Join KIRK HAMMETT, legendary guitarist of Metallica, for an intimate, live discussion that will take a deep dive into KIRK's storied music career, and celebrate the launch of his new coffee table book, The Collection: Kirk Hammett. 

Tickets for the "KIRK HAMMETT The Collection:  Live" book events are limited and are available Friday April 11th at 10:00 AM HERE

Saturday, May 10 | 7 p.m. Main Library 

6 p.m. | Library closes to the general public

6:15 p.m. | Doors open for special event

7-8:30 p.m. | Kirk Hammett in conversation with Gibson's Mark Agnesi

Guitar World asked him to name his favorite solo he's ever played. Hammett replied, "The solo in 'Fuel' was done on the green Strat from the 'I Disappear' video. I love that guitar so much. I still have it; that thing just feels like an old friend. So I really love how that solo came out. But it's a tough question. I think I'll say it's the one from 'Hero of the Day.' Every note counts and fits perfectly. I feel like everything is in its right place and the solo lifts the song to another level, which I always try to do – even if I'm not always successful. The track has a different level of intensity afterwards."

Newly released worldwide via Gibson Publishing, The Collection: Kirk Hammett is a premium, hardcover coffee table book in which KIRK tells the stories behind the rare and highly collectible instruments he has used on hit records and on stages worldwide in front of millions of fans. It comes in three premium formats: limited signed and numbered Custom and Deluxe Editions and a Standard hardcover. Check out the Gibson Garage locations. 

A 400-page premium coffee table book, The Collection: Kirk Hammett explores in unprecedented detail the extraordinary guitar collection and life in music of one of heavy metal's true pioneers, Gibson signature artist, KIRK HAMMETT. Shot on location in Hawaii and Los Angeles by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin and featuring rare imagery from Halfin's photo archives, this latest release from Gibson Publishing features exclusive new interviews with HAMMETT conducted by Chris Vinnicombe (Gibson Editor-in-Chief) and Mark Agnesi (Gibson Director of Brand Experience). The Collection: Kirk Hammett takes the deepest-ever dive into the Metallica star's eclectic guitar collection, documenting the instruments he has leaned on throughout his career, from his early days with Bay Area thrash trailblazers Exodus to selling over 125 million albums worldwide and rocking out with Metallica for over 40 years on the world's biggest stages. Guitars under the microscope include HAMMETT's storied 1979 Gibson Flying V™ and Greeny, the legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul™ Standard formerly owned by guitarists Peter Green and Gary Moore, and so much more. The Collection: Kirk Hammett is a must-have for fans of Kirk Hammett and Metallica and anyone with an interest in fine guitars.

🔥 WE BOOKED KIRK HAMMETT (pun intended)

The @Metallica superstar visits Main Library for an author talk on Saturday, May 10. pic.twitter.com/ciESOtnrnM

— Columbus Library (@columbuslibrary) April 9, 2025

During an appearance on the 'Make It Perfect' podcast, she said, "I've been writing my biography, but it is also a fantasy novel because all the names have been changed, but the stories are true. And this is how I feel comfortable doing my biography.

"The thing that makes me sad about reading people's biographies, especially in the music business, is that then you know their secrets, you know they've been raped, or you know their parents don't like them, or you know that they have to struggle to be sober, or they almost died. And it's, like, it ruins the magic, because when I think about [Ronnie James] Dio or I think about David Lee Roth or I think about Eddie Van Halen or I think about Alice Cooper, I think about them as being the gods of rock and roll — you know, Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi. I don't wanna know that their mom didn't let 'em suck on their thumb when they were kids."

Asked why she doesn't want to know that stuff, she said, "Well, because I think that it ruins the joy. Because people always focus on people's struggle and not on their recovery or not on their joy. And I feel like a lot of fans and people that aren't willing to understand and deep dive are seeing people like Eminem or people like my good friend Rob Halford. He just celebrated his — I don't know — 25th anniversary from when he got sober, but everyone's, like, 'Well, you know, here's… " It's, like, they focus on the alcoholism or they focus on the drug use or they focus on the drug use, and they're not focusing on the fact that they're celebrating themselves."

No word yet on when the book will be published.