Kirk Hammett has released the official film of "The Collection: Live - A Conversation With Kirk Hammett", the London event he staged on July 4 at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney). Directed by Brett Murray Films, it captures the full conversation — and the part of the night nobody in the room was expecting.
The discussion was hosted by Phil Alexander, the long-serving Kerrang! editor and broadcaster, and worked through Hammett's career by way of the instruments attached to it. Partway in, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo walked out and joined him for a surprise jam.
The event was one of four the guitarist staged during METALLICA's 2026 weekend takeovers on the European leg of "M72", each built around his new coffee table book, "The Collection: Kirk Hammett".
"In 2026, during the 'M72' world tour, I took the book LIVE in four cities to share and discuss the rich history and artistry behind each of these unique and rare instruments," Hammett said. "Every picture tells a story and thanks to Ross Halfin and his exceptional photography, every picture in this book is worth a million words! Thank you to Gibson for making my passion for Greeny and guitars a reality."
The London dates were the end of an era. METALLICA closed the "M72" world tour with two shows at London Stadium on July 3 and July 5, both no-repeat sets, meaning no song was played twice across the weekend. GOJIRA and KNOCKED LOOSE supported on the first night; AVATAR and PANTERA on the second. The band's next move is the sold-out "Life Burns Faster" residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas — 24 dates opening in early October and currently running to March.
The book itself is a 400-page hardcover published worldwide by Gibson Publishing, shot on location in Hawaii and Los Angeles by Ross Halfin and drawing on his archives, with new interviews conducted by Gibson's Chris Vinnicombe and Mark Agnesi. It is available through Gibson.com and the Gibson Garage stores in three formats: a standard hardcover plus signed and numbered Custom and Deluxe editions.
The instruments under the microscope run from Hammett's 1979 Gibson Flying V to Greeny, the 1959 Les Paul Standard previously owned by Peter Green and then Gary Moore, and by now as recognisable as any guitar in metal. The through line is a career that started with Bay Area thrash founders EXODUS and has since covered more than 125 million albums and forty years of METALLICA.
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