Good news! Kirk Hammett has precisely 767 riff ideas for the next Metallica album. Not 766, and not 768 – exactly 767, as Hammett recently said in an interview with Rolling Stone. All I can say is that I really, truly hope Hammett has these tripled backed up literally anywhere else that isn't his cellphone.
"I have 767 new ones for the next album," said Hammett. "It is such a nightmare going through this stuff, too. And I'm the one responsible for all of it and I can't do it… I don't foresee us starting the next album for at least another year because we're still finishing the tour. Once we fully finish this and go to all the outlying places like Asia and Australia and New Zealand, I think we're gonna take a little bit of a break, not too much of one, and then we're gonna get right back into it."
Hammett also revealed in the same interview that he's been working on his debut solo album, which is also the follow-up to his 2022 EP Portals. Though unlike Portals, Hammett noted that his next effort will not be instrumental.
"I'm just actively getting ideas together for my [first] solo album. I guess the best way to describe it is it's gonna be a fusion of all sorts of styles…. All of a sudden I'm writing classical progressions, and all of a sudden I'm writing more heavy stuff and all of a sudden I'm writing like a funk thing…. There will be vocals because the songs that I wrote scream for vocals this time around.
"So I'm like, okay, who's gonna be doing the vocals? I don't know. I hope I'm not—I already have too much to do on stage… I have an instrumental piece that to me sounds like it's 2000 years old called 'The Mysterion.' It's based on all this stuff that I've been reading, the ancient Greek texts, and it's amazing to me because I wouldn't have had this instrumental if I didn't start reading these ancient texts."
Metallica is bringing their M72 tour into 2025 with a handful of North American dates across April through June. M72 2025 will see Metallica continue their No Repeat Weekend tradition, with each stop featuring two dates and no repeat songs in the setlist.
A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band's All Within My Hands foundation. The M72 2025 tour will feature Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies as openers, as well as Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills. Tickets are available here.
4/19 Syracuse, NY JMA Wireless Dome (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
4/24 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
4/26 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
5/1 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
5/3 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
5/7 Blacksburg, VA Lane Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
5/9 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
5/11 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
5/23 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
5/25 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
5/28 Landover, MD Northwest Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
5/31 Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
6/3 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
6/6 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
6/8 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
6/14 Houston, TX NRG Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
6/20 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
6/22 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
6/27 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High (w/ Limp Bizkit & Ice Nine Kills)
6/29 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High (w/ Pantera & Suicidal Tendencies)
