‘I Butt Heads With JAMES HETFIELD And LARS ULRICH Occasionally’

In a recent interview with the U.K.’s Telegraph, METALLICA‘s Kirk Hammett spoke about his reputation as the band’s “peacekeeper.”

“I have to say, I do have a temper. And I can butt heads with people,” Kirk said. “I butt heads with [METALLICA frontman] James [Hetfield] and [METALLICA drummer] Lars [Ulrich] occasionally.”

When asked on what they disagree on, Hammett said: “Oh, everything. It’s just part of being in a band and being with someone for 40-plus years.”

“When I joined the band, I was right in there talking s**t and doing crazy stuff, just as much as James and Lars and Cliff [Burton, then-METALLICA bassist] were,” he continued. “Sometimes prickly people turn on other people around them.”

Expanding on the role of toxic masculinity in fueling METALLICA during its early years, Hammett stated: “We were like a gang of youths and just looking for somewhere to belong. I came from a broken home, James came from a broken home, Lars came from a broken home. The most well-adjusted person was Cliff Burton. We were all basket cases. But we created this thing called METALLICA that’s been our refuge. It’s been the one constant in our lives.

“My dad was a full-blooded Irishman who liked to drink and liked to scrap. He was always fighting people, even fighting his friends. He would get together with my uncles and it was just one big f**king toxic soup of masculinity, and that’s what I came out of.”

While he acknowledges occasional friction within METALLICA, Hammett remains committed to the band.

“Leaving METALLICA is not an option,” he said. “If I ever left METALLICA, everyone in the world would remind me that I used to be in METALLICA.”