High Plains Drifter

"High Plains Drifter" is the debut single of Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, released April 15, 2022, through Metallica's Blackened Recordings. It is the lead single to Hammett's solo debut release, an EP titled Portals which came out April 23 digitally as well as on CD and an exclusive ocean blue vinyl pressing for Record Store Day. The song's name is taken from the 1973 Clint Eastwood-starring Western of the same name. The song was accompanied by an animated music video released April 22. Background Per Hammett, the track wasn't originally intended to evoke its namesake film, but after he completed the composition he realized it "conveyed the same sentiment as the film, so the piece was christened accordingly". He further explained that it was "a two-and-a-half-minute piece" that he really liked, but "it was one of those riffs that would be hard to integrate into Metallica". He knew he wanted to use it somehow and "had been sitting outside messing around with a flamenco acoustic guitar [he'd] just bought, and it flowed out in the moment." He played the song for Metallica bandmate Robert Trujillo, who simply said "Oh, cool", and producer Greg Fidelman who responded with "Oh, OK—I kinda know what you're trying to do".