ThinkFlash conducted an interview with METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammer prior to the band's first-ever live appearance in the United Arab Emirates on October 25, at Yas Arena in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE.

"I think it's important for us to just do different things, just to keep the music alive and moving," Hammett says in the clip, which can be seen below. "For us, music is like water — if it flows, it stays fresh; if it stays in one spot, it gets stagnant. And that's pretty much been our philosophy since the beginning."


METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo told GulfNews.com that no one in the band had ever been to the UAE before, saying, "This is where it turns into a gig, adventure and holiday — we have been very busy, so for us to go to a place like the UAE, it becomes an adventure. And it makes it all that much more exciting because we get to perform. It's something different, and we love to explore."

Trujillo was also asked about the band's plans to record its next official album, to which he replied, "We've been busy writing and recording. We've got a couple of new songs we have been working on the past couple of weeks . . . We've been in the studio with (producer) Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we're going to be recording during the most of next year. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. But the great thing is that we have sort of already jumped off the launch pad and we're swimming."

METALLICA flew to the UAE from New York, where the band attended a listening party for its joint album with Lou Reed, called "Lulu", which arrives on Tuesday (November 1).

The group's last collection of all-new studio material was 2008's "Death Magnetic".

The band will play four gigs to celebrate its 30th anniversary at San Francisco's legendary Fillmore in early December.