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 back 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 remaining Metallica members Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, and former bassist Jason Newsted, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Former bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident during the Master Of Puppets tour in 1986, was posthumously inducted as well. 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
Hammett now resides in San Francisco with Lani, his second wife, whom he married in 1998. They have two sons, Angel Ray Keala Hammett (September 29, 2006) and Vincenzo Kainalu Hammett (June 28, 2008).
Hammett's interests include surfing, cooking, horses, archeology, cars, science fiction magazines, collecting skulls of animals such as cats and dogs as seen in Metallica's movie Some Kind of Monster, and collecting horror film memorabilia.
Kirk also commented recently on the T3 gadget website in their audio interview that he was previously addicted to video games, stating that the addiction resulted in the loss of eating, social interaction and guitar practice.
Birth name Kirk Lee Hammett
Born November 18, 1962 (1962-11-18) (age 47)
San Francisco, California, USA
Genres Thrash metal, speed metal, heavy metal, hard rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, bass, sitar
Years active 1979 - present
Labels Warner Bros., Elektra, Vertigo, Megaforce
Associated acts Metallica, Exodus, Spastik Children
Website Metallica.com
source wikipedia
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