Watch Kirk Hammett and Michael Schenker Jam Behind the Scenes of ‘That Metal Show’
On the episode of That Metal Show that aired last night (April 18), fans were treated to the first-ever jam session between Metallica's Kirk Hammett and one of his biggest influences, Michael Schenker of UFO and the Michael Schenker Group. A video of them rehearsing is embedded above.
Saying he had a "chord progression that would be good for us to jam on," Hammett then demonstrated. The two proceeded to take turns in soloing over the classic-sounding 12-bar phrase as Trunk and everybody else whipped out their phones to take video, even though the professional cameras were rolling.
"In the 14 seasons of That Metal Show," Trunk said afterwards. "I don't know if I've ever had a moment like that, because Kirk Hammett and Michael Schenker just warmed up on the set before we taped he episode. I was jokingly saying this may be as proud [an] accomplishment as [the] day my kids were born to have been able to orchestrate this to happen on the show." Trunk added that he and Hammett originally bonded over their love of UFO, and that Hammett was willing to to fly across the country to finally play with Schenker, whom he had met socially on a few occasions.
When the episode was taped earlier in the week, Hammett wrote that he "was in fanboy hero worship mode" from the opportunity, and he was clearly starstruck as they talked shop, including the whereabouts of Schenker's old Flying Vs and Marshall amps.
You can watch the entirety of the episode on the show's website.
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