KIRK HAMMETT (Metallica) – Portals (2022)
Metallica’s lead guitar KIRK HAMMETT is releasing “Portals“, his first-ever foray as a solo artist is dubbed by himself as ‘a collection of gateways to myriad musical and psychic destinations’. Hammett, who produced the EP, is joined by a string of familiar names including drummers Jon Theodore and Abraham Laboriel, bassist Greg Fidelman, Metallica producer Bob Rock and Emmy-winning arrange Blake Neely.
At 27 minutes, ”Portals” is closer to a full-length album than an EP, with three songs landing in the seven- to eight-minute ballpark. Hammett, a noted horror movie aficionado, wasn’t bluffing when he described these tunes as “soundtracks to the movies in your mind.” It’s easy to imagine a movie or video game protagonist excavating a tomb during the foreboding first half of EP opener “Maiden and the Monster,” only to sprint toward the exit as an undead beast chases them during the blistering second half…
