Kirk Hammett’s Solo Album Is Coming—and It Sounds Weird (in the Best Way)

Kirk Hammett has ostensibly written 767 riffs for the next Metallica album. But that’s not what has people talking.

The long-serving Metallica guitarist just revealed he’s deep into writing his first solo record, and it’s shaping up to be a strange, genre-bending ride. Speaking to Rolling Stone while plugging his new book (The Collection: Kirk Hammett), he dropped the news almost offhandedly. But the details paint a pretty wild picture.

“It’s gonna be a fusion of all sorts of styles,” he said. “All of a sudden I’m writing classical progressions, then I’m writing more heavy stuff, then I’m writing a funk thing.”

There’ll be vocals on it, though Hammett hasn’t locked in a singer yet. “I hope I’m not [the one singing]—I already have too much to do on stage,” he joked.

He also teased a track called ‘The Mysterion’, which apparently sounds “2000 years old” and was inspired by ancient Greek texts. Not exactly what you’d expect from the guy who co-wrote ‘Creeping Death’, but Hammett’s never been one to play it safe.

Metallica’s still active—very active, in fact. The M72 World Tour wraps in Auckland this November, and while there’s no rush on a new album, Hammett says he’s already building a riff library for it. As for the vibe of the next Metallica record? “Who knows? We might just say, ‘Okay, let’s go back to the Nineties again.’”

That might not have gone down well in the Load/Reload era, but Hammett reckons the backlash has faded: “Nowadays I run into fans and they love that era.”

Elsewhere, Metallica are getting into the VR game with a new concert experience built for Apple Vision Pro. And yes, they’re on the bill for Black Sabbath’s final-ever show in Birmingham this July.

But right now, Hammett’s solo album is the headline—equal parts bizarre and bold. The kind of chaos only a lifetime metalhead with a classical itch could pull off.