I think it speaks volume for Kirk to own his wah over abuse meme and participate in this gig. Also, this vid is better, as you can see the protagonists actually abuse their wah pedals.
Why does Hetfield keep him around? I mean, I get why Lars is there, even though he's objectively a shit drummer. Jaymz carries the band basically. Rob is pretty good. But Hammett is just not good at anything at all, and he ruins everything every time he starts playing.
I don't get the Kirk hate. I really don't. Is it because there are better technical shredders out there? Who cares! Having fast technical chops does not make for making memorable solos, only guitar note diarrhea. You need a sense of melody as well. And all the great Kirk Hammett songs on the classic Metallica albums have a sense of melody that you can sing along. I'll take those over fast shred diarrhea any time. Did he got worse in time? Yeah, so did Lars, and he is much, much, much worse.
Yes, i'm sure he's easy to live with on the road and to work with.
Never EVER underestimate how important that can be when you are traveling on the road in a tourbus, close to each other, for years on end. There's only room in a band for one prima donna, get more and you need a peacemaker. And you know what they say about them, blessed are the peacemakers!
Yeah, I never claim to be a great guitar player but they guy just plain blows at it. Hetfield, on the other hand, is a riff monster. Could you imagine someone like Jason Richardson or Andy James replacing Kirk as lead guitarist?
Like I said, there is only room for one prima donna in a band. Get two and you will have a full out war. Get more and the band usually never lasts beyond a couple of albums. If they make it past the first that is. In the end what do ALL super groups have in common? Too many prima donnas.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The first few records and tours, Kirk was playing quite differently and I’d argue for the point that he was getting better with each album until the 90’s. He’s been playing better these days. They were always a little rough around the edges live, as a whole. Whether or not that’s because Lars’ constant changing tempos is up for debate, but all that said, I couldn’t imagine any other solos on those classic (and non-classic) songs.
Gotta figure, they went from having a violent drunk as their lead guitarist to having a much more tame character. They were probably just stoked to not have to worry about a chair being thrown at them or glass bottles being broken around their heads. Not to mention the BS that extends outside the band when you’ve got a prick in it, IE, losing gigs, getting banned from clubs, etc.
If you watch all those home videos/behind the scenes vids, Lars is always on 10 and while James has mellowed out considerably, I’ve always gotten the idea that Kirk has been a buffer between the two. You can see that one clip in Some Kind Of Monster where Lars is just picking at James and Kirk is pleading for them to all just chill out and go jam. I’m sure that wasn’t the only time he’s played that role and it very well may have been the thing that’s kept them together this long.
My best friend, Nacho, he’s not the greatest guitar player. I met him 15 years ago when I formed a prog metal band and needed a 2nd guitar player. I hung out with him for 3 days before even hearing him play an electric guitar, but already knew he’d be my best friend for years to come. Right now he’s in a really rough spot, mentally. I’ve been wanting to put a band together for a little while now but have been holding off until he comes around a bit and starts playing guitar again simply because I want him to be the other guitar player in the band, knowing full well I could find 5-10 guys in our area that can smoke him.
It's great to have a friend in a band who you connect with. But that friendship can also become a liability if your friend falls apart again. What if your friend starts abusing drugs or alcohol while in the band? Do you keep him in the band because of that friendship and all the drama that comes with it, or do you risk your friendship and tell him that for the good of the band its better he should go? Many a band has faced that dilemma and it has either caused the band to break up, or friendships to end. It's good to have people in your band who you feel you can trust and who are without prima donna behavior, but to invite a friend with a history of mental problems (based on what you've said), I'd be weary.
To be fair, Blackmore is (or at least was, I'm sure age has tempered him a bit by this point) an absolute beast of a player in nearly every way as well. IMO every bit as good as Vai or any of the other technical shredders, just more melodic and tasteful with his playing.
Blackmore was for most of his Deep Purple and Rainbow days an utter asshole, who literally broke people apart. There's a reason why the Deep Purple guys refuse to have a reunion with him, even for a single concert. I LOVE Blackmore the musician, he's been a great influence on me, but as a human being he was not okay. You only need to watch the Deep California Jam concert. Where the camera came to close to what he considered 'his space' on stage. Giving the camera the stink eye throughout the show and then utterly smash it at the end. Causing the band to basically lose their entire wages for that gig. You don't want that kind of drama in your band.
