Rolling Stone: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on Finally Going Solo: ‘I Was Shocked That I Got the Band’s Blessing’

Thirty-nine years ago this month, on April Fool’s Day, Kirk Hammett got a call he hoped was no prank: an offer to join Metallica. The guitarist, then age 20, was still playing in Exodus, the thrash-metal band he’d co-founded as a teenager, but he’d fallen in love with Metallica since they first played the Bay Area, where he grew up. So when he realized the opportunity was no joke, he flew to New York, where the band was prepping its debut album, and within two weeks, he was shredding solos onstage alongside James Hetfield and Cliff Burton. From that point on, Metallica was his focus.

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