Kirk Hammett EXPLAINS Why No Guitar Solos on St Anger Metallica

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Why NO GUITAR SOLOS on Metallica's St Anger
No Solos on St Anger Album
Kirk Hammett Explains Why There Are No Guitar Solos

Frontman James Hetfield admits that the songwriting on St Anger suffered a hit with the departure of bassist Jason Newsted. The album would be the only Metallica studio release to feature the band as a three-piece. As a result, the band decided that they wanted to record something a bit more raw and stripped down, even going so far as to avoid including guitar solos. Not a single one can be found anywhere on the album.

As guitarist Kirk Hammett explains:

"The reason for that is because again we wanted to move together all four of us in the same musical direction... When we tried to put overdubs on the album and put guitar solos on the album... it sounded like an afterthought, you know? Like something was put on after we created it. It stood out. We wanted to preserve the sound of all four of us in a room just jamming. Spontaneously together. To put production stuff on top of that just didn't sound right." - Hammett, Metallica's Hammet Explains Why There Are No..., Blabbermouth (Jun 9, 2003)

Some guitarists might frown at the idea of their soloing skills not being showcased on an album, particularly a heavy metal album. However, Kirk didn't mind.

When asked if he was happy with the way the album came out, he told an interviewer;

"Oh yeah, absolutely. I'm so proud of this album. It freaks me out. I haven't been this proud of an album since 'The Black Album', I must say. I mean, the 'Load' and 'Reload' era for us was such a reaction to our first five albums. We didn't want to do what we had been doing: play fast, over the top and aggressive. If anything, the 'Load' and 'Reload' era was a big experiment in hard rock. We needed to do these two albums for us to make 'St. Anger'. If we would have made 'St. Anger' in the mid-nineties, it wouldn't have been fresh and as exciting for us as it was now. It would have felt like doing the same old thing. We needed to balance it out. When we finally got around playing fast and aggressive again, it sounded fresh. You need to get to point A to be able to make point B sound better, you know?" - Hammett, Metallica's Hammet Explains Why There Are No..., Blabbermouth (Jun 9, 2003)