Kirk addresses the internet trolls ( us )

[thegame]

Lots of arrogance in Metallica’s minds these days. It seems lost on Kirk that any type of solo, be it a sparse minimalist approach or a busy shred style could work well, if DONE well. He can’t manage either now I’m afraid. And would it kill Lars to admit that they’ve had the occasional artistic misstep along the way, instead of blaming it on the fans?

https://blabbermouth.net/news/metal...mes-ignorance-for-scathing-reaction-from-fans

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Also, perfect timing of just getting sent this video:





That sucks ass. That songs intro would’ve been ruined with playing like that. Hence the reason the dude is making a troll improv of it. That doesn’t fit for shit in the song, once again.

I disagree...sounds pretty damn good. Also, i will say that i call bullshit on Kirk because he USED to play for the songs and i like his work up to and including the black album. But he then started mailing it in with every release after. Newer stuff sounds like he cares a bit more though.

For the record, i do like his solo on one and on AJFA which i think is his best work but he sounds silly saying the things he does in that article.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Anyone here that loved Metallica when they were doing the first 5 albums will have to admit this one fact.
Every one of us can sing along with Kirk's solos from those albums.
They are iconic solos from iconic songs.
They are not shredder solos or experimental in any way whatsoever.
Granted...the reason we know these solos well enough to sing them is because we love the songs themselves.
That being said...Hetfield's solo on "Nothing else matters" is my favorite.

That is in part my point. He already set the bar for himself but then completely misses it for decades after the fact. I'd have a beer with him though.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Nailed it…. And (literally) nothing else DOES matter than this……they are memorable, musical, and fit the song. I’ll take that all day everyday over the super shredder who knows jack fuck about “playing for the part” and what’s actually important ( the song).

What about Marty Friedman? He shreds....and has an incredible voice when he plays a lead for a heavy song.

 

[VESmedic]

What about Marty Friedman? He shreds....and has an incredible voice when he plays a lead for a heavy song.

Kirk Hammett is no Marty Friedman though, I don’t think anyone will debate that….But as far musicality, can either of them come close to Gary Moore? In my opinion, fuck no. And there is no medley meedley meedley meedley there.

 

[Panhead5]

Honestly I 100 percent agree with everything he says, regardless of his playing ability. The dude has made millions of dollars on SONGS, not on showing off for guitar players. I get why he gets the hate and I definitely don’t like a lot of his “solos” either always, but I 100 percent think he’s way more in tune with what is actually important: the fucking song. Everyone seems to forget that these days it seems. Great songs are what matter, and you definitely can’t say he hasn’t been a part of those.

I couldn't have said it better . I'm in my basement and he's on stage . Maybe some folks just have a different opinion of what rock music is about.

 

[Bardagh]

I agree totally with Kirk in general but not at all in the context of the current criticism because his lead playing on this new material is probably the worst he’s ever done. It’s sloppy, it’s lazy and completely unmemorable.

Everyone has seen the studio footage from the black album where Bob had to really force good solos out of Kirk. Even back then he was trying to get away with lazy shit that would have weakened songs like Nothing Else Matters. It’s not that he doesn’t have it in him, but he seems to have lost the ability to find it himself.

 

[Geo]

I have seen the part of the movie where he told what to play and how to play it, and still couldn't do it.

He is a mediocre guitar player at best that fit into a group that made him famous. Good on him I guess.

 

[VESmedic]

I have seen the part of the movie where he told what to play and how to play it, and still couldn't do it.

He is a mediocre guitar player at best that fit into a group that made him famous. Good on him I guess.

Who cares though ? This is no different than the clowns that think you have to be the best player on earth to own more than 3 high end amps. There’s this guy, his name was Kurt Cobain, maybe you’ve heard of him?

And they 100 percent didn’t make him famous, have you seen the songs Kirk is credited with writing? MOP, AJFA, sanitarium, leper messiah, fade to black, disposable heroes, dyers eve…. I could go on and on. He is just as important to that band as any of them, and sure as fuck was 10x more important than Dave ever was ( even though I loved the stuff with Dave on it ).

 

[mcstinger]

I am not his fan at all, but I completely agree with him. It's his playing, their songs... You like it, or not. World is full of smart guys, who can outplay Kirk, Kerry King, you name them... But these underrated smart guys are ignored by the world for unknown reasons.

 

[Geo]

Who cares though ? This is no different than the clowns that think you have to be the best player on earth to own more than 3 high end amps. There’s this guy, his name was Kurt Cobain, maybe you’ve heard of him?

And they 100 percent didn’t make him famous, have you seen the songs Kirk is credited with writing? MOP, AJFA, sanitarium, leper messiah, fade to black, disposable heroes, dyers eve…. I could go on and on. He is just as important to that band as any of them, and sure as fuck was 10x more important than Dave ever was ( even though I loved the stuff with Dave on it ).

It's not about his playing ability, it's his attitude, he should be a bit more humble.

I love the Ramones and The Sex Pistols because they are not snotty little homos.

 

[VESmedic]

I agree totally with Kirk in general but not at all in the context of the current criticism because his lead playing on this new material is probably the worst he’s ever done. It’s sloppy, it’s lazy and completely unmemorable.

Everyone has seen the studio footage from the black album where Bob had to really force good solos out of Kirk. Even back then he was trying to get away with lazy shit that would have weakened songs like Nothing Else Matters. It’s not that he doesn’t have it in him, but he seems to have lost the ability to find it himself.

I’m sorry, but you can’t judge a guy by how hard a Producer pushes him. Just because we haven’t seen the same videos of Doug aldrich or George Lynch or whoever getting blasted by the producer, doesn’t mean they don’t exist. That is literally the producers job. It’s also why bob rock is bob rock. Everyone is obsessed with mixing and mastering these days and all that bullshit ( myself included I admit), but if you talk to any producer, he Will tell you the most agonizing part of making a great album is getting amazing takes out of his clients.you can’t mix something if you don’t have an amazing take/playing. It’s the least “sexy “ part of producing music, but it’s the most mind draining on everyone. And many of the greats got their ass kicked by someone like bob rock in the studio to get the take we hear on our favorite albums.

You gott watch hired gun on Netflix, it’ll make a lot of this more clear. Especially the part about what’s it’s face literally throwing pots of plants at the guy who was playing to get the type of take he wanted out of him. Crazy stuff.

 

[VESmedic]

It's not about his playing ability, it's his attitude, he should be a bit more humble.

I love the Ramones and The Sex Pistols because they are not snotty little homos.

Real talk though, how humble would you be if you made 9 figures in your career playing and writing songs in a band who millions and millions around the world consider the greatest to have ever played? Kirk has never came across as having a massive ego though, or generally does he have a bad attitude, at least in my opinion anyways. Especially compared to others who are nowhere near as successful as Kirk is.

 

[Geo]

Real talk though, how humble would you be if you made 9 figures in your career playing and writing songs in a band who millions and millions around the world

I hope I would be way more humble than him. His talent doesn't match his attitude.

But I am sure I wouldn't be a whiny little homo.

 

[Bardagh]

Who cares though ? This is no different than the clowns that think you have to be the best player on earth to own more than 3 high end amps. There’s this guy, his name was Kurt Cobain, maybe you’ve heard of him?

And they 100 percent didn’t make him famous, have you seen the songs Kirk is credited with writing? MOP, AJFA, sanitarium, leper messiah, fade to black, disposable heroes, dyers eve…. I could go on and on. He is just as important to that band as any of them, and sure as fuck was 10x more important than Dave ever was ( even though I loved the stuff with Dave on it ).

That I agree with, Kirk is way under appreciated as a song or riff-writer. He is also actually a great live rhythm player. Unfortunately where he gets to stand out in the band and his ostensible position is as the lead player, and at that he seems to have lost any interest in doing what he claims, which is fitting the song. There is no sense that he’s putting any time into developing leads that help propel a song or add that certain something. Apparently he is doing improv takes and he is not the guy who can do that well, clearly.

But it’s like the band in general at this point. They’ve lost whatever it is that led them to make great music, be it inspiration, energy, interest, whatever. Yes they’re very successful but it’s entirely on the strength of what they did in the past, not what they’re doing now. People pay attention to the new material primarily out of the vain hope that it will recapture old glory.

 

[RevDrucifer]

There’s no end of criticism for these guys.

Seems a lot of the world is heavily caught up in policing what they believe others should or shouldn’t be doing, in this context, ‘Kirk should be this kind of player”, “He should play differently”, “He should care more”…..it’s his life, he’s free to do what he pleases with it, dude ain’t hurtin’ a single person by doing what he does, quite the opposite really. And if your knee jerk response is “He hurts me with his solos” well…who’s the bigger bitch in that case? The guy playing the solo for millions or the guy “offended” over a fucking guitar solo in a song they most likely don’t like anyway.

I dig a ton of Metallica, but I don’t listen to half their output because it doesn’t do it for me. Can’t say I give it any more thought than that. The expectations and imposing of will on musicians/artists is just weird as fuck to me. I’d be curious what the reactions of the haters would be to have their own group of backseat drivers giving them shit for, literally, everything they do. Your band goes to play a show and immediately after a bunch of guitarists you don’t know come up and tell you how much you sucked, why it sucked and how you should have done it differently, completely ignoring the fact that they’re not in your band, didn’t write the songs and have no clue what’s going on in your life that led to the musical decisions you made.

I’d LOVE to see that as a reality show; producers go on the internet and pick some random haters from various social media platforms, film them doing their thing then introduce a bunch of strangers who just tear it apart and tell them how they should do it differently to see how long it is before the person snaps and tells everyone to fuck off.

 

[VESmedic]

That I agree with, Kirk is way under appreciated as a song or riff-writer. He is also actually a great live rhythm player. Unfortunately where he gets to stand out in the band and his ostensible position is as the lead player, and at that he seems to have lost any interest in doing what he claims, which is fitting the song. There is no sense that he’s putting any time into developing leads that help propel a song or add that certain something. Apparently he is doing improv takes and he is not the guy who can do that well, clearly.

But it’s like the band in general at this point. They’ve lost whatever it is that led them to make great music, be it inspiration, energy, interest, whatever. Yes they’re very successful but it’s entirely on the strength of what they did in the past, not what they’re doing now. People pay attention to the new material primarily out of the vain hope that it will recapture old glory.

I’ll agree to most of that too. But I also think every successful band is damned if they do, damned if they don’t. You put out the same record for 30 years? People talk shit. Change, evolve, do different stuff over the years? People talk shit. Human nature I guess.


But I’ve said this many times here and I’ll say it again because it’s 100 percent true to me. Metallica isn’t the Metallica of the past because they aren’t pissed off anymore. MOP and ride the lightning etc were all filled with rage and angst. They were hustling, had a reason to bust their ass every night. They had the drive and were pissed the fuck off, and this came out in their music and inspired them to write what they wrote. What do they have to be pissed about nowadays? Being the biggest band in the world and being worth a gazillion dollars? They’ve got no drive like they used to, and who would? Age is also of course a factor here too.

 

[VESmedic]

There’s no end of criticism for these guys.

Seems a lot of the world is heavily caught up in policing what they believe others should or shouldn’t be doing, in this context, ‘Kirk should be this kind of player”, “He should play differently”, “He should care more”…..it’s his life, he’s free to do what he pleases with it, dude ain’t hurtin’ a single person by doing what he does, quite the opposite really. And if your knee jerk response is “He hurts me with his solos” well…who’s the bigger bitch in that case? The guy playing the solo for millions or the guy “offended” over a fucking guitar solo in a song they most likely don’t like anyway.

I dig a ton of Metallica, but I don’t listen to half their output because it doesn’t do it for me. Can’t say I give it any more thought than that. The expectations and imposing of will on musicians/artists is just weird as fuck to me. I’d be curious what the reactions of the haters would be to have their own group of backseat drivers giving them shit for, literally, everything they do. Your band goes to play a show and immediately after a bunch of guitarists you don’t know come up and tell you how much you sucked, why it sucked and how you should have done it differently, completely ignoring the fact that they’re not in your band, didn’t write the songs and have no clue what’s going on in your life that led to the musical decisions you made.

I’d LOVE to see that as a reality show; producers go on the internet and pick some random haters from various social media platforms, film them doing their thing then introduce a bunch of strangers who just tear it apart and tell them how they should do it differently to see how long it is before the person snaps and tells everyone to fuck off.

GOD DAMNIT CAN WE GET AN AMEN FROM THE CONGREGATION?!??


You fucking nailed it, as usual. This is why people who make money playing music laugh at people on guitar forums, they just don’t get it at all. You nailed it homie.

 

[Geo]

I’d LOVE to see that as a reality show; producers go on the internet and pick some random haters from various social media platforms, film them doing their thing then introduce a bunch of strangers who just tear it apart and tell them how they should do it differently to see how long it is before the person snaps and tells everyone to fuck off.

Not everyone who criticizes wants to be a rock star.

Some people play because they love to and are comfortably well-off because they have other talents that have made them a ton of dough.

And some of us can honestly say we are much better musicians, regardless of fame.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Not everyone who criticizes wants to be a rock star.

Some people play because they love to and are comfortably well-off because they have other talents that have made them a ton of dough.

And some of us can honestly say we are much better musicians, regardless of fame.

Not sure how most of that has anything to do with what I wrote, I didn’t claim everyone who criticizes wants to be a rockstar nor did I bring up anything about “better musicians”, which I think is so subjective it’s better left to 15 year olds debating shit like “Who is better? The Periphery guy or the Polyphia guy?” like I did when I was 15 and shit all over everything that wasn’t technical playing.

Maybe….just maybe….Kirk plays what he does because he loves to?