Kirk Hammett, Corey Taylor hail bond between metal and horror

Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett

Kirk Hammett and Corey Taylor have hailed the cross-pollination between metal and horror films.

The pair feature in forthcoming documentary The History Of Metal And Horror, directed by Mike Schiff. Metallica guitarist Hammett says heavier music is much better when it’s inspired by “evil and dark stuff.”

He tells Metal Hammer: “A good heavy metal song should be like a good horror movie. Exciting to watch or listen to, with a lot of dynamics.

“You’re not really sure where it’s gonna take you, but once you get there, you’re glad to be there. Heavy metal just doesn’t work when you’re singing about peace and love, or purple flowers.

“It’s much more effective to sing about zombies, the end of the world and the phantom of the opera!”

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor also describes the “cohesion and symbiotic relationship” between heavy music and horror movies.

Speaking of the 1978 film Halloween, Taylor says: “That soundtrack really set the tone for the way a lot of us listen to music. Music is the unsung hero of horror movies.”

He adds: “When metal music gets to that dark place, you really do feel as though you’re seeing a horror movie. You get that same excitement. That’s why we, as fans, love both of them so much.”

Also appearing in the film are Alice Cooper, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Korn’s Jonathan Davis and Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth – among a host of other musicians and artists.

The full interview features in the new issue of Metal Hammer – out now in print and via TeamRock+.

Schiff, producer Robert Lucas and Metal Blade Records’ Brian Slagel have launched a second crowdfunding campaign for the project – to donate, visit the film’s website.

Metallica tour dates 2016⁄17

Oct 22: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 23: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 26: San Juan Coliseo De Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Oct 29: Quito Parque Bicentenario, Ecuador
Nov 01: Bogota Hipodromo De Los Andes, Columbia
Nov 03: Guatemala City Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala
Nov 05: San Jose Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica
Mar 25-26: Lollapalooza Brasil
Mar 31-Apr 01: Lollapalooza Argentina
Apr 01-02: Lollapalooza Chile

Cooper, Hammett in metal horror documentary clip

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.