The Fleetwood Mac Song That Kirk Hammett Said Inspired Heavy Metal: “That Song Is So Incredibly Heavy”

Most people know Fleetwood Mac as a pop-leaning rock band helmed by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Not enough casual listeners give founder Peter Green the credit he deserves for giving the band their start with stunning songs. Fleetwood under Green’s leadership was a far cry from what it became with its classic lineup. While their mid-1970s heyday saw them focus on digestible melodies and romantic entanglements, Green’s era was heavily steeped in blues; altogether heavier.

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One artist who certainly hasn’t forgotten Green and his impact on music is Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. The guitarist once spoke about how Green’s efforts inspired the heavier side of music, which he and his Metallica bandmates would go on to enjoy. There was one Green song in particular that Hammett believes inspired heavy metal in a way. Find out which one below.

The Peter Green Era Fleetwood Mac Song That Inspired Kirk Hammett

Green’s music was far more complex and niche than what Fleetwood Mac would grow into. He had a firm affinity for the blues. His taste shaped the band’s early years, producing songs like “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)”.

As Hammett commented, this song, with slight changes, could be a heavy metal song. The guitar work is weighty, mirroring the playing of instrumentalists in Hammett’s genre. The Metallica member once gave Green props for laying the groundwork for metal with this track.

“To me, that song is so incredibly heavy,” Hammett once said. “High-gain amps, high-output pickups, none of that stuff existed. That song sounds so incredibly dark, and so incredibly heavy, and it is atmospheric, and it gets straight to the darkest parts of one’s psyche. That’s what happened to me.”

“It just goes so deep in me,” he continued. “And that song has so much voodoo in it. It sounded like it was written under a full moon, in a circle with candles, with him and the candles lit all around him, just him and the guitar…”

Though not every listener would automatically trace a line between Fleetwood Mac and heavy metal, once it’s pointed out, it’s easy to see. Green’s heavy, mystifying songwriting bears clear similarities to bands like Metallica. Though they turned up the power tenfold from what Green was peddling, the roots are there. Revisit this hard-edged, influential Green song above.

(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)