Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has discussed his memories of being bullied at school, and of how discovering music saved him from following a “pretty bad path” in life.

He grew up in El Sobrante, California, and attended De Anza High School in Richmond, and after years of being interested in horror movies, he started playing guitar seriously at the age of 15.

Hammett tells 107.7 The Bone (via Blabbermouth) that he and his friends were troubled by “neighbourhood hoodlums,” adding: “They picked anyone who was an easy target who looked different from them.

“They were people with very low IQs that had nothing better to do with their time, except picking and bullying on other people.

“They used to terrify us all the time. Then we go to the other side of town, and there were the Mexican gangs we had to constantly worry about as well. We’d just try and not go anywhere near those guys.”

The events took place around the time he began playing guitar. “It was one of the only things I found that could calm me down when I was a kid,” he says.

“I was able to use it to ground myself and more in the moment. If I didn’t have music… who knows? I was on a pretty bad path when I discovered music. Music kept be from going further down that path.”

Last year Hammett explained how his interest in music had helped him through his teenage years, adding: “Heavy metal solved a lot of my problems when I couldn’t express myself and I was just frustrated. I would go to my room and put on a metal album and feel instant relief. When someone tries to take that away from you, you’re like, ‘No, I need that for my own survival.’”

Metallica recently completed their first large-scale US tour in eight years. They return to Europe next month, with UK dates to follow in October. Full dates below.

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2017

Sep 02: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark

Sep 04: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands

Sep 06: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands

Sep 08: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France

Sep 10: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France

Sep 12: Lyon Halle Tony Garnier, France

Sep 14: Cologne Lanxess Arena, Germany

Sep 16: Cologne Lanxess Arena, Germany

Oct 22: London O2 Arena, UK

Oct 24: London O2 Arena, UK

Oct 26: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK

Oct 28: Manchester Arena, UK

Oct 30: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK

Nov 01: Antwerp Sportpaleism Belgium

Nov 03: Antwerp Sportpaleism Belgium

2018

Feb 01: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal

Feb 03: Madrid Wizink Center, Spain

Feb 05: Madrid Wizink Center, Spain

Feb 07: Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi, Spain

Feb 10: Turin Pala Alpitour, Italy

Feb 12: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy

Feb 14: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy

Feb 16: Mannheim SAP Arena, Germany

Mar 27: Herning Jyske Bank Boxen, Denmark

Mar 29: Hamburg Barclaycard Arena, Germany

Mar 31: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria

Apr 02: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic

Apr 05: Budapest Sports Arena, Hungary

Apr 07: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany

Apr 09: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany

Apr 11: Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland

Apr 26: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany

Apr 28: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland

Apr 30: Leipzig Arena, Germany

May 02: Oslo Telenor Arena, Norway

May 05: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden

May 07: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden

May 09: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland

May 11: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland

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