Customer Reviews

The Art of Kirk Hammett

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everything in this book is right. The tab to all his solos is here and spot on with no errors to be seen. It has all his solos from the early albums (Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightining) to the newer albums (Load). Some of the better solos include Seek and Destroy, Fade To Black, One, Blackened, Battery, and Enter Sandman. It also includes an interview with Kirk, his gear setup, photos, and scale diagrams. Along with the solos it also includes some of Kirks licks. This book is not for everyone however, as anyone who has listened to Kirk play knows that his solos are fast and flashy for the most part, and no beginning guitar player will have the skill to play like this yet.

Overall this is a great book for the advanced guitar player. If your interested in learning how to solo this book is for you too. It has helped me learn how to craft my own solos, as well as help me gain playing speed.

This book was incredible. The tablature on the solos were 100% accurate. Kirk Hammett is awesome and so is this book.

I bought this as a present for my brother, a Metallica fan and accomplished guitarist. This is a very attractively formatted book which Metallica fans that play or want to play guitar will enjoy. There is a well written introduction section with an interesting interview with Kirk. There are diagrams of the scale boxes that Kirk most often uses -- *if* these are accurate reflections of Kirk's playing (yes I am a little sceptical) then it is very interesting. According to this, he uses mainly 3 or 4 common scales, including the Minor Pentatonic and Dorian scales -- the other(s) was/were probably Major scale, aeolian and/or blues scale, I forget -- mainly centered around the most common position...although with some interesting extensions at both ends. The scale diagrams are very clear and well presented. The rest of the book has detailed breakdowns of Kirks solos which was of little interest to me and seemed a little dry, but this would presumably be quite interesting to a fan (pity they haven't done "the Art of Brian Robertson" yet!!Hint. Hint.) Some more desciptive text later in the book may have improved things for non-fans.

This is a fine book for diving into the art of Kirk Hammet. Soloing, signature licks, and an interview; they are all there to give you some of meaning of the man, Kirk Hammet.

When it comes time for the Metallica fan in all of us to reach out to the music, we get a guitar and lay down our best attempt at doing that. That is where this book will come in handy. Great and renowned solo's monopolize the book. Including a small comment on the solo strait from Kirk and the author.

Not really a beginner book, but it was for me, well I would still buy it even if you are a beginner. You will find very much to keep you busy, promise.

I can honestly say that this book doesn't suit for beginner players.
It has great key formulas that Kirk uses.
It doesnt include all the good solos, but it covers the most of it.
Otherwise it is a great book.
The book makes you understand the man Kirk Lee Hammett.

I've thought about getting this book for years and finally pulled the trigger and got it a few weeks back. I'm not a real fan of Metallica's post And Justice For All Stuff (except some of their covers) but Kirk Hammett was one of my main inspirations when learning to play guitar. I'm an advanced guitarist but never took the time to learn Metallica's old solos the "right way". This book helped bring me back and sharpen my skills. I really liked the accuracy of the tab and Hammett's simple explanations for each riff. I used this book along with Guitar Pro 5's .gp5 and .gp4 tabs and am finding my speed and accuracy getting better every week. One thing I really like about the book is the selection of solos--most of my favorites are in there and breaking them down is easy with the great tab. A great book-- you'll still have to practice a lot if you want to nail Hammett's licks and tone--though I will say if you're looking for just tab without the breakdown, the Cherry Lane complete books are fine options. (I have an old and possibly out-of-print one that has all the tab from the first three albums: Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets I would recommend).

Well, I ordered this book thinking there'd be some kind of profound analysis of Hammet's technique, but it just has samples of his solos and a few other history goodies. But considering how little I paid for this book, it was all worth it in the end. I like the commentary more than the music, since I already have the Metallica transcriptions. Its a good buy if you're a huge metallica fan like me.

I give this book 4 stars only because I wish there were more guitar solos in it, the accuracy is perfect, ths book is great. Kirk Hammet is a god!

See other reviews, but rest assured, this is not going to make you a sophisticated guitar player... if that's what you're trying to be. (I got the impression that it was the author's intent) You might as well get the songbooks that have the complete songs instead of this solos-only format.

If you love Metallica maybe you'll like this. The only cool part is where they show the fingerings that Hammett uses for scales. Everything else is just mundane tab with a snippet of Hammett saying something like "When I came up with this lick I felt cool." Ummmm ok so teach me something bozo I just bought your book.