic;' I'm creating sounds and pieces of music for the movies playing in my head. Hopefully they'll create movies in other people's heads in a similar fashion."
Contributors to Portals include drummers Jon Theodore (Queens of the Stone Age), Abe Laboriel Jr., Greg Fidelman (bass), Edwin Outwater, Blake Neely and Bob Rock. You can find its four-song tracklist below.
Hammett recently shared a story of former bandmate Cliff Burton meeting a bass guitar god. He and his Metallica bandmates last delivered Hardwired... To Self-Destruct in 2016.
Portals:
1. Maiden and the Monster
2. The Jinn
3. High Plains Drifter
4. The Incantation