Metallica’s Kirk Hammett says he has a “ton of material” for the band’s next studio album.
Bassist Robert Trujillo reported last month that they had been working on new ideas while out on the road. And with Hammett sitting on a number of guitar parts, he tells Mixdown (via Tone Deaf) that he’s "ready to go" on a new record.
Hammett reports: “When I was 13 or 14 years old, bands put out albums every year. Seriously, Kiss put out an album every eight months – none of this eight years between albums.
“None of us are very comfortable with the fact it’s been so long, because that’s a long time. We’re hoping to avoid that this time around.”
He adds: “We’re in our third year since since Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. Maybe we can get a bit more focus and go into the studio a bit sooner.
“I have a ton of material. I’ve over-compensated, so I’m ready to go anytime.”
Let’s hope Kirk has all his new material backed up. He famously lost 250 ideas for Hardwired… To Self-Destruct when he lost his phone in 2015.
He told The Jasta Show: “I was bummed for about two or three days. I’m still looking for it to this day. It still might turn up.”
He said of the riffs he lost: “I can only remember, like, eight of them. So I just chalked it down to, ‘Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be,’ and I’ll just move forward.”
Metallica will kick off their European stadium tour in Lisbon on May 1.
Metallica WorldWired UK and European stadium tour
May 01: Lisbon Estádio do Restelo, Portugal
May 03: Madrid Valdebebas, Spain
May 05: Barcelona Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Spain
May 08: Milan San Siro Hippodrome, Italy
May 10: Zürich Letzigrund, Switzerland
May 12: Paris Stade De France, France
Jun 08: Dublin Slane Castle, Ireland
Jun 11: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, Netherlands
Jun 13: Cologne RheinEnergieStadion, Germany
Jun 16: Brussels Koning Boudewijnstadion, Belgium
Jun 18: Manchester Etihad Stadium, UK
Jun 20: London Twickenham Stadium, UK
Jul 06: Berlin Olympiastadion, Germany
Jul 09: Gothenburg Ullevi, Sweden
Jul 11: Copenhagen Telia Parken, Denmark
Jul 13: Trondheim Granåsen, Norway
Jul 16: Hameenlinna Kantolan Tapahtumapuisto, Finland
Jul 18: Tartu, Raadi Airport, Estonia
Jul 21: Moscow Luzhniki Stadium, Russia
Aug 14: Bucharestv Arena Națională, Romania
Aug 16: Vienna Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Austria
Aug 18: Prague Airport Letnany, Czech Republic
Aug 21: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Aug 23: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
Aug 25: Mannheim Maimarktgelande, Germany
