AAPI IN METAL — KIRK HAMMETT
Thoughts on Filipino-American Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett as a fellow AAPI metalhead
NPZ #1 — NOVEMBER 2024 — PAGE 12
Note: this was written for a class assignment which is why there might be a more rigid or academic structure or whatever, but I felt like including this anyway.
Metallica is one of the greatest metal/rock bands of all time (Forbes), and their lead guitarist since 1983 is Kirk Hammett, a San-Francisco born, self-described “’mistiso’ [meaning] part-Filipino”. Hammett’s contributions to the genre have been undeniable, however things get a little less clear when it comes to Asian American recognition and presence within the scene and culture as a whole.
Metal’s birthplace is attributed to Britain, and perhaps due to it’s European origins, the genre is largely considered to be white-dominated, among fans and bands alike. In America, there are certainly BIPOC and AAPI figures in the scene, but it is a pretty small minority. Yet, an Asian American is the lead guitarist of the most famous metal band. What I found interesting though, is Kirk Hammett pretty rarely talks about his Filipino identity. There is a page on FilipinoAmericanMusic.com that cites Hammett as being proud about his heritage. However, there’s only a handful of interviews I could find where he discusses his experience being Asian American. Clearly, Hammett has not actively hidden his ethnicity/heritage, but perhaps there have been aspects of the titanic success of the band due to his less outspoken track record. Despite Metallica being the closest to household name a metal band could get, most casual listeners probably don’t know much about the members. I also found a Daily Trojan article by “just another white guy” who had assumed Metallica was an all-white “boy band” like many others in the genre, and theorizes that Hammett may have kept his identity on the downlow due to racism in the music industry. Yet, despite having a white-majority, it’s hard to say if the subculture is entirely more racist and intolerant than others (not to say there isn’t bigotry within the community, which is it’s own problem).
An interesting thing to consider when it comes to metal: there is arguably less focus on the appearance of the band members, and more focus on their musical skill (this does not extend to women who still face typical misogynistic expectations of beauty). Metal album covers are almost exclusively artwork instead of photos of the musicians, thus presenting at the forefront the visuals of the genre/music instead of the figures behind the scenes. Metal also started in the underground with less executive crafted images, with only a few bands that would reach mainstream popularity. The most visually recognizable member would likely be the frontman/vocalist (James Hetfield in the case of Metallica, who is a VERY white American). This makes me wonder if Kirk Hammett, or other BIPOC musicians in the scene, had been more upfront and outspoken about their “non-whiteness”, would it have made it harder for them to reach the type of success that Metallica was able to achieve? Furthermore, is it less likely for bands with BIPOC frontmen, like that of Death Angel (Mark Osegueda, Fil-Am/Latino) or Trivium (Matt Heafy, Japanese American), to gain the same type of success as the bands with white frontmen?
Something that plays at the forefront of my mind existing as an Asian American in the metal scene is where are the other Asian Americans in the metal scene? Even though there are some great AAPIs in the history of the scene, to me it seems very rarely are we in leading positions, or made a central focus of the band’s musical or political identity. Also not taking into account Asian-continent bands, though there were pretty strong scenes in Japan and others, but none grew to the level of influence like American or British bands. I didn’t even know about Death Angel until recently, and was pleasantly surprised to learn the founding members were Asian American. Funny enough, I ended up talking with an SF native who was around in the Bay Area thrash days, who told me one of the first Death Angel shows was, in his words, “half metalheads, half Filipinos” from the community there to support the band, including the elderly Asian grandparents.
But most times, when I go to a metal show, I’ll see maybe one or two other Asian people in the crowd. When I’m around other Asian Americans, I feel like one of, if not the only one that is visibly identifiable as a member of the metal subculture. Perhaps it’s due to the white-dominance in the scene that makes it less likely for AAPI or BIPOC in general to feel welcome in the scene, or perhaps it is the focus on musical product rather than visual appearance of band members that creates less focus, positive or negative, on AAPI representation. I think Kirk Hammett has been an incredible influence for metalheads globally, and for us AAPI metalheads, it’s amazing to see one of us at the top. Though “see” may be a strong word, especially in a genre where the music can be consumed almost completely isolated from the appearance/origin of the band.
Photo: METALLICA LEAD GUITARIST, EXODUS FOUNDER, KREDDY HREUMMET [w/] TEOFILA OYAO A.K.A. CHEFELA [HAMMETT], KIRK [w/] 1990 DEATH ANGEL, KIRK W/ DEATH ANGEL 2014
