Metallica's Kirk Hammett announces release date for solo EP

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett will release his first ever solo project — a four-song instrumental EP — on April 23.

Portals will be available on digital streaming platforms, as a CD and in an exclusive ocean-blue vinyl edition for Record Store Day.

"This music was created with what I describe as an audio-cinematic approach," Hammett said in a statement announcing the solo project. "They're soundtracks to the movies in your mind."

Hammett produced the EP himself and co-wrote the third and fourth tracks with Edwin Outwater, who conducted the San Francisco Symphony for Metallica's S&M2 concerts in 2019. Outwater also plays keyboards on the album and led the orchestral players on the record.

Other featured players on the EP include ex-Mars Volta and current Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore, longtime Paul McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel. Previous Metallica producers Greg Fidelman and Bob Rock each appear on record on bass.

Hammett's Portals EP is a significant moment in Metallica history, as it is the first solo project ever by a current member of the band.