Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has opened up about the abuse he suffered from his father during his childhood and how the guitar saved his life.
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Hammett was a guest on the Backstaged: The Devil in Metal podcast and spoke about his experiences as a child. “I had a bad childhood,” the Metallica guitarist said. “I experienced a lot of darkness early on in my life that I probably shouldn’t have been exposed to. Unfortunate things happened to me as a child. And so that real-life darkness came to me way too early in my life.”
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During these dark times, Hammett turned to music and the guitar to provide a source of therapy. “Basically, guitar playing and music saved my life,” Hammett said. “And it was a type of therapy for me. It made me feel better when I knew that I wasn’t feeling great.
“I was so young,” he added. “I didn’t understand why I was feeling this way. And I didn’t know this was because of circumstances and situations. I didn’t put that together.”
As he got older, he continued to turn to the guitar to help him feel better and relieve anxiety. “I mean, I have a lot of anxiety and I’m prone to depression-like most people. My guitar helps me through all that,” Hammett added.
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