Totally agree with the Black Album solo work Bernth, there are wonderful solos out there. Bob Rock did a great job trying to get the best from Kirk, like in The Unforgiven.
@@TheBfutgreg Kill Em All were Mustaine's solo Kirk just replicated (and replicated well). Kirk did a lot of arpeggios in Ride The Lightning, and added some sweeps in Master of Puppets as well as more melodic stuff (like Disposable Heroes). Justice is Kirks most technical solos, Black Album has some of his most memorable solos though (Enter Sandman and Unforgiven in particular). Kirk hasn't had a single memorable solo started from Load to current day.
His work on Unforgiven is sublime, its literally the reason so many non metal heads like that album. Nothing Else Matters is such a classic we have openly gay guys at my job who know every single word!! The metal heads and them all get together to sing it at the top of their voices when we have those after hours office party.. kinda funny actually. Everybody pointing at each other going ''YOU know the lyrics to this song?? AWESOME!!'' Kurt is the man!!!!
His solos from their first albums were my favourites when I learned guitar and I know he doesn’t compose like this anymore but it doesn’t cancel it for me
It just shows that he doesn't put in the effort he used to. If he always played wah pentatonic shredding, that would just be Kirk, but we know he can do better. And yes you loose a little with age but guitar isn't a very physical instrument and as long as your hands are okay you'd play maybe 90% as good as you used to. Not 20%. That would indicate brain damage. Even if you don't play for many years it comes back quickly if you put in the time.
@@AndDeathForAll82 My main complaint is note choice not really speed or precision, he has enough of that for what he needs to do but he's turned into a mindless pentatonic, wah shredder that makes Zakk Wylde's notw choices sound almost classically influenced, and he is my go to guy for venting about mindless pentatonic wankery. Now if Kirk always played like that ok, but he used to put a lot more thought into it and come up with good melodies and all that, while also being faster and more precise and less reliant on a wah to express himself. If stuff starts sounding empty without the wah you need to keep it turned off and relearn how to express yourself without a frequency sweep. Kirk seems to have done the opposite and fully committed to what barely sounds like a caricature of himself. And most guitarist don't seem to suffer substantially with age unless it is catastrophic. But a good guitarist is always improving, which counters age related decline. If you stop caring, therefore no longer work at it to improve and you get old and do a bunch of drugs and keep the wah always on, that's how you end up like Kirk Hammet. Seems to be a thing in the band. Lars Ulrich used to be quite good, now he's beibg constatly ridiculous. James seems to be the only one that kept it, so I think he's the only one who still cares from the early lineup.
Crazy that people want to hate.... Over 40 years and still touring, recording, playing is amazing enough. Let alone the COUNTLESS riffs and solos that CREATED musicians today.... People hate just to hate, but we all know it derives from a place of jealousy.
It's strange because bands like Rush and Van Halen went through a change in "credibility" when they shifted in their approach in the 80's. EVH and Alex Lifeson were not the players people assumed they were, just like Kirk Hammett in the 90's.
I love how you broke this down! Thank you. May I suggest using a lighter color pick? It's hard to see the black pick against the surrounding black and grey color palette.
Kirk Hammett is one of the most influential players for people of my age. I'm 51 years old, and I grew up listening to Metallica, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and so on... KH is no John Petrucci, but what he brought to the guitar world must be respected. I will forever be grateful to Metallica who came in my life at a point where I could have easily slipped into oblivion. They literally saved my life and gave me a purpose in life. I have been playing guitar since 1988 and It's because of KH.
They aren't the Rolling Stones. It should stand to reason that the more technical stuff would decline with age. He is 62 years old. Many of us are retired from our profession at that point. People who run legends into the ground, who are past their prime, aren't cool or funny. They are disrespectful.
You mean Metallica didn't get to be at the pinnacle of the thrash metal scene, and a major cross-over act... with 1/2 of their band being terrible musicians? With that logic, Dream Theater should have been the mostest greaterest band of all time, considering the skill of their entire lineup.
Many guitar players started playing guitar because of Metallica. They're great entry band, having both easy and catchy songs, as well as more intricate compositions, that really need some skill to play. Kirk showed his genius more than once. Saying he sucks, is nothing more than trying to be edgy. Sure, last Metallica records show, that they don't leave their comfort zone, but do they really have to? They already achieved everything as a band.
Yep. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences, it's not about saying everyone should love Metallica or his solos or whatever. But when it comes to random people just trash talking, I keep 2 things in mind. 1. "Who are you? lol" (at them, not you) 2. It's basically praise - People always come for the king.
What many people ignore about Hammett is as he himself has said he has so many problems with his body. He said he has major problems with his neck, shoulder, wrist while he also has arthritis I think.
People hold musicians to way too high of a standard. Kirk Hammett is a songwriter, not just a player. They say "I can play this, and I'm only considered intermediate, so therefore he isn't good". Well, he also made the solo, and you didn't. Odds are, the person saying these things generally can't write solos or riffs etc. as well as he can.
@BryceSchwager Yes, man, I also do not get the boasting ones completely, because the only thing that they perfrom great is the boasting around, nothing else. And, by the way, the standart is exceptionally high because now we have nearly an unlimited amount of musicians to listen to. There are too many entries at the statistic analysis booth, that is the reason for having such a high level of standards.
Do a solo as awesome as "Master of Puppets" before calling him that he sucks at guitar. His phrasing on that, blows my mind. Why no body talks about Iron Maiden's solos. All of their tracks solo and phrasing are soooooo impressive that I don't think they get the prase they deserve for.
Kirk is a great guitarist. The definition of what is good is morphing into a stupid competition of who can play the fastest or uses the most scales. Being good is just a sum of sounds created. Period.
@@PapiSensei331I mean James is definitely super good no doubt, but from my personal experience his songs are really easy, I wouldn’t rank him up there with people like Kerry King, Scott Ian, Dave Mustaine, Zakk Wylde, Jim root, Mårten Hagström, or Dimebag.
Without wanting to be too contentious and I know that Hammett is a controversial figure in the guitar world (for some reason) I will give my two cents. First of all Kirk is a guy close to my heart cause he is the reason I picked up the guitar. Secondly to his defence he has mentioned many times that he has many problems with his body liek his shoulder, wrist, fingers, neck. Gary Holt mentioned recently that he suffers from arthritis and i think Kirk agreed in the past. Third he never claimed to be anything. He is really quite down to Earth person. He outright said that he was never interested in having great right hand technique. Last but not least Metallica is ruled by James and Lars. The songs take their final form when James and Lars say so. Kirk in his recent EP gave us much much higher quality than what he did in the last two albums which means he still got it but maybe just maybe the leading band members do not agree with this approach. Lets not forget that je wanted solos in St. Anger and he was ignored completely.
He is controversial because he is worshipped by some Metallica fans and held up as one of the best metal guitarists ever, and many of us more experienced players would disagree. The positives are that he seems like a nice dude, he played some memorable solos early in his career and he can keep up with Hetfield live. The negatives for me are that he uses too much wah wah, his solos show no imagination or variation, his vibrato is poor, he hasn't played any great solos for over 30 years and his technical ability is average.
@@GordonHeaney i agree that he is not the most virtuoso player but back then the majority of thrash players weren't. If he had an attitude even a bit "ohhh look at me I am guitar god" I would say hia critiscm is valid but the guy literally never said anything remote to this and he keeps praising his peers like Schenker or Beck and co. He is so down to earth and he is not too blame for the Metallica fans. I have never seen anu guitarist getting so much hate. Being a guitarist myself I have seen Metallica live multiple times. The fact that aftsr 40+ years him and James keep playing in sync never seizes to amaze me. That said he loves using wah, i mean its his prerogative to do so. Wah is not my thing but I have friends who love to.use it all the time. Each to their own tbh. As the other commenter said I liked his solos in Death Magnetic its not peak Kirk but they are good. In addition, i will say what James said during an interview in 2013: "Individually none of us are in top class list as a guitarist, vocalist, drummer or bass...but together we manage to write great songs and put great live performances and this is our strength". And I agree with this statement. They are a great band nothing morr nothing less.
Internet in a nutshell: Bernth, who can play circles around the old school guitar gods: Kirk is fine, Imma make a lesson on his work! Mave Dustaine fanboys: Kirk bad, pentatonic wah bad...Dave gut, no wah, chromatic gut
Kirk on alums is a different story than Kirk live. He was still tight at that Moscow show and started to do some weird stuff around the first S&M..but was still ok. Nowadays, its a different story. He just overuses wah and cant play fast licks properly anymore. It's like 75% pick noise and mosquito vibrato
@saschamarr495 First of all let me say I enjoyed listening to you play, good job.👍 Usually Kirk's critics have no idea what pentatonic means and wouldn't recognize a wah if Kirk's rack unit hit them over the head followed by his five floor controllers. You are a breath of fresh air. Secondly, 24 year old Kirk was better at fast licks than 62 year old Kirk with arthritis in both hands...OK, no argument...Just funny how the Internet thinks Keef and Ronnie are great guitarists, but Kirk sucks. Thirdly, there is no such thing as overuse of wah🧐. Wah is love, Wah is life. Fourthly, you are too harsh with the pick scratches and mosquito vibrato comment. You know it's not true, don't give the idiots new cliches to parrott. Saw him live in 1999, 2009, 2012 and 2024. He was great and the thousands of people around me thought so. Not sure how much longer he will be great, so if you get a chance, go to a concert soon.
@@plamenpenkov2865 I like this reply, I think you summed it all up quite well! I guess I should have mentioned, I did start playing because of Kirk ..(and Dave) Wouldn't be where I am now without him, I guess I just wish people abilities wouldn't change with time ... but yea, time gets everyone. Take care!
Kirks early solos sound like compositions. They capture the feel of the song perfectly and help lift it. I feel bad for James because it feels like hes the only one still trying.
Hmmm… I am not a huge ’Tallica fan but here are my two cents. There are people who say X is a great guitar player meaning he/she has great technical skill. Yeah, it might be pointless arpeggios all the time and the song might be generic modern metal with no memorable hooks, but it is technically amazing. And there are people who say Y is a great guitar player, because he/she knows how to write cool songs, never overplayed things, has a great ”feel” to the songs and solos. There are players who can be both, but there are lots of players who are just one of these things. Who is right? Well, it is a matter of taste really. As long as you know what you like to hear, it should not matter what others think. No matter how great or bad you play does not make you a great performer, unless you attract an audience. So, Tony Iommi is a great player, Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Adrian Smith, Glenn Tipton, Trey Azagtoth, Mathieu Pascal, Alexi Laiho, Jimi Hendrix… each one in his own special way.
i personally just turn the guitar up and do hammer-ons and do like a mini-bar on the 12 and 14th frets to do that first chunk and then just hammers for the rest of the climb
I'm one of those weirdos who prefers Load to The Black Album, song wise. Kirk's playing on The Black Album is superior, but the ideas on Load are way more diverse and adventurous.
Anybody who thinks Kirk sucks at guitar, doesn’t play guitar on any level other than strumming a few basic C, D, G chords at a party. If you play guitar, lead guitar, you wouldn’t make such a comment about one of the greatest and most creative guitarists of all time. I love the solo from Sad But True. That beginning of the solo where he slides into a 12/13 two string shape. Such a raunchy sound. Those EMG pickups through that black Les Paul…man, it sounds like a demonic growl. One, Master of Puppets, Battery, Wherever I May Roam-damn Kirk’s guitar technique and accuracy SLAMS and GOES HARD AF.
That picking pattern puts me in mind of the dude from Into Eternity. It’s a quick way to build up speed. Hammering on unpicked notes between downstrokes is pretty quick too but there’s too many notes to sound audible
Kirk Hammet is the reason I play guitar. The reason why his solo's aren't the same as the 80's is because kirk had the time to compose the solo's. Whereas the new recording format requires him to improvise on the spot and record with a live a band. We shouldn't be hating on him as he had a method to his solo's and that was disrupted with the new recording method that band uses. I urge everyone to relisten to ..And justice for all, Load and Reload. That was some of Kirks best work.
Sometimes when we're players ourselves, we're too focused on what we expect others to be playing, meeting our standard for their technical or musical potential, rather than just sit back and enjoy what they've created. Hammett plays what he's inspired to, and i think that shows. The solos from Death Magnetic through 72 Seasons aren't complex, but they're really not simplistic, either. They're fiery and fit the songs, and i would bet they'd be difficult for others to recreate with the same energy. i have to admit it's hard for me at first to turn off the "that's not the way i would have done it" part of my brain, but i enjoy the music much more when i do. Trust your favorite bands that they get the best result when they're doing the most inspiring thing for them.
Mr Hammett wrote some of the best solos in metal history and then stopped giving a fuck about guitar know it alls and did what he wanted when he wanted while selling millions of records.
Kirk's solos are among the most known solos in the history of 20 century's music......Fade to Black, One, Ride The Lighning, are in the top 10 of any Metal Solo list.......personally, I like the most his solo for Disposables Heroes, Orion, and Welcome Home Sanitarium........all those noobs who claim he can't play, are just armchair opinologist who channeled all their frustration after that clip from Some Kind of Monster bio, where James is having problems teaching Kirk some riff........after that, every frustrated crybaby started to claim he was a fraud and couldn't play guitar...........and all got worse with all those boring DJENT youtubers, who think making a solo means you have to over complicate everything technically and rythmically (all while trying to avoid melodies, because DJENT is basically unlisteanable after 10 measures).......
Saying that he sucks is wrong, but to say that he is top 100 guitar player is also wrong. Yes he had good solo's back when he composed them, then he ran out of tricks and as with all busy bands, they don't have time to expand on their capabilities, and with Kirk it shows.
I like those think that Kirk is in the “wrong” band He is really inspired by blues and 60’s music and he kind off implements it in his thrash metal playing. If you llsten to load and reload, two way softer, rocky bluesy albums you can hear his approach to solos is not that different. Yes, slower but it’s works better for that genre.
Remember back in the Day when the Canon Rock Guy broke the Internet? There wasn’t so much judging back then. Good Old Days of the Internet! Now everybody seems to be an expert.
He downgraded his soloing to basicly pentatonc's first box but he sounds better and seems more in his element with this change. Surely I Like him more now.
I feel like nowadays he just plays as he feels rather than trying to push himself, its both good and bad but honestly that's what I hope to become. Someone who just does what they want
Kirk doesn't suck just I think people that are not musicians don't understand that overtime music preferences changes and can change how we as musicians approach new songs. I think they don't understand that and expect the same thing album to album when that is not ideal. I rather just appreciate what they create and learn to understand why they chose to go the route they went instead of complain about it.
Yes but writing is the best thing a person can do not soloing no one cares about 100 notes a second writing songs is the real strength of a guitar player look at Eddie great songwriting randy great songwriting george lynch the same
Kirk is 💯 the reason i love solos. Hes not the only one buf he us Amazing. It isn't just sbout how technical and definitely not how fast you play. Its got to sound good and make you feel something
Kirk needs Bob Rock. Kirks solos used to be a journey. It took you places. Since 2000s, he just plays fast, sometimes just sounds like random notes just to fill a void. Metallica need to write songs that welcome Kirks solos and not just filling a spot where a solo could be.
Agree with you Dream Theater did the whole Master of Puppets live and John Petrucci had a hard time holding back on the solos he picked most of the notes.
He took #1 greatest guitarist of 2003 in rolling Stones top 100 greatest guitarist of all time. And has a net work of 200 million. Wish I sucked that bad.
Admit it or not majority of us guitar players when we start learning the guitar, we all look up and try to imitate the guitar solos of kirk. he is the leaving proof you don't need lighning fast sweeps and shred to be a millionare.
i think he needs to take more time writing is all. the fade to black intro solo sounds like he worked very hard and shows me that he does have great technique
Absolutely! He sucks ass now but that’s why we love him! Growing up he was one of my favourite players but a lot of it comes down to laziness and refusing to practice/learn new things over the years. His old stuff is still awesome though!
Its an opinion that people thought made them cool for being different. "Everyone thinks Kirk is good except me because I'm smarter than everyone else" is all it comes down to. 40 years later mfers still think its an original opinion lol
Yup, Metallica is the same reason as well. The way I view Metallica is they matured musically and didn't just want to play thrash. They just want to make music.
I don’t think Kirk sucks at all but when you compare him to guitarists like Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Chuck Schuldiner, Michael Weikath, and Ritchie Blackmore, it makes sense. Even outside of all of their primes years (20-40 age) they still composed absolutely phenomenal solos. Kirk on the other hand, got lazy and made Wah heavy solos. However, he’s still a great guitarist and in his prime, he was fucking phenomenal just like the guitarists I mentioned.
No one says shit on Fuel solo. It is simple but it sounds really good and fits the song context wise. Listen to Death Magnetic. Broken Beat and Scarred, First half of Cyanide solo. It doesn't sound good(not played well) and not organized(for no reason) and all these solos sound the same, not mentioning wah overuse(it was there all the time). Listen to Hardwired album. Hardwired, Spit Out the Bone solo. They have the same skills and simillar scales but they are played well, well organized, and fits the context so they sound good. 72 Seasons solos don't sound bad but they aren't well organized either and sound generic(in Kirk's way). Is Kirk a bad guitarist? hell no. Are his 'modern' works all bad? no. but some do.
I agree Kirk should go back to composing solos. If you took the best songs from Load and Reload you would have a bad ass hard rock album. My pick for Kirks best solo is the Unforgiven
Kirk is not bad at all he’s honestly one of the better lead guitarists out of those early thrash bands people just look at it from a modern standpoint and compare him to modern guitarists from much more modern genres of metal which are a lot more complex. He’s a great guitarist it’s not necessary to compare him to some modern guitarist who sweep picks in 15 different scales
i think that kirk's riffs are 100/10 but his solos are just basic pentatonic exercises and tremolo picking. it may sound good for a "begginer" in metal but once you discover bands such as pantera, megadeth, gojira, etc. he just can't keep on, but there are 2 solos from him that are really good such as One and The tjing that should not be
I'm terribly sorry, but Metallica were absolutely great and outstanding in the early days including their Black Album. Everything after remains at best a lukewarm copy of that era... but: Effing hell, were they great then! Anyone who dares to try the Solo sections e.g. in Master of Puppets or One will unavoidably run into severe difficulties due to the sheer speed of those. Kirk Hammet was refererred to as one of the fastest guitarists in the world at that time, and that was - and still is - pretty damn well earned! So sad to see them fail and struggle live these days. Nota bene: I have to add an exception: Their "Garage Inc." Cover Album holds a few completely underestimated Highlights. Am I Evil by Diamond Head and Stone Cold Crazy by the mighty Queen for example. Just my 2 Cents to it. 🤷♂️
True, but most do keep their skillset (big or small) intact, for the most part. "Kirk is shit" is a an old meme because of his shitty live performances.
Imo Kirk is both overrated and underrated. Overrated for guitar elitists/purists while underrated because he is actually a very efficient player. He is efficient in a way that his solos fit the band's mold. Given that some of his latest works were lazily written, it doesn't mean that he can't do a sick solo
I’m not a fan of the stuff after the black album either but I don’t think it lost its passion. It’s just different. In fact, I think they chased their passions instead of churning out the same old formula just to please everyone else. There’s something commendable in that.
Kirk Hammett is a good, upper mid-tier guitarist; by that I mean he uses what bells and tricks he knows incredibly well, but he has been stuck at the same pentatonic scales for 40 years, and that is why he isn't higher up, and he overvalues his own "improve" skills. He is a good composer, which is why it's too bad he stopped doing that. Please don't come with that "Why is he rich and you ain't" as if being great at guitar automatically turns you into a millionaire. To be good at marketing got a lot more to do with people's salaries.
Anyone who says Kirk Hammett sucks is a clown he’s in his 60s now and is 10 times the guitarist of anyone in these comments none of you are fit to lace his boots
First of all, to say someone sucks playing, well just isn't cool! He's good at what he does. And he does not suck! He may not be the fastest player. But for some reason that's how people seem to base skill level these days. But anyone that understands music and what sounds good. It's not a bunch of notes played as far as one can. That has it's place but had become way to common, basing someone's talents off speed. Music has to have rhythm and feel, in combination with burst of speed. ie: 16ths-32nds ect. But why is it some of the best music played is at relatively slow speeds!
Take your guitar technique to a world-class level in 30 days: www.patreon.com/bernth
Yesss sir. I am self taught on guitar. But you alwayssss inspire me not to stopppp
Those pattern keeping me hang, coz I'm still on fretboard visualization.
Agreed
@BERNTHGuitarAcademy I'm trying to purchase guitar lessons but it won't let me ? Thanks
Kirk can still write interesting riffs and solos as he did in his EP - Portals.
Wait, he made his own EP but Newsted couldn't?
@@Manu-Official after 40 years with the band🤣🤣 probably he had to make a powerpoint presentation to James and Lars to give him the ok
@@MBBGun14 ‘Portals’ is fantastic
@@AndDeathForAll82Its proof he phones in Metallica. I'm convinced.
How the hell did I not know that he had a solo EP!?!?!?!?
Totally agree with the Black Album solo work Bernth, there are wonderful solos out there. Bob Rock did a great job trying to get the best from Kirk, like in The Unforgiven.
I think Bob called him a lazy musician. Kirk has always been good, but doesn’t work at it enough. That’s why the wah really became a staple of his.
Kirk just relied too much on the pentatonic scale during the Load and ReLoad era, and haven't stopped since.
@@TimmyJay02 I mean all of his solos on Kill 'Em All were pentatonic, more or less......AJFA is where he got the most creative
@@TheBfutgreg Kill Em All were Mustaine's solo Kirk just replicated (and replicated well). Kirk did a lot of arpeggios in Ride The Lightning, and added some sweeps in Master of Puppets as well as more melodic stuff (like Disposable Heroes). Justice is Kirks most technical solos, Black Album has some of his most memorable solos though (Enter Sandman and Unforgiven in particular). Kirk hasn't had a single memorable solo started from Load to current day.
His work on Unforgiven is sublime, its literally the reason so many non metal heads like that album. Nothing Else Matters is such a classic we have openly gay guys at my job who know every single word!! The metal heads and them all get together to sing it at the top of their voices when we have those after hours office party.. kinda funny actually. Everybody pointing at each other going ''YOU know the lyrics to this song?? AWESOME!!'' Kurt is the man!!!!
His solos from their first albums were my favourites when I learned guitar and I know he doesn’t compose like this anymore but it doesn’t cancel it for me
It just shows that he doesn't put in the effort he used to. If he always played wah pentatonic shredding, that would just be Kirk, but we know he can do better. And yes you loose a little with age but guitar isn't a very physical instrument and as long as your hands are okay you'd play maybe 90% as good as you used to. Not 20%. That would indicate brain damage. Even if you don't play for many years it comes back quickly if you put in the time.
@221b-l3t his main point still stands.
@@221b-l3tHe does have arthritis, so that’s probably contributing.
@@AndDeathForAll82 My main complaint is note choice not really speed or precision, he has enough of that for what he needs to do but he's turned into a mindless pentatonic, wah shredder that makes Zakk Wylde's notw choices sound almost classically influenced, and he is my go to guy for venting about mindless pentatonic wankery. Now if Kirk always played like that ok, but he used to put a lot more thought into it and come up with good melodies and all that, while also being faster and more precise and less reliant on a wah to express himself. If stuff starts sounding empty without the wah you need to keep it turned off and relearn how to express yourself without a frequency sweep. Kirk seems to have done the opposite and fully committed to what barely sounds like a caricature of himself. And most guitarist don't seem to suffer substantially with age unless it is catastrophic. But a good guitarist is always improving, which counters age related decline. If you stop caring, therefore no longer work at it to improve and you get old and do a bunch of drugs and keep the wah always on, that's how you end up like Kirk Hammet. Seems to be a thing in the band. Lars Ulrich used to be quite good, now he's beibg constatly ridiculous. James seems to be the only one that kept it, so I think he's the only one who still cares from the early lineup.
@ I guess I can’t disagree there, but he still has his moments. “Halo on Fire”, the last solo of “Spit Out the Bone”, and “Inamorata”, in particular.
Crazy that people want to hate.... Over 40 years and still touring, recording, playing is amazing enough. Let alone the COUNTLESS riffs and solos that CREATED musicians today.... People hate just to hate, but we all know it derives from a place of jealousy.
Sad actually. Not to mention how they destroyed Hair Metal and normalized thrash metal. I grabbed my first Metallica Album off a church burn pile.
That was the start to the Creeping Death solo by the way!
Yes, he said that in the video.
Yes, he said that in the video.
Kirk is one of the most well-known students of Joe Satriani, even doing two guitar lesson sessions per week.
And it didn't do much.
@@billydeewilliams9104 It did, years ago...
So what went wrong?
Its wierd because his playing is uninspired from how Joe plays, like he didn't learn from Joe Satriani, but he sounds self taught
It's strange because bands like Rush and Van Halen went through a change in "credibility" when they shifted in their approach in the 80's. EVH and Alex Lifeson were not the players people assumed they were, just like Kirk Hammett in the 90's.
I love how you broke this down! Thank you. May I suggest using a lighter color pick? It's hard to see the black pick against the surrounding black and grey color palette.
Nah he doesn’t suck, people don’t like him only because he has a one million dollar les paul 😂😂😂
😂
The hate for Kirk goes way before he bought that guitar
* two million dollars
It wasn't even half a million,and he got to make a payment plan for it, wow ,we're like peers now ,I'm broke too. Lol
Wtf are you talking about dude, No people don't like him because he took over for Mustaine
Kirk Hammett is one of the most influential players for people of my age. I'm 51 years old, and I grew up listening to Metallica, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and so on... KH is no John Petrucci, but what he brought to the guitar world must be respected. I will forever be grateful to Metallica who came in my life at a point where I could have easily slipped into oblivion. They literally saved my life and gave me a purpose in life. I have been playing guitar since 1988 and It's because of KH.
They aren't the Rolling Stones. It should stand to reason that the more technical stuff would decline with age. He is 62 years old. Many of us are retired from our profession at that point. People who run legends into the ground, who are past their prime, aren't cool or funny. They are disrespectful.
You mean Metallica didn't get to be at the pinnacle of the thrash metal scene, and a major cross-over act... with 1/2 of their band being terrible musicians? With that logic, Dream Theater should have been the mostest greaterest band of all time, considering the skill of their entire lineup.
Many guitar players started playing guitar because of Metallica. They're great entry band, having both easy and catchy songs, as well as more intricate compositions, that really need some skill to play. Kirk showed his genius more than once. Saying he sucks, is nothing more than trying to be edgy. Sure, last Metallica records show, that they don't leave their comfort zone, but do they really have to? They already achieved everything as a band.
Easy songs. My ass.
They left their comfort zone in the 90s and got bashed for it
@@dermetzgermeister7336 That depends on your skill-level, if you are a begynner, all songs will have a level of difficulty, even ACDS
Yep. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences, it's not about saying everyone should love Metallica or his solos or whatever.
But when it comes to random people just trash talking, I keep 2 things in mind.
1. "Who are you? lol"
(at them, not you)
2. It's basically praise - People always come for the king.
I got the personal coaching package on Patreon.
How can I get the custom practice plan?
Well, the fact is that he is already 62 years old and I believe no one lives forever, especially the musicians.
What many people ignore about Hammett is as he himself has said he has so many problems with his body. He said he has major problems with his neck, shoulder, wrist while he also has arthritis I think.
People hold musicians to way too high of a standard. Kirk Hammett is a songwriter, not just a player. They say "I can play this, and I'm only considered intermediate, so therefore he isn't good". Well, he also made the solo, and you didn't. Odds are, the person saying these things generally can't write solos or riffs etc. as well as he can.
@BryceSchwager Yes, man, I also do not get the boasting ones completely, because the only thing that they perfrom great is the boasting around, nothing else.
And, by the way, the standart is exceptionally high because now we have nearly an unlimited amount of musicians to listen to. There are too many entries at the statistic analysis booth, that is the reason for having such a high level of standards.
Except keef
Do a solo as awesome as "Master of Puppets" before calling him that he sucks at guitar. His phrasing on that, blows my mind. Why no body talks about Iron Maiden's solos. All of their tracks solo and phrasing are soooooo impressive that I don't think they get the prase they deserve for.
The Kirk from the pre-Black album era sounds different from after. These days it feels like he's doing the same pentatowah thing again and again.
Master of Puppets is a terrible solo and LITERALLY an example of why he is shit. WTF
Kirk is a great guitarist. The definition of what is good is morphing into a stupid competition of who can play the fastest or uses the most scales. Being good is just a sum of sounds created. Period.
Everybody considers James one of the best rhythm guitarists of all time. Kirk plays all that stuff too
With respect intended, they certainly don't.
@@TripleMHimselfyou are incorrect
@@PapiSensei331I mean James is definitely super good no doubt, but from my personal experience his songs are really easy, I wouldn’t rank him up there with people like Kerry King, Scott Ian, Dave Mustaine, Zakk Wylde, Jim root, Mårten Hagström, or Dimebag.
@@ShredTarnished-1you think battery is easy? Or downpicking blackened?
@@ElevatedLevetatorI could play them at 10 years old but then again I was obsessed with guitar back in the day playing 5 hr a day
Without wanting to be too contentious and I know that Hammett is a controversial figure in the guitar world (for some reason) I will give my two cents.
First of all Kirk is a guy close to my heart cause he is the reason I picked up the guitar. Secondly to his defence he has mentioned many times that he has many problems with his body liek his shoulder, wrist, fingers, neck. Gary Holt mentioned recently that he suffers from arthritis and i think Kirk agreed in the past. Third he never claimed to be anything. He is really quite down to Earth person. He outright said that he was never interested in having great right hand technique.
Last but not least Metallica is ruled by James and Lars. The songs take their final form when James and Lars say so. Kirk in his recent EP gave us much much higher quality than what he did in the last two albums which means he still got it but maybe just maybe the leading band members do not agree with this approach. Lets not forget that je wanted solos in St. Anger and he was ignored completely.
He is controversial because he is worshipped by some Metallica fans and held up as one of the best metal guitarists ever, and many of us more experienced players would disagree. The positives are that he seems like a nice dude, he played some memorable solos early in his career and he can keep up with Hetfield live. The negatives for me are that he uses too much wah wah, his solos show no imagination or variation, his vibrato is poor, he hasn't played any great solos for over 30 years and his technical ability is average.
@@GordonHeaneyhey now, some of his solos on Death Magnetic were pretty sick
@@GordonHeaney i agree that he is not the most virtuoso player but back then the majority of thrash players weren't. If he had an attitude even a bit "ohhh look at me I am guitar god" I would say hia critiscm is valid but the guy literally never said anything remote to this and he keeps praising his peers like Schenker or Beck and co. He is so down to earth and he is not too blame for the Metallica fans. I have never seen anu guitarist getting so much hate.
Being a guitarist myself I have seen Metallica live multiple times. The fact that aftsr 40+ years him and James keep playing in sync never seizes to amaze me.
That said he loves using wah, i mean its his prerogative to do so. Wah is not my thing but I have friends who love to.use it all the time. Each to their own tbh.
As the other commenter said I liked his solos in Death Magnetic its not peak Kirk but they are good. In addition, i will say what James said during an interview in 2013:
"Individually none of us are in top class list as a guitarist, vocalist, drummer or bass...but together we manage to write great songs and put great live performances and this is our strength".
And I agree with this statement. They are a great band nothing morr nothing less.
Internet in a nutshell:
Bernth, who can play circles around the old school guitar gods: Kirk is fine, Imma make a lesson on his work!
Mave Dustaine fanboys: Kirk bad, pentatonic wah bad...Dave gut, no wah, chromatic gut
Kirk on alums is a different story than Kirk live. He was still tight at that Moscow show and started to do some weird stuff around the first S&M..but was still ok. Nowadays, its a different story. He just overuses wah and cant play fast licks properly anymore. It's like 75% pick noise and mosquito vibrato
@saschamarr495 First of all let me say I enjoyed listening to you play, good job.👍 Usually Kirk's critics have no idea what pentatonic means and wouldn't recognize a wah if Kirk's rack unit hit them over the head followed by his five floor controllers. You are a breath of fresh air.
Secondly, 24 year old Kirk was better at fast licks than 62 year old Kirk with arthritis in both hands...OK, no argument...Just funny how the Internet thinks Keef and Ronnie are great guitarists, but Kirk sucks.
Thirdly, there is no such thing as overuse of wah🧐. Wah is love, Wah is life.
Fourthly, you are too harsh with the pick scratches and mosquito vibrato comment. You know it's not true, don't give the idiots new cliches to parrott.
Saw him live in 1999, 2009, 2012 and 2024. He was great and the thousands of people around me thought so. Not sure how much longer he will be great, so if you get a chance, go to a concert soon.
@@plamenpenkov2865 I like this reply, I think you summed it all up quite well! I guess I should have mentioned, I did start playing because of Kirk ..(and Dave) Wouldn't be where I am now without him, I guess I just wish people abilities wouldn't change with time ... but yea, time gets everyone. Take care!
@@plamenpenkov2865 Oh and thanks for the complement!
Even funnier when you consider Dave uses pentatonics if not more so than kirk
Kirks early solos sound like compositions. They capture the feel of the song perfectly and help lift it. I feel bad for James because it feels like hes the only one still trying.
Kirk Hammett's solos almost always sound like pentatonic and picking exercises joined together.
You spelled Mave Dustaine wrong.
Lol most players play like this
Dave's solos do not sound like pentatonic exercies you just need a new pair of ears@@plamenpenkov2865
@@plamenpenkov2865Out of everything Dave can be criticized for, his Guitar chops isn't one of them.
@@birdsteak9267 What criticism?
It's a statement of fact. Everything Kirk is accused of, Dave is more guilty of. Except the wah.
Hmmm… I am not a huge ’Tallica fan but here are my two cents. There are people who say X is a great guitar player meaning he/she has great technical skill. Yeah, it might be pointless arpeggios all the time and the song might be generic modern metal with no memorable hooks, but it is technically amazing.
And there are people who say Y is a great guitar player, because he/she knows how to write cool songs, never overplayed things, has a great ”feel” to the songs and solos.
There are players who can be both, but there are lots of players who are just one of these things. Who is right? Well, it is a matter of taste really. As long as you know what you like to hear, it should not matter what others think. No matter how great or bad you play does not make you a great performer, unless you attract an audience. So, Tony Iommi is a great player, Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Adrian Smith, Glenn Tipton, Trey Azagtoth, Mathieu Pascal, Alexi Laiho, Jimi Hendrix… each one in his own special way.
i personally just turn the guitar up and do hammer-ons and do like a mini-bar on the 12 and 14th frets to do that first chunk and then just hammers for the rest of the climb
Yes finally someone says it. For me Load and Reload are some of the coolest heavy rock/blues records ever. Love them ❤
I'm one of those weirdos who prefers Load to The Black Album, song wise. Kirk's playing on The Black Album is superior, but the ideas on Load are way more diverse and adventurous.
Does your wedding band ever affect your playing? I've had to adjust my picking slightly and switch to a silicone ring when picking at fast speeds.
So you're a Lefty
I’m a lefty and no, it doesn’t affect me at all.
Anybody who thinks Kirk sucks at guitar, doesn’t play guitar on any level other than strumming a few basic C, D, G chords at a party. If you play guitar, lead guitar, you wouldn’t make such a comment about one of the greatest and most creative guitarists of all time. I love the solo from Sad But True. That beginning of the solo where he slides into a 12/13 two string shape. Such a raunchy sound. Those EMG pickups through that black Les Paul…man, it sounds like a demonic growl. One, Master of Puppets, Battery, Wherever I May Roam-damn Kirk’s guitar technique and accuracy SLAMS and GOES HARD AF.
That picking pattern puts me in mind of the dude from Into Eternity. It’s a quick way to build up speed. Hammering on unpicked notes between downstrokes is pretty quick too but there’s too many notes to sound audible
Do you use guitar pro with your courses?
Kirk Hammet is the reason I play guitar. The reason why his solo's aren't the same as the 80's is because kirk had the time to compose the solo's. Whereas the new recording format requires him to improvise on the spot and record with a live a band. We shouldn't be hating on him as he had a method to his solo's and that was disrupted with the new recording method that band uses. I urge everyone to relisten to ..And justice for all, Load and Reload. That was some of Kirks best work.
Sometimes when we're players ourselves, we're too focused on what we expect others to be playing, meeting our standard for their technical or musical potential, rather than just sit back and enjoy what they've created. Hammett plays what he's inspired to, and i think that shows. The solos from Death Magnetic through 72 Seasons aren't complex, but they're really not simplistic, either. They're fiery and fit the songs, and i would bet they'd be difficult for others to recreate with the same energy. i have to admit it's hard for me at first to turn off the "that's not the way i would have done it" part of my brain, but i enjoy the music much more when i do. Trust your favorite bands that they get the best result when they're doing the most inspiring thing for them.
For parts like this I usually chain 3 wah pedals together and put on a larger shoe 😄
Mr Hammett wrote some of the best solos in metal history and then stopped giving a fuck about guitar know it alls and did what he wanted when he wanted while selling millions of records.
Kirk's solos are among the most known solos in the history of 20 century's music......Fade to Black, One, Ride The Lighning, are in the top 10 of any Metal Solo list.......personally, I like the most his solo for Disposables Heroes, Orion, and Welcome Home Sanitarium........all those noobs who claim he can't play, are just armchair opinologist who channeled all their frustration after that clip from Some Kind of Monster bio, where James is having problems teaching Kirk some riff........after that, every frustrated crybaby started to claim he was a fraud and couldn't play guitar...........and all got worse with all those boring DJENT youtubers, who think making a solo means you have to over complicate everything technically and rythmically (all while trying to avoid melodies, because DJENT is basically unlisteanable after 10 measures).......
Saying that he sucks is wrong, but to say that he is top 100 guitar player is also wrong.
Yes he had good solo's back when he composed them, then he ran out of tricks and as with all busy bands, they don't have time to expand on their capabilities, and with Kirk it shows.
I've listened to nothing past the black album. But those first 5 i still listen to.
what Ibanez is that? Great video
I like those think that Kirk is in the “wrong” band
He is really inspired by blues and 60’s music and he kind off implements it in his thrash metal playing.
If you llsten to load and reload, two way softer, rocky bluesy albums you can hear his approach to solos is not that different. Yes, slower but it’s works better for that genre.
Remember back in the Day when the Canon Rock Guy broke the Internet? There wasn’t so much judging back then. Good Old Days of the Internet! Now everybody seems to be an expert.
Good ol’ Jerry C
He downgraded his soloing to basicly pentatonc's first box but he sounds better and seems more in his element with this change. Surely I Like him more now.
People forget how may great riffs Kirk actually wrote. It wasn't just Enter Sandman. His EP is pretty good too.
Original tabs had it on same b string and pulled off the 17th fret. It’s actually way easier to do this way
Glad you did such a video.
Damn this guy breaking it down something serious. That’s a lot of work. Good for you man. Wow
Have you listened Depressive She's axemen.?
Kirk is a great guitarist. I do not know how the people realised that he is bad when the reality and the facts say that he is great?
The Unforgiven 3 solo is I think Kirk’s best solo past the black album. If you haven’t heard it, you’re missing out
ride the lightnings solos are insane
Thanks for that video, I had never been able to play that part of the solo
Name another guitar player who played better solo’s than this guy did from 84-92. Hes awesome.
I have been trying to play that intro of the creeping death solo for years definitely the hardest passage Kirk ever played pure alternate picking
Sometimes a band don't need a superb guitarist. A "modest" guitarist who fits the band direction will have a bunch of great songs.
I feel like nowadays he just plays as he feels rather than trying to push himself, its both good and bad but honestly that's what I hope to become. Someone who just does what they want
Kirk doesn't suck just I think people that are not musicians don't understand that overtime music preferences changes and can change how we as musicians approach new songs. I think they don't understand that and expect the same thing album to album when that is not ideal. I rather just appreciate what they create and learn to understand why they chose to go the route they went instead of complain about it.
Yes but writing is the best thing a person can do not soloing no one cares about 100 notes a second writing songs is the real strength of a guitar player look at Eddie great songwriting randy great songwriting george lynch the same
So he’s good right? I love his riffs
If I sucked as much as he does I'd be famous too! 😜
Kirk is 💯 the reason i love solos. Hes not the only one buf he us Amazing. It isn't just sbout how technical and definitely not how fast you play. Its got to sound good and make you feel something
Kirk needs Bob Rock. Kirks solos used to be a journey. It took you places. Since 2000s, he just plays fast, sometimes just sounds like random notes just to fill a void. Metallica need to write songs that welcome Kirks solos and not just filling a spot where a solo could be.
Agree with you Dream Theater did the whole Master of Puppets live and John Petrucci had a hard time holding back on the solos he picked most of the notes.
He's making more money than probably any guitarist out there 😮know one else can play those songs like he does 😁
He took #1 greatest guitarist of 2003 in rolling Stones top 100 greatest guitarist of all time. And has a net work of 200 million. Wish I sucked that bad.
Admit it or not majority of us guitar players when we start learning the guitar, we all look up and try to imitate the guitar solos of kirk. he is the leaving proof you don't need lighning fast sweeps and shred to be a millionare.
If he sucks so bad why is he worth 260 million.😂
He's doing something right 🤟🏼
These people who talk shit about him are just sad losers online who will achieve nothing in life!
@BERNTHGuitarAcademy Another cool pattern to practice with is the intro guitar solo from Trial by Fire by Testament.
I think the fact that he wrote the Sandman riff has probably kept him in the band 🤷🏻♂️
Would be cool if you can make simmilar video for Annihilator "Crystal ann" solo , it is on acoustic and it is very hard to do it right imo
i think he needs to take more time writing is all. the fade to black intro solo sounds like he worked very hard and shows me that he does have great technique
He’s amazing at guitar, and he messes up because he has over 50 songs that he has to memorize, and he is literally in his 60’s. Leave Kirk alone man.
The solo at the end of “suicide and redemption” is a nice
Kirk’s Portals EP is incredible! 🔥
chunking is what I alwais did as self learner. I didn't know it had a name, but I'm gladI did things correctly for once xD
Absolutely! He sucks ass now but that’s why we love him! Growing up he was one of my favourite players but a lot of it comes down to laziness and refusing to practice/learn new things over the years. His old stuff is still awesome though!
Its an opinion that people thought made them cool for being different. "Everyone thinks Kirk is good except me because I'm smarter than everyone else" is all it comes down to. 40 years later mfers still think its an original opinion lol
Glad he’s getting some love🤘
Kirk is 62 years old!! Of course he's not going to play like he did in his 20s and 30s.
Yup, Metallica is the same reason as well. The way I view Metallica is they matured musically and didn't just want to play thrash. They just want to make music.
*ROTFL*
Exactly.
this stuff is great ive been stuck on rhythm for ever these types of tips are making me think i can do leads after all :)
Sounds a lot like racing super bikes and what not in exercise #3 😂
Кирк Хэммет не написал ни одной песни в составе металлики! Один жухлый хлеб, нет гвоздей!
Its hard to stay fresh, and not be redundant. He doesnt suck.
I don't really care about the shredding, his work on songs like sanitarium and one make him one of the best metal lead guitarists ever
Kirks earlier solos are by far the best!
I don’t think Kirk sucks at all but when you compare him to guitarists like Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Chuck Schuldiner, Michael Weikath, and Ritchie Blackmore, it makes sense. Even outside of all of their primes years (20-40 age) they still composed absolutely phenomenal solos. Kirk on the other hand, got lazy and made Wah heavy solos.
However, he’s still a great guitarist and in his prime, he was fucking phenomenal just like the guitarists I mentioned.
No one says shit on Fuel solo.
It is simple but it sounds really good and fits the song context wise.
Listen to Death Magnetic. Broken Beat and Scarred, First half of Cyanide solo.
It doesn't sound good(not played well) and not organized(for no reason) and all these solos sound the same, not mentioning wah overuse(it was there all the time).
Listen to Hardwired album.
Hardwired, Spit Out the Bone solo.
They have the same skills and simillar scales but they are played well, well organized, and fits the context so they sound good.
72 Seasons solos don't sound bad but they aren't well organized either and sound generic(in Kirk's way).
Is Kirk a bad guitarist? hell no. Are his 'modern' works all bad? no. but some do.
I agree Kirk should go back to composing solos. If you took the best songs from Load and Reload you would have a bad ass hard rock album. My pick for Kirks best solo is the Unforgiven
Kirk is not bad at all he’s honestly one of the better lead guitarists out of those early thrash bands people just look at it from a modern standpoint and compare him to modern guitarists from much more modern genres of metal which are a lot more complex. He’s a great guitarist it’s not necessary to compare him to some modern guitarist who sweep picks in 15 different scales
Riffs > solos🤘
Yes, he sucks but we all like him. Same with Lars 😂. Long live Metallica ❤
Who tf would love lars
You @@TightyWhities94
Not Lars. Metallica went downhill after 1991 and never recovered.
@@jackb348 coldest take ever. Most unique opinion on Metallica
He didn’t suck on AJFA tour at all. Does not play as well anymore I’d agree with that. Most guitar players don’t even get as good as him anyway 😂
The Lars and Kirk hate seem to be mostly from jealousy, something musicians seem to struggle with .
i think that kirk's riffs are 100/10 but his solos are just basic pentatonic exercises and tremolo picking. it may sound good for a "begginer" in metal but once you discover bands such as pantera, megadeth, gojira, etc. he just can't keep on, but there are 2 solos from him that are really good such as One and The tjing that should not be
I'm terribly sorry, but Metallica were absolutely great and outstanding in the early days including their Black Album.
Everything after remains at best a lukewarm copy of that era... but:
Effing hell, were they great then! Anyone who dares to try the Solo sections e.g. in Master of Puppets or One will unavoidably run into severe difficulties due to the sheer speed of those.
Kirk Hammet was refererred to as one of the fastest guitarists in the world at that time, and that was - and still is - pretty damn well earned!
So sad to see them fail and struggle live these days.
Nota bene:
I have to add an exception: Their "Garage Inc." Cover Album holds a few completely underestimated Highlights. Am I Evil by Diamond Head and Stone Cold Crazy by the mighty Queen for example.
Just my 2 Cents to it. 🤷♂️
All musicians quality declines over time.
Have you ever heard of Tool???
@SeanMichael-dx6yf yes. Thank you for agreeing with me
True, but most do keep their skillset (big or small) intact, for the most part. "Kirk is shit" is a an old meme because of his shitty live performances.
Are yall guys able to play his solos? I feel like 99% of this comment section cant even play smells like teen spirit solo rofl
Imo Kirk is both overrated and underrated. Overrated for guitar elitists/purists while underrated because he is actually a very efficient player. He is efficient in a way that his solos fit the band's mold. Given that some of his latest works were lazily written, it doesn't mean that he can't do a sick solo
I stopped after the Black album…. Their music lost its passion. 😢
I’m not a fan of the stuff after the black album either but I don’t think it lost its passion. It’s just different. In fact, I think they chased their passions instead of churning out the same old formula just to please everyone else. There’s something commendable in that.
Kirk Hammett is a good, upper mid-tier guitarist; by that I mean he uses what bells and tricks he knows incredibly well, but he has been stuck at the same pentatonic scales for 40 years, and that is why he isn't higher up, and he overvalues his own "improve" skills.
He is a good composer, which is why it's too bad he stopped doing that.
Please don't come with that "Why is he rich and you ain't" as if being great at guitar automatically turns you into a millionaire. To be good at marketing got a lot more to do with people's salaries.
Anyone who says Kirk Hammett sucks is a clown he’s in his 60s now and is 10 times the guitarist of anyone in these comments none of you are fit to lace his boots
Say what you want about these guys, but they are living the dream. They are rock stars supporting themselves, while doing what they love.
I like we talking old or new Kirk, cause the old solos are great
First of all, to say someone sucks playing, well just isn't cool! He's good at what he does. And he does not suck! He may not be the fastest player. But for some reason that's how people seem to base skill level these days. But anyone that understands music and what sounds good. It's not a bunch of notes played as far as one can. That has it's place but had become way to common, basing someone's talents off speed. Music has to have rhythm and feel, in combination with burst of speed. ie: 16ths-32nds ect. But why is it some of the best music played is at relatively slow speeds!
True I love load And reload