Rock Report: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett on Horror Films – ‘They’re Just Fun’

Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett has just published his first book, an oversized photo book called Too Much Horror Business - The Kirk Hammett Collection, that features hundreds of pictures of his massive horror memorabilia collection. Hammett, who has been collecting items and watching horror movies since he was a child, told Loudwire why he thinks the genre is so popular. He explained, "They're just fun. They're a fun experience. It's not unlike a roller coaster ride, you know? A good horror movie should have peaks and valleys, a good horror movie should move you emotionally, a good horror movie should be exciting to watch and energizing in a weird kind of way . . . horror movies deliver that."

Hammett added, "I've always been attracted to the darker things in life. I was never one to go for light, airy stuff, even as a child. My whole aesthetic has always been one of the darker side. That rings true also in my tastes in music."

Asked to name his favorite horror films, Hammett named films like 1932's The Mummy and a '70s low-budget cheesefest called Dracula Vs. Frankenstein before saying, "To me, it's just endless. I think about certain movies and I think, 'Oh, that's my favorite.' Then I think about others and I say, 'No, that's my favorite.' It's so difficult for me."

The book's title is taken from a song by punk legends the Misfits and Hammett was asked if he spoke with any members of the band about using it. He replied, "I told Glenn (Danzig, singer) that I was making this book when I saw him last December. He seemed all right with it. I think by now if he wasn't all right with it I would've heard something."