Metallica’s Kirk Hammett has revealed that Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield have no recollection of first meeting him.
Speaking in a preview for his upcoming interview on Gibson TV (via blabbermouth.net), the guitarist relayed the story of his first encounter with his future bandmates.
He began: “I remember we were just sitting around one day, and the singer of [former band] Exodus, a guy named Paul Baloff, who was an absolute maniac, he walked into the rehearsal and said, ‘Metallica. So heavy. They’re so heavy.’ And I was, like, ‘Metallica.’ And I thought, ‘What a great name. It’s like the best name in the world. Metallica. That is the best name I think I’ve ever heard for a metal band.'”
Hammett went on to explain that it was Baloff who suggested that the pair go and see Metallica perform a gig on that night.
“I remember being at the front of the stage going, ‘Wow, these guys are pretty goddamn good.’ Literally, there was, like, 15 people at that show,” he said.
“A few months later, we got booked to play a ‘Metal Monday’, and it was Exodus’ first show at ‘Metal Monday’ at the Old Waldorf. We got booked on that show because we were friends with the headlining band…and the band in the middle was Metallica.”
“And we were, like, ‘Oh, this is cool. We’re gonna be playing with Metallica. That’s great.’ And I remember when we played that show, there was maybe about a hundred people in the club. And then Metallica went on, and the place was packed.”
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Hammett continued on to reveal that it was the next night that he was finally introduced to the band.
“The next night was a benefit for Metal Mania magazine, and we got asked to play with Metallica again,” he began.
“And it was a better situation because it was just us and Metallica. I met those guys for the first time in the dressing of the Mabuhay Gardens, which wasn’t much of a dressing room at all; it was like an indoor alley. That was the beginning of my relationship with them,” he continued.
“It’s really funny, because years after that, people would ask me, ‘When was the first time you ever talked to those guys?’ And I would say, ‘I first met ’em at the Mab.’ And Lars was, like, ‘Really? I don’t remember that.’ And James was, like, ‘Huh? Really?’ They don’t even remember,” he concluded.
Check out Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on Gibson TV:
