“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; is stacked with massive riffs, dark, evocative
