Last week, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett announced his new coffee table book The Collection: Kirk Hammett. As part of the book launch, a video was released of Jason Momoa narrating the book. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Hammett discussed his friendship with the actor.
“Jason came over to my house recently at eight o’clock in the morning, so I cooked him breakfast,” Kirk says. “We just sat down and geeked out about guitars all day. He’s a big collector and really knows his shit. He isn’t some come lately saying, ‘Oh, I think I’ll buy me a couple of guitars.’ He knows them in and out – the makes, the models, which brands he loves and what’s rare and what isn’t. He’s actually got this great Korina Explorer.”
If you’re wondering what a Hollywood actor and heavy metal icon have in common, in turns out there’s a quite a lot that bonds the pair.
“He loves heavy metal too, so he and I have that kanaka thing, we’re bros!” Kirk says. “Jason’s a pretty decent guitar player, but his main instrument is bass. He’s a good player man and super cool.”
The book won’t be the only time Momoa and Hammett cross paths this summer, however. In July, Momoa will be compèring the enormous Black Sabbath farewell show at Birmingham’s Villa Park, which also features Metallica. Hammett admits he might’ve helped land Momoa the gig in the first place.
“It’s funny, because he called me up [about the Sabbath show] like, ‘Can you get me tickets?’ I was like, ‘Bro…’ I had management send a message that Jason Momoa wanted to come to the Sabbath show, and next thing I know we’d been told Sharon Osbourne had called him to ask him to MC it! It was like, ‘Hell yeah!’ So our next phone call was like, ‘I can’t believe it!’ ‘Cool, I can give your ticket to someone else then!'”
The Collection: Kirk Hammett is available to order now via Gibson. Metallica’s 2025 world tour kicks off in Syracuse on April 19. For the full list of dates, visit their official website.
Kirk Hammett’s Guitar Collection – The Official Book | Gibson Publishing – YouTube 