Current Members

Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003 Kirk Hammett was ranked 11th in Rolling Stone's list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Biography

Early life (1962–1980)

Born on November 18, 1962 in San Francisco to a Filipina mother (Chefela) and an Irish Merchant Marine father. Kirk Hammett attended De Anza High School in Richmond, California. After picking up a 1978 Fender Stratocaster copy, Hammett attempted to customize his sound with various guitar parts, eventually falling for a 1974 Gibson Flying V. Hammett also took a job at Burger King as a youth before quitting once he saved enough money for his Marshall amplifier.

Exodus (1980–1983)

Hammett's musical interests eventually drew him into the fledgling thrash metal genre. In 1980, he formed the group Exodus with vocalist Paul Baloff, guitarist Gary Holt, bassist Geoff Andrews, and drummer Tom Hunting. He played on Exodus' 1982 Demo. Exodus was a crucial early player in the Bay Area thrash movement.

Metallica (1983–present)

Hammett was invited to join Metallica following the dismissal of the band's original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine in 1983. This was prior to the recording of Kill 'Em All. At the time Hammett was taking private guitar lessons from the now-famous Joe Satriani.

Hammett has written and contributed riffs for Metallica songs since the mid-1980s (particularly in the 1990s during the Load era). One of these riffs, used in "Enter Sandman" became one of Metallica's most popular songs. It was the first track and first single on Metallica's self-titled "Black Album" and was ranked 399th on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest songs of all time.

The bridge for "Creeping Death" was originally an Exodus riff that Hammett took with him to Metallica. Hammett is also known for always having his picking hand taped up. During the course of a full tour, due to constantly palm muting and fast picking, the palm of his hand takes sizable abuse. Hammett's playing style is noted for his extensive use of the wah-wah pedal in his solos. Hammett says "The wah-wah is an extension of my personality." Hammett's use of the wah-pedal hadn't been featured in recent Metallica solos, but has seen a resurgence in his solos on the newest album, Death Magnetic.

Hammett initially wanted to have guitar solos on Metallica's 2003 album, St. Anger, but drummer Lars Ulrich and producer Bob Rock thought that the solos did not sound right in the songs. He later admitted himself, "We tried to put in solos but they sounded like an afterthought so we left them out".

On April 4, 2009, Kirk, along with Metallica bandmates Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, and Robert Trujillo and former Metallica bandmates Jason Newsted and the late Cliff Burton, were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In 2009 Hammett supplied the foreword to British author Joel McIver's book To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton.

Other appearances

In 2005, Hammett played guitar on the Carlos Santana track "Trinity". In 2006, Hammett voiced himself on The Simpsons ("The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer"). He also provided various voices on the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse, including a two fingered fan ("The Curse of Dethklok"), The Queen of Denmark ("Happy Dethday"), and a Finnish barkeep ("Dethtroll"). * He also appeared as a guest in an episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast titled "Jacksonville" alongside fellow Metallica member James Hetfield.

In 2010, Hammett will play with Nicolas Abou Chedid on Nico's solo album. Hammett played guitar on the track "Satan" with Orbital for The Spawn: The Album soundtrack released in July 1997. After performing a set with Metallica at Bonnaroo in June 2008, Hammett played one song with My Morning Jacket and a couple songs with the annual Superjam collaboration, which also included Les Claypool and members of Gogol Bordello playing primarily Tom Waits songs. He also appeared on the "Kichigai" E.P. by punk band Septic Death. He played additional lead guitar on the title track. He appeared as a guest guitarist on K'Naan's "If Rap Gets Jealous" off of the Troubadour album. He is one of the main characters in Guitar Hero: Metallica along with the rest of the current lineup of Metallica. Hammett can be seen in the background in Primus' "John the Fisherman" video fishing off of Les Claypool's boat. Claypool and Hammett are childhood friends.