Angel Vivaldi – Hammett Is ‘a Reason Why Guitar Solos Are Dying’

Earlier this month, Loudwire reported on Metallica’s Kirk Hammett discussing why “non-musicians” are unlikely to “remember guitar solos.” Naturally, his remark(s) proved controversial, and now fellow guitarist Angel Vivaldi has fired again, arguing that not solely is Hammett incorrect in his assumption(s) however that Hammett is partially guilty for “why guitar solos are dying!”

For context, Hammett not too long ago advised Total Guitar [via Guitar World]:

I hate to say it for all of your readers on the market, however non-musicians, who’re the vast majority of the fucking listening world, they aren’t going to recollect guitar solos. They are gonna helluva bear in mind a terrific melody, they usually’re actually gonna bear in mind a terrific tune – particularly a tune that’s gonna convey them to a unique place from the place they had been 5 minutes beforehand.

On Dec. 16, Vivaldi – identified for his solo work and collaborations with Carnifex and Scale the Summit – commented on Metal Injection’s Facebook put up relating to Hammett’s emotions. Specifically, he mentioned: “Couldn’t be further from the truth. If the solo is written by a songwriter and not a lazy guitarist relying on muscle memory, your solo will stay with people forever.”

His remark acquired largely supportive replies, and three days later, Vivaldi shared a screenshot of it, including:

If not for Kirk I wouldn’t be right here, so utmost respect to him. However, the second somebody succumbs to the sort of pondering, ala’ “theres no good or memorable music these days” you’re simply screaming “I’m close minded and don’t seek new music in order to actually judge it” to the world. You can’t say that except you’ve heard each new tune uploaded to Spotify every day, and few at that age really hunt down the brand new music they’re writing off.

In the feedback part of that put up, Vivaldi elaborated:

I imagine it’s a aware alternative to remain freshly conscious and impressed by looking for out new and thrilling music. Let’s all collectively vow to age with grace, open mindedness and knowledge.

Ive seen a whole lot of nice responses each agreeing and disagreeing with my put up. I can actually perceive and respect many the opposing arguments, many unbelievable factors and concepts shared! With that, I’d prefer to develop on some extra ideas and musings on the subject in an effort for mutual understanding and readability.

In order to grasp my viewpoint, we’ll should be on the identical web page relating to the sheer quantity of music being put out. There are roughly 23,000 songs add to Spotify every day. Let’s assume that 30% of these are within the rock class, and from there 5% have solos. No one is listening to 345 songs as a way to make that sweeping accusation. There is just too a lot music. It’s greatest to say “I haven’t heard any iconic guitar solos,” reasonably than “the art of the guitar solo is dying.

Let’s get to the reason why some people, in this case older generations, have a hard time discovering those solos. They are used to Guns N Roses, Queen, Zeppelin etc who conquer the world and have the exposure that no one can escape from. Because of over saturation, there’s no way for any new band to ever reach that magnitude of success and exposure. It will never happen again – facts. Therefore, your iconic guitar solo will slip under the radar of a majority of listeners. Furthermore, many from that generation have a hard time wielding technology to their benefit. Between editorial playlists and all of the custom playlists custom made for you by many listening platforms, there really isn’t an excuse to remain ignorant. However, it takes effort and I totally understand not wanting to put the work into something like that.

Regarding the non-musician argument. Good and inspiring solos are what MAKE musicians. Kirk himself held a torch of responsibility when it came to flipping non-musicians into guitar shredders, myself included. He himself is a reason why guitar solos are dying! He arguably has the largest platform to inspire even more guitarists, but because he “opted for a raw, improvisational approach” (which he does not have the skillset to execute, imho) on 72 Seasons and lord knows how many before that, his torch now burns very dimly if at all. There was a time during the Some Kind of Monster-era where he fought for how important solos were. It’s possible that because none of his solos landed the way they did in the past that it helped to further extinguish his opinion on how important they are. I can only speculate.

Do you guys remember what Lars said about how it would take Kirk about 6 months to write a good solo for The Unforgiven (Year and A Half doc)? I sure do. For 72 Seasons, “he churned out 20-30 solos, tossed them to the band’s drummer and producer, and said, “You guys edit them.” This approach only works if you’re a world class songwriting musician ala’ David Gilmour. And honestly, this approach is perfectly fine! He’s earned the right to do that. But he doesn’t have the right to say what he did. It only becomes a problem when you say “solos are dying” and writing off entire generations who are jointly carrying the torch he decided to drop.

You know who doesn’t have this mentality at all? Steve Vai. He doesn’t seem to have an issue being open to discovering new talent that inspires him, nor does he have an issue continuously challenging himself with *INSANE* challenges like playing 4(?) necks on a guitar for “Teeth of the Hydra.” We can argue if any of that composition is memorable, but god damn that was best display of performance art Ive seen in a very, very long time. There’s a conscious intention set to always outdo himself, and that is why he will forever remain an icon who is constantly challenging and reinventing himself. We need to channel more of that energy when we’re that age.

Look no further than Jared’s [Dines] annual shred collab for inspired solos. Could a non-musician sit through all of that? Hell, I barely make it to the end myself. But I guarantee you there will be at least one solo that a non-musician would be like “yo, that one was cool!” And who knows… maybe we’ll get some new musicians out of it.

READ MORE: There’s an Apartment Building Called Metallica (Next to One Called Nirvana)

Vivaldi has since replied to some people within the thread(s) as well, and you can see his post below.

This past April, Vivaldi released his latest EP, Away With Words: Part 2, the official follow-up to 2014’s Away With Words, Part 1. As for Hammett, he recently admitted that “Shadows Follow” (from this year’s 72 Seasons) features a nod to the 1960s Batman TV series.

In other news, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has issued a tribute to his father – professional musician and tennis player Torben Ulrich – who passed away on Dec. 20, 2023 at the age of 95.

So, do you agree with Vivaldi? How about with Hammett? Let us know!