KIRK HAMMETT Portals CD (2022)

Kirk Hammett spent the pandemic doing what any self-respecting horror-obsessed guitar deity would do: making an instrumental EP steeped in cinematic dread and vintage monster movie energy. Portals is four tracks of atmospheric, riff-heavy exploration from the man who wrote the Master of Puppets lead breaks, and it sounds exactly like his record collection looks.

Released for Record Store Day 2022, this is Hammett stepping out from behind forty years of Metallica's shadow to do something genuinely personal. The influence of horror soundtracks, classic metal, and the occult runs through every note. It's not a shred showcase, it's a mood, and that mood is standing in a graveyard at 3am in a very good leather jacket. Essential for any serious dark aesthetic or heavy metal collection.

Format: CD. Country of origin: USA.

Fans of: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, Voivod, Diamond Head, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Slayer.