Kirk Hammett Wife, Kids, Family, Height, Age, Is He Gay?

Publish date: 2024-05-20

There’s no denying that Kirk Hammett is a metalhead through and through. It’s hardly surprising that his interests lie in metal music. Considering that throughout his childhood and teenage years his interests shifted from horror films to Led Zeppelin, his commitment to heavy metal music almost seems like the next predictable step in his evolution.

Prior to Hammett with the popular heavy metal band Metallica , he formed a local music group called Exodus. He has also been named in several magazines and publications as one of the greatest guitarists in American music history.

Biography, age of Kirk Hammett

Kirk Lee Hammett was born in San Francisco on November 18, 1962 and spent his childhood in El Sobrante, California. At De Anza High School, he met Les Claypool, who became his longtime friend and fellow rock star.

Hammett’s passions shifted a bit before focusing on music. When he was five, he got into a fight with his sister and sprained his arm. Perhaps in an attempt to “scare” him and distract him from his sister’s attention, his parents put him in front of the television. It was during this time, after watching the 1960s horror classic Day of the Triffids, this young Kirk’s fascination with all things spooky began.

He started playing with his brother Rick’sFrankenstein started spending money buying horror magazines. After nearly a decade immersed in the world of horror, another item belonging to Rick caught his eye: his music collection. Here he discovers legends such as UFO, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.

Kirk started selling everything in his horror collection to buy music records. At the age of fifteen, he focused on learning the guitar and bought an inferior Montgomery Ward. He soon moved on to a copy of the 1978 Fender Stratocaster, then a 1974 Gibson Flying V. He even took a brief job at Burger King. As soon as he could buy a Marshall amplifier, he left the establishment.

His time with Exodus and Metallica

In 1979, when Kirk Hammett was just 16 years old, he took his passion for music further, forming his own thrash metal band. It also included Paul Baloff, Gary Holt, Geoff Andrews and Tom Hunting. They have become a force to be reckoned with in the Bay Area thrash movement.

In 1983, Kirk lucked out when he got a call from Metallica to audition to replace their lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine. At the time, he was still taking guitar lessons. However, he borrowed some money and traveled to New York for the audition. His performance was so impressive that they offered him the job on the spot.

In 2016, Hammett and Metallica released ten studio albums. Their first was published in 1983 entitled Métal ton cul. Since their debut album, Kirk has become more involved in the band’s musical development. For their second album Ride the Lightning, he incorporated a riff he had written while still with Exodus. His riffs were used in tracks such as “Creeping Death” and “Enter Sandman”, the first track from their self-titled album. Metallica.

In 1986, while the band were on a supporting tour in Europe, Kirk Hammet escaped death when a misunderstanding saw him give up his berth in the back of the tour bus to bassist Cliff Burton. Early the next morning, the group had a freak accident in which Cliff was thrown out of the window of the tour bus and then crushed under its weight. Although he is grateful to be alive, Hammett says the experience still haunts him to this day.

The rocker found time to go to college between 1991 and 1996. This was the period between their fifth and sixth studio albums. Metallica and Charge. He graduated in Asian Film and Arts from the University of San Francisco and discovered a new love for jazz and blues. This new influence showed in his improvisations and solos on Charge, Recharger, and the two albums after them. He has since refrained from adopting most of these influences into the band’s music in order to preserve their integrity as a heavy metal rock band.

Kirk Hammett’s band have shown periods that make fans believe they’re a family and not just another band. In 2001, while recording St. Angers, the band halted the recording to allow time for lead singer James Hetfield to undergo rehab for his alcohol problems.

Kirk who expressed interest in doing a solo album released his first post Too Much Horror Business with Abrams Image on October 1, 2012. It was basically an exhibition of all the horror memories he had accumulated during 30 years. The 228-page book included everything from costumes from popular horror movies to movie props and horror-themed toys.

In April 2009, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton and other past and present Metallica band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The rocker also suffered from drug addiction at one point in his career. He experimented with cocaine and heroin, but eventually decided to wean himself off because he didn’t like his depression. Hammett says his comic books and horror addiction are a better alternative to his drug addiction and help him stay on track and drug free.

Family, children and wife

Kirk’s parents, Dennis Hammett and Teofila Hammett have foreign ancestry. Her father, Dennis, is Irish and her mother, Teofila, has Filipino heritage. He also has a brother named Rick and a sister whose name is unknown.

Kirk Hammet has had several relationships in his time, however, he has been to the altar twice. In 1987 he married his first wife, a woman named Rebecca. Three years later, in 1990, they ended the marriage. This happened while Metallica was working on their fifth self-titled album. In 1998, he married his second wife, Lani. This turned out to be a more compatible union, as they have been together ever since. Kirk and Lani have two children. Her first son, Angel, was born in September 2006 and her second son, Vincenzo, arrived in June 2008.

Is Kirk Hammet gay?

Over the years, a few hints of Kirk’s homosexual orientation have emerged. They include gay porn themes in the band’s film. The Black Album (Metalica). Also, footage of drummer Lars Ulrich kissing other members of his band, mostly on the cheek, but with tongues out too. Among them, Kirk seems the most comfortable with poses. However, Ulrich claims this is all a joke and Hammett hasn’t said or done anything to substantiate the rumours.

Kirk Hammett’s Height and Other Facts

The guitarist stands at 1.72m (about 5ft 8in)
He frequently practices palm inhibition and quick picking techniques. As a result, he always claps his picking hand to protect his skin.
He appeared as one of the main characters in Neversoft’s musical game Guitar Hero: Metallica
Kirk had his high school friend and metalhead Les Claypool audition to replace Cliff Burton after the latter’s death.