Kirk Hammett has taken aim at modern pop, dismissing much of today’s chart music as “c***”.
The Metallica guitarist – who recently sparked backlash from Taylor Swift fans after wearing a T‑shirt declaring “Taylor Swift is a CIA Psyop” – has now criticised the songwriting and overly polished production he hears in contemporary pop.
The heavy metaller says he misses the “charm” of musicians having to struggle through difficult parts.
He told The Irish Times: “I started off learning off records, just trying to develop my ear and learning songs and guitar solos from playing records over and over again… And it was a real challenge because if you got three different guitar players together and said, okay, play I’m the One on Van Halen’s first album, all three guitar players would play it differently. There was some charm to that.
“I kind of lament [not having] those days when people had to really struggle to learn, because it’s all in the struggle. And it’s all in the determination and being inspired at the same time that forces you to come up with your own stuff and eventually your own sound and style. I just worry about how things are so perfect these days, the musicianship. It’s great that all these guitar players have all this vast knowledge of technique at their fingertips. I wonder where it’s leading to.”
He went on: “I hope it leads to a better quality of pop music, popular music, and just a better quality of songwriting. Because right now, songwriting and pop music is c***. I’m hoping that all these great musicians who can teach themselves through the internet step up and put all that great learning and all that great inspiration into creating new stuff, new songs, the future of music, and at a higher standard than what it is now. Because I’ll say it again, K-R-A-P. C***. Sorry for all you pop fans out there.”
The heavy metal titans headlined Puskás Aréna on June 13, where the lead guitarist cause a stir by donning the offending Taylor top.
Days later, during the band’s performance of Seek and Destroy in Dublin, Hammett took a tumble, with many Taylor finds joking that it was karma.
The rocker laughed it off by captioning a clip of his fall on Instagram Stories: “Slip and Destroy.”
Swifties have flooded social media in response.
One brutally wrote: “It must be hard to be a washed-up, almost dead rockstar.”
Another wrote: “Ohh this coming from the same Metallica that sold out decades ago? Give me a f****** break Coulda picked another way to stay relevant Cry baby losers (sic)”
One quipped: “Well as psyops go, she’s easily my favorite. Also, just something else she’s the very best at, lol. (sic)”