Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett has said he has already curated an array of “kick-ass” ideas for the band’s next album.
The metal icons are yet to officially begin work on the follow-up to ‘Hardwired…To Self Destruct‘, which received a four-star review from NME back in 2016.
However, Hammett says he has been forced to accumulate ideas after the experience of losing his iPhone in 2014 – which contained hundreds of riffs he had planned for their last record.
“I have a lot of stuff written that I’ve put aside for the band — a lot of stuff,” the guitarist told Cosmo Music.
“Because last album, I didn’t have any stuff, ’cause I lost most of my ideas when I lost my phone — over 500 musical ideas… It took me a long time to recover from that. And I got it into my head I had to produce twice as much — basically, I overcompensated. So, as it stands, as we speak, I have a lot of material — really kick-ass, great material — that I just can’t wait to show the other guys and turn into some music, record, get the album out and have more kick-ass metal.”
Despite the lack of progress, bassist Robert Trujillo previously admitted that a new record could see them incorporating the sounds of both their last album and 2008’s ‘Death Magnetic’.
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“‘Death Magnetic’ was, for the most part, a collaborative effort,” Trujillo told The Music. “‘Hardwired’ was more central to James’ specific ideas and was also taking the spirit of what we had done on the previous record.”
“I’m excited about the next record because I believe it will also be a culmination of the two records and another journey. There’s no shortage of original ideas, that’s the beauty of being in this band.”
Yesterday, it was confirmed that Metallica will also headline five major US festivals next year. It comes after the band postponed their Australia and New Zealand tour last month as frontman James Hetfield re-entered rehab for addiction recovery.
“As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years,” a statement issued by the band read. “He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again.
“We appreciate your understanding and support for James and, as always, thank you for being a part of our Metallica family.”