Metallica’s Kirk Announces First Solo EP ‘Portals’

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has just released Portals, a four-track EP that marks his debut foray as a solo artist and the first solo record from any active member of the band.

“Initially, before I even had the idea for a solo EP, I was inspired by the need to create some sort of soundtrack music to accompany The Kirk Hammett Collection for the first ‘It’s Alive’ exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, 2017,” said Hammett in a press statement.

“I wanted to conceive music to play on a loop in the background as people walked through the exhibit. So I sat down one night with a progression, and before I knew it, all the parts were there for ‘Maiden and the Monster,'” he continued, singling out the opening song on Portals.

Clueing fans in more about the forthcoming release, Hammett explained, “The initial concept for Portals started with that one song. Following that, I realized I could create different soundtrack moments. These songs are what I call ‘Audio Cinematic;’ I’m creating sounds and pieces of music for the movies playing in my head. Hopefully, they’ll create movies in other people’s heads in a similar fashion.”

The songs were recorded worldwide, and Hammett also produced the EP. Of the last two tracks on Portals, “High Plans Drifter” and “The Incantation,” he collaborated with co-writer Edwin Outwater. Outwater was the orchestra conductor on Metallica’s S&M2 live album, and he also contributed keyboards and led the orchestral members from the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Jon Theodore of Hammett’s The Wedding Band, Abraham Loboriel, Greg Fidelman on bass, Emmy-winning arranger Blake Neely, and Bob Rock, who produced Metallica’s ’90s studio albums 2003’s St. Anger, are among the other participants.

On April 23, Record Store Day, Portals will be released. The EP’s artwork and tracklisting can be found below.

01. “Maiden and the Monster”

02. “The Jinn”

03. “High Plains Drifter”

04. “The Incantation”