For decades, Kirk Hammett’s name has been synonymous with the electric roar of Metallica’s sound, a sonic force built on his Flying V and “Greeny” Les Paul. But this fall, the maestro of metal tone spreads his wings in a new direction with the Gibson Custom Kirk Hammett Raven, an acoustic guitar born of both reverence and reinvention.
While the Raven borrows its square-shouldered frame from the legendary Gibson Hummingbird, everything else about it whispers of darkness and depth. Its Sitka spruce top is paired with mahogany back and sides, yielding a balanced voice that’s equal parts warmth and bite.
Under the hood, traditional scalloped Advanced X-bracing enhances projection and resonance, allowing the Raven to breathe with the kind of dynamic response studio players crave and touring musicians demand.
This is not a guitar for nostalgia. It’s a modern classic forged for players who live in the space between distortion and delicacy. The finish, an obsidian gloss that seems to swallow stage light, contrasts beautifully with the fine detailing that Gibson Custom’s luthiers are known for. Each curve and inlay feels deliberate, each note sustained through craftsmanship rather than electronics.
For Hammett, this partnership with Gibson Custom marks a full-circle moment: “That guitar helps me feel everything that much deeper. It’s a magical piece of wood… I’m just the caretaker”. It’s a sentiment that resonates with any player who’s ever felt the emotional gravity of a perfectly voiced instrument, when the wood, the strings, and the human touch become one circuit of energy.
And if you’ve ever wondered what inspires the tone behind Ride the Lightning or The Black Album, Gibson TV’s new episode of The Collection gives an unfiltered look into Kirk’s vault of rare instruments, from his first Flying V bought with Burger King paychecks, to Peter Green’s storied ’59 Les Paul, to a 1963 Explorer that helped define the vocabulary of metal guitar tone.
The Kirk Hammett Raven is not meant for everyone. It’s a limited-edition piece, meticulously built, sonically profound, and destined to become one of those “you had to be there” instruments. A guitar that bridges decades of innovation and artistry, and one that dares acoustic players to explore the shadows of tone.
Availability, as Gibson puts it, is “extremely limited, this is it and nothing more.” So if you’ve ever wanted to hear the sound of the dark side… the Raven is calling.
