Kirk Hammett of Metallica has stirred controversy with his recent comments, stating that most people who listen to music, excluding artists, don’t remember guitar solos. In a recent interview with Total Guitar (via Loudwire), Hammett explained that, unfortunately, non-musicians, who make up the majority of the music-listening world, are unlikely to recall guitar solos.

He elaborated, “I hate to say it for all the readers out there, but people who are not musicians, which is most of the damn world that listens, are not going to remember guitar solos. They are going to remember a great melody, and they are going to remember a great song, especially a song that’s going to take them to a different place from where they were five minutes before.”

While Hammett, known for his memorable guitar solos with Metallica, acknowledges the importance of a great melody, he emphasizes that the solo is subordinate to the song. “I realized when I was 15,” he stated, recounting how he and a former technician, John Marshall, started writing music early in their careers, inspired by bands like KISS, Aerosmith, and Van Halen.

Metallica’s latest album, ’72 Seasons,’ was released on April 14 through Blackened Recordings, marking their first album since ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.’ The band is set to perform at the Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on July 12, 2024, alongside Architects and Mammoth WVH, and on July 14, 2024, with Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills.