Kirk Hammett Believes Getting Sober Made Him A Better Musician

Metallica's Kirk Hammett says he's become a much better, happier person since he quit drinking alcohol in 2014.

The guitarist says sobriety helped him grow up emotionally and brought him to a new place creatively. His debut solo EP, Portals, which arrived last month, is a direct result of the time and inspiration he's gained from a cleaner lifestyle.

Hammett was asked by Kerrang! about how things in Metallica have shifted since 2001, when bassist Jason Newsted left the band so he could be free to do side projects and solo work.

"We've all grown up, basically," Hammett said. "So the question is, where we not grown up back then? Of course not. We'll be the first ones — or at least I will — to put my hands up and said I only feel like I've reached maturity in the last 10 f---ing years. Also, I have to say I've been sober for seven and a half years now, and my mind is in a different place. I'm better focused. I got my brain back, I've gotten my memory back. So nowadays I'm in a better place."

Sobriety, Hammett, says has rewarded him with extra days of his life, hours he can spend on enriching projects. He says he used to spend his nights in bars and his mornings recovering from those nights, whether he was on tour or not.

When he removed drinking from his life, he discovered "all this extra time" to play guitar and surf and do other things he loves.

He admits that adulthood eluded him for — well, most of his adult life.

"It's weird," he continued. "I'm 59 years old, and I don't think I've even peaked creatively or musically. I certainly don't feel 59 — I still go out and surf three or four times a week, run, ride my bike and play my guitar. I still feel as energetic as I've ever been, and I attribute that to giving up drinking. And this is all the result of that."

Newsted left Metallica after the turn of the century to launch a band called Echobrain, but as he recently told Metal Hammer, his bandmates had a problem with any recorded music that was beyond Metallica's purview. He recalled James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich scolding him for an absurd experimental demo tape he made on a whim in 1994 with Devin Townsend.

Hammett admitted in a previous interview with Rolling Stone that, given the Newsted situation, he was "shocked" Hetfield and Ulrich encouraged him to complete Portals.

Metallica has tour dates announced through August. Go here for more information.