“I hate to say it, but non-musicians – who are the majority of the listening world – are not going to remember guitar solos”: Kirk Hammett says it doesn’t matter how good or flashy a solo is – most people are going to forget them anyway

Kirk Hammett.

2023 has been an epic year for guitar solos: Wolfgang Van Halen turned in the Frankenstein-featuring Take A Bow, Matteo Mancuso announced his arrival on the world stage with Silkroad, and Nita Strauss headlined her latest solo album with Surfacing.

And then there was Nuno Bettencourt’s lead effort in Extreme’s Rise – a solo so sensational that we dubbed it the greatest solo of the 21st century so far, let alone the year.