Photo of Kirk Hammett Standing on Giant Wah Pedal Proves He Gets It
Kirk Hammett gets the joke. On Tuesday (Feb. 15), the Metallica guitarist shared a photo that shows him performing on top of a giant wah pedal.
"Look over there!!" Hammett captioned the pic. That's because it shows the Metallica member and leader of The Wedding Band gesturing with his hand, stylishly pointing off-camera as a comically large yet instantly recognizable replica of a Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal supports his weight. That includes his instrument, cables, and, yes, his actual wah pedal.
That's right — there's a wah on top of a wah. See the image down toward the bottom of this post.
The photograph was taken by Ross Halfin, the prolific music photographer behind a recent book of black-and-white Metallica portraits.
Over Metallica's history, Hammett has developed a bit of a reputation for his liberal use of wah, and it seems he's leaning into that now. (Once seemingly in response, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine quipped that he didn't use a wah until 2019.) Reddit has spotted Hammett's giant wah onstage before, so it looks like this is somewhat of a regular gag for the rocker.
However, last year, Hammett explained that he doesn't use the wah when writing guitar solos, something he stressed of his solos on Metallica's 1991 "Black Album," the landmark heavy metal effort that recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The guitarist said his wah use before then was the "culmination of having been on tour for …And Justice for All and just having fun on stage, stepping on my wah for a lead break or in between songs."
"But when I really think about the solos on the black album," he continued, "I came up with all of them within about a week. 'Enter Sandman,' I had that one complete by the second or third time we played it. Because when the songs are strong, the solos come easy. And back then, I'd compose a solo and then, if it felt appropriate in the studio, I'd bring in the wah and see if it brought anything more out."
Hammett will release his first-ever solo EP, Portals, on April 23. Last year, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said it was "way too early" to talk about a new Metallica album, though the band has seemingly been working on one.