In the spring of 1983, Hammett received a phone call from the boys in Metallica -- which included singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and bassist Cliff Burton -- asking if he'd be interested in trying out for the band (their original guitarist, Dave Mustaine, was about to be booted due to erratic behavior). The group arranged for Hammett to fly out to their new home base of New York, where he passed the test after a single run-through of their early classic anthem, "Seek & Destroy," with Burton comparing Hammett's playing to such Euro-metal guitarists as Michael Schenker and Ritchie Blackmore -- two of the band's fav players. The new lineup instantly began work on their debut album, Kill 'Em All, issued the same year -- since Hammett joined just a short while earlier, he didn't have a chance to put his own stamp on the material, opting instead to stick to the riffs and approach that Mustaine had already laid down.
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