What Kirk Hammett Thought of ‘Nevermind’ Before It Came Out

Kirk Hammett recently reflected on his love for the burgeoning alternative movement of the ’80s and early ’90s, recalling the words of encouragement he shared with Kurt Cobain after hearing Nirvana‘s Nevermind.

“I had no problem with grunge. I freaking loved it, to be honest,” the Metallica guitarist said on a new episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, which you can hear below. “I thought it was the greatest fucking thing. And there’s a lot of stuff that came out of that whole period that I still listen to a lot today, like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney.”

Hammett and Rolling Stone‘s Brian Hiatt also touched on Cobain’s well-documented Metallica fandom. “Kurt told me that he freaking loved Ride the Lightning, too, and there’s a riff off Bleach that reminds me of Ride the Lightning,” Hammett said. “Kurt was a great, great guy. You can tell that he was shy. You can tell that he’s more the observer than a participator, you know?”

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Kirk Hammett’s Message to Kurt Cobain After Hearing ‘Nevermind’

Hammett then revisited the night he saw Nirvana play at the Hollywood Palladium after receiving an advance copy of Nevermind. “I came backstage, and I said, ‘Kurt, Nevermind is gonna be huge,'” the guitarist said. “He goes, ‘No, it’s not.’ I go, ‘Yes, it is.'”

He continued: “And then I told Krist Novoselic, I said, ‘Bro, this album’s gonna be huge.’ He goes, ‘You think so?’ I go, ‘I know so.'”

Hammett’s prediction obviously came true — and he said he noticed a shift in Nirvana, particularly Cobain, after their explosion in popularity.

“Nirvana, at the time, pre-fame, they were a great band and with very pure intentions,” Hammett said. “They came out there and just fucking played their asses off. Once fame set in, Kurt kind of had a little bit of an attitude that kind of worked into the live performance. And some people loved that. I saw the difference.”

He continued: “It was evident, because they used to go out there and just play, and you can tell he was just so into it, and really just loving the support. Because I think he felt like he deserved it and worked for it. But when all the accolades came, and all the freaking celebrity came, it just rubbed Kurt the wrong way, because he wasn’t that kind of person.”