Kirk Hammett Reflects on Metallica’s Journey to Success: ‘We Made Significant Personal Sacrifices’

Metallica, the iconic metal band that evolved from a group of teenage NWOBHM fans into one of the world’s most influential acts, has a remarkable history of achievement. While their path may seem like a smooth ascent, Kirk Hammett recently opened up about the challenging times they faced on their road to success during an interview with A.D. Rowntree of KSHE 95, as transcribed by Kιller Guitar Rigs.

Hammett acknowledged that it would have been wonderful if they had foreseen their future success, but in their earlier years, optimism was hard to come by when they were struggling to make ends meet. He reflected, “Sure, it would have been great if we had some inkling that it would go really well for us. But back then, it was hard to see that when you’re sitting there, and you got like $3 in your pocket, and you’re deciding, ‘Should I buy a six-pack of Schlitz Malt Liquor or should I buy a sandwich or something?'”

When success eventually arrived, Hammett emphasized the band’s wise decision to “reinvest” in their passion. Their unwavering dedication to music and their relentless pursuit of musical excellence made the sacrifices worthwhile. He explained, “When I look back at it, we were extremely motivated to do the best we could every single moment of the day as far as the music was concerned — whether we were writing music, playing music, recording music, rehearsing music… And we always had an eye toward getting the best riffs together and the best little nuggets of things we could come up with and making sure it was ultimately the best of the best.”

Furthermore, Metallica extended their tours and invested in the band even more than they might have expected. They made personal sacrifices to ensure they could continue serving their music and playing for their fans.

Throughout this period, the band’s driving force was the hope of making a significant impact. Hammett recalled, “And our thing was — maybe it would come back to us, all this hard work. And for years, it didn’t ever feel like that. It felt like we were just gonna play 250 shows every year, whatever we’re gonna do.”

However, their hard work did eventually pay off, and they began to experience genuine success. This was when Hammett started to believe that they might indeed make a difference in the music world and in culture. He acknowledged that during their early days, it was challenging to envision such success, requiring a degree of delusion to think that way.