Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has said he wishes the heavy metal titans spent more time touring.
The 61-year-old, who joined the band in 1983 and has appeared on their every studio album, made the comment on a new episode of official podcast The Metallica Report.
“I’m just happy to be out here and bringing the music to the people, man, like I always am,” Hammett said when asked about returning to the road last month, following a six-month break from live shows (per Blabbermouth).
He continued: “And I’m happy having the feeling of, like, Metallica is a working, touring band, ’cause sometimes I miss that feeling, ’cause I don't believe we tour enough. But that’s just how it is.
“So, what I can get out of this, I’m always up for it. It’s just, like, ‘Yeah, bring it on.’ ’Cause this is what it’s all about, is playing guitar and writing, recording, going out on tour. It’s what it’s all about. And I don’t feel that there’s enough of it in my life right now.”
According to setlist wiki setlist.fm, Metallica have significantly slowed their touring schedule since the 2010s. The band played 95 concerts in 2009 and 63 in 2010, but since then have never played more than 50 annually.
By comparison, the metal stars’ busiest year on the road was 1992, when they started touring to promote their blockbuster self-titled album (AKA The Black Album). They played 168 dates.
In May 2022, Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield expressed fears onstage that he was getting too old to play well. The musician was 58 at the time.
“I’ve gotta tell you I wasn’t feeling very good before I came out here,” Hetfield said to the crowd at the Estádio do Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
“[I was] feeling a little bit insecure, like I’m an old guy, [I] can’t play anymore – all this bullshit that I tell myself in my head.”
Referring to his bandmates, the frontman continued: “So I talked to these guys, and they helped me – as simple as that.
“They gave me a hug and said, ‘Hey, if you’re struggling onstage, we’ve got your back.’ And I tell you, it means the world to me.”
Metallica are currently touring Europe and will next perform at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway, on June 26.
For the full list of the band’s 2024 live schedule, see below.
Metallica 2024 tour dates:
Jun 26: Oslo Tons Of Rock Festival, Norway
Jun 29: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jul 05: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 07: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 12: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Jul 14: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Aug 02: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
