“Kirk’s a really good guitar player”: Dave Mustaine defends Kirk Hammett from Lux Æterna solo backlash
The single was the first track to land from the band’s latest record, 72 Seasons.
Image: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has come to the defence of Kirk Hammett following the criticism he received for his guitar solo in Metallica’s Lux Æterna.
The band released their eleventh studio album last April, with the track landing as their first single from their new chapter, but fans were quick to criticise Hammett’s lead solo part.
Despite Mustaine’s tense history with the band after he was fired from the group in 1983, it appears they’ve never been on better terms than they are today.
In an interview with Consequence, Mustaine spoke about the backlash Hammett faced: “I heard that people are taking the piss out of Kirk,” he begins.
“But Kirk’s a really good guitar player and I think that people forget real quickly he was winning every single guitar contest there was for 30 or 40 years…. I have not heard their new album, but I’m sure it’s great.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Mustaine spoke of his overall relationship with the band, saying,“It took a while for James and Lars and I to kind of come around and become friends again, but I would say we’re probably better off now than we’ve been for a long time. And it comes and goes.
“I think the emotions between all of us, it’s probably understandable for a lot of people who break up with someone, it’s like a marriage and you part ways and sometimes you try and justify in your head the decision that you make. And sometimes the facts are all you need, and other times you feel compelled to kinda tell the story and you don’t really need to,” he explains.
“And then there are people who tell the story and then add little salacious facts – like a tape recorder that has a feature to add stuff that never happened. So, I just look at that whole period with Metallica as something that was really great for me. And I wish them the best.”
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