Kirk Hammett's Solo Debut

WHY THE METALLICA GUITARIST - BOLSTERED BY HIS BAND'S HEARTFELT BLESSING - SET OUT ALONE TO EXPLORE THE WILDS OF "AUDIO CINEMATIC" INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

- Brad Angle

"THIS IS THE first time I'm playing 100 percent what the heck I want to play!" says Kirk Hammett over the phone from his home in Hawaii. Metallica's lead guitarist is known for being a genuinely stoked dude. But there's a reason that he's extra excited on this morning in early April - and it has zero to do with his Big Four band.

Hammett is about to release his debut solo outing, Portals - a four-song instrumental EP that finds the guitarist leaning into his love of horror films, classical music and soundtracks as he explores a musical style he calls "audio cinematic."

Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, the EP runs the gamut from spine-tingling metallic epics to sweeping spaghetti Western-flavored jams. Plenty of Hammett's signature Metallica moves are on display; Portals is stacked with massive riffs, dark, evocative picking sequences and wild solos. It also introduces some fresh new aspects of his playing, production and compositional styles in the form of beautiful flamenco moments, lush adventurous arrangements, acrobatic freewheeling leads and more.

Portals is the sound of Hammett unconstrained by the pressures and expectations of his main band and empowered to follow whatever path his muse led him down. "With Metallica, we approach every song like it's going to be heard by millions of people - so it'd better be good," he says with a laugh. "It's also very collaborative when I do solos. The producer has opinions. And I love Lars [Ulrich], but traditionally... he loves to micromanage. So he always gives me opinions... When I'm working on my own stuff, I go with the first idea: 95 percent of the playing on the EP is stream-of-consciousness stuff."