In response to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett‘s recent comments downplaying the importance of guitar solos, Tracii Guns, the original Guns N’ Roses guitarist and co-founder of L.A. Guns, has offered his perspective. Hammett had stated that non-musicians, who make up the majority of listeners, don’t pay much attention to guitar solos and are more likely to remember great melodies and songs.

“I hate to say it for all your readers out there, but non-musicians, who are the majority of the fucking listening world, they are not going to remember guitar solos. They are gonna helluva 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.”

Tracii Guns took to social media to express his disagreement with Hammett’s stance. He stated,

“That’s a really weird thing to say, @KirkHammett. Solos are string poems. If the solos aren’t memorable, then they are crap.”

While Hammett’s viewpoint acknowledges the short attention span of many listeners, Tracii Guns emphasized the significance of memorable guitar solos, describing them as “string poems.” He suggests that if solos aren’t memorable, they are of lesser quality.

The debate over the importance of guitar solos in popular music has sparked conversations within the music community, with artists and fans sharing diverse opinions on the matter.