The guitarist of the James Hetfield-fronted band admits he and his bandmates were indeed inspired by the iconic theme song from the classic superhero TV show.
- Dec 24, 2023
AceShowbiz - Metallica's guitarist Kirk Hammett has said the band included a deliberate reference to the iconic theme of the 1960s "Batman" TV series in their song "Shadows Follow". Fans of the thrash metal legends noticed that a specific lead guitar riff on the track - which features on Metallica's 11th studio album "72 Seasons", released in April 2023 - has a striking similarity to the music from the show, which starred Adam West as The Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as Robin.
Kirk has now revealed that the group - also comprised of frontman James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, and bassist Robert Trujillo - referred to the guitar part, which can be heard at four minutes 20 seconds into the track, as "The Batman Riff" during recording sessions for the LP confirming the fan theory.
"That's really funny, because we called that riff 'The Batman Riff', and I know exactly what you are talking about," he said when asked about the reference in an interview with Total Guitar magazine.
Since the album was released, Metallica fans had been posting online about "The Batman Riff", with thread appearing on community site Reddit dedicated to it. On the subreddit, one fan asked, "Anyone else here [sic] the 60s Batman theme song in Shadows Follow?" Prompting a reply that read, "Yes! I immediately heard it and it honestly took me out of the song for a second.
Elsewhere in the interview, the 61-year-old rock icon mused on the importance of guitar solos in songs, and revealed that he has accepted that the majority of music fans don't really care about the technical skill displayed in a solo.
Kirk - who is widely considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all-time - stated, "I hate to say it ... but non-musicians, who are the majority of the listening world, they are not going to remember guitar solos."
"They are gonna remember a great melody, and they're really gonna remember a great song – especially a song that's gonna bring them to a different place from where they were five minutes previously."
