In 2001, Metallica bassist Jason Newsted quit after being prevented from working on his side-project, so when Kirk Hammett expressed interest in recording a solo EP, he was "shocked" when his bandmates not only encouraged him to do it, but urged him to release it earlier than anticipated, too.
“I was also pretty shocked that I got the complete band’s blessings on it," the guitarist admitted during an interview with Rolling Stone. "It was amazing because our band has not had a lot of great progress with band members going solo, as everyone knows. But all that went down almost 20 years ago, and we’re such different people now. We’re all just older, wiser, and more mature.”
Hammett went on to explain that he thinks the band's mindset changed after they started seeing themselves as "artists" and "not musicians."
“Morally and creatively, it’s wrong to deny someone the opportunities to express themselves and create,” he said before offering another reason why his bandmates reacted the way they did. “I think we’re a little bit more aware of our own mortality and how much more time we [may] have as functioning artists… there are other things that are more important to consider, like the longevity of the group, the mental health of the group, the creative energy of the group.”
Hammett's debut solo EP, Portals, is out now.