Kirk Hammett has announced his solo-project will be unleashed to the world to celebrate Record Store Day with the release of his debut EP, Portals, which will be available exclusively at a local independent retailer and in the Met Store on Saturday, April 23rd. What initially started out as a soundtrack to The Kirk Hammett Collection for his It’s Alive exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts back in 2017, has now turned into something much more where fans can take home this psychological musical experience with them.
Hammett explains:
“Initially, before I even had the idea for a solo EP, I was inspired by the need to create some sort of soundtrack music to accompany The Kirk Hammett Collection for the first “It’s Alive” exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, 2017. I wanted to conceive music to play on a loop in the background as people walked through the exhibit. I sat down one night with a progression, and before I knew it, all the parts were there for “Maiden and the Monster.”
The initial concept for Portals started with that one song. Following that, I realized I could create different soundtrack moments. These songs are what I call ‘Audio Cinematic;’ I’m creating sounds and pieces of music for the movies playing in my head. Hopefully they’ll create movies in other people’s heads in a similar fashion.”
According to the press release on Metallica’s website, reads:
True to its title, Portals is a collection of gateways to musical and psychic destinations. Recorded around the world, from Los Angeles to Paris to Oahu, Portals is the result of Kirk’s life’s journeys and an invitation to tap into your own inner world. Heavily influenced by classical music, soundtracks, horror movies, and maybe a little Ennio Morricone, Kirk wanted the EP to span the decades and touch upon all the horror he loves. The idea behind the EP was to have all the songs flow into each other, so he relied on a whole cast of his friends to record the four songs.
Produced by Kirk, Portals is comprised of the songs “Maiden and the Monster” and “The Jinn” on side A, followed by “High Plains Drifter” and “The Incantation” on side B. The latter two were co-written with Edwin Outwater, who you may remember from S&M2. Outwater also contributed keyboards and led the orchestral players from the LA Philharmonic on Portals.
Other familiar names amongst the Portals players include drummers Jon Theodore (Kirk’s fellow Wedding Band member) and Abraham Laboriel, Greg Fidelman on bass, Emmy-winning arranger Blake Neely, and Bob Rock.
Portals will be available to order on the Met Store and the Probity UK Shop on Saturday, April 23.
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