Kirk Hammett, the acclaimed guitarist for Metallica, held a “Kirk Hammett The Collection: Live” book event on May 24 at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event provided an in-depth look at Hammett’s music career and celebrated his new coffee table book, “The Collection: Kirk Hammett.“
“The Collection: Kirk Hammett,” a 400-page hardcover book, was recently released worldwide via Gibson Publishing. It delves into Hammett‘s extraordinary guitar collection and his life in music, detailing the stories behind the rare instruments he has used on hit records and on stages globally. The book is available in three premium formats—limited signed and numbered Custom and Deluxe Editions, and a Standard hardcover—through Gibson.com and Gibson Garage locations.
During the Philadelphia event, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo made a surprise appearance, joining Hammett for an impromptu jam session. Fan-filmed video of this unannounced performance is now available online and you can watch it down below.
This surprise jam is part of a recurring segment in Metallica’s recent tours. During these “doodles,” Hammett and Trujillo perform stripped-down covers of songs by artists who have influenced them. These interpretations often feature just guitar and bass, with Trujillo occasionally providing vocals, and can diverge significantly from Metallica’s typical sound, sometimes honoring local musical heroes. For example, during Metallica’s concert in Toronto on April 26th, Hammett and Trujillo paid tribute to Canadian rock legends Rush with a rendition of their instrumental classic “La Villa Strangiato.”
The concept of “doodles” evolved over time, as Trujillo explained during a 2020 appearance on Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ‘s show, “Drinks With Johnny.” Initially Kirk and Robert tried playing Metallica deep cuts, but it didn’t quite go well with the audience.
“We’d go up there and we’d start playing, like, ‘Eye Of The Beholder‘ or something, and then the crowd’s expecting James [Hetfield] to come out and sing, and it’s, like, ‘Man, this ain’t working,’” Trujillo said at the time. The turning point came when Hammett spontaneously played Chic‘s “Le Freak” one night. “I’m, like, ‘Oh, damn. Okay, I see where he’s going.’… He got me the first night… And then the second night, I got it.”
After that, the “doodles” have become a highlight during the tour, allowing them to explore diverse musical directions and connect with local audiences on a different level. Trujillo described the experience, particularly covering songs in native languages during a European tour, as immensely rewarding.
“Some of my proudest moments were with Kirk on the last European tour… playing songs that were sort of native to those cities or even those countries,” Trujillo told MMA Junkie in 2021. He cited playing Johnny Hallyday‘s “Ma Gueule” in Paris for example. “Eighty-five thousand people… people were in shock, but in a good way. And it was tears and smiles… I’m singing in the [native] language… We’re talking about Romania, we’re talking Poland… Spain and Portugal and Sweden — I sang in Swedish. That, to me, was one of the highlight moments of my entire existence as a musician.”
The “Kirk Hammett The Collection: Live” events, which feature Hammett in conversation with Mark Agnesi of Gibson, are scheduled to continue in other cities. Upcoming dates include Tampa, Florida, on June 7, and Denver, Colorado, on June 28.
