This past Monday (May 11) was the 10th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit, where Ozzy Osbourne was honored by Metallica, Slash and more. In addition to covering the once-in-a-lifetime show, Loudwire was on the red carpet of the event and we were able to speak with Metallica's Kirk Hammett for a very brief interview. Check out his thoughts on Ozzy, musical inspirations and the next Metallica album below:

Kirk, can you talk a bit about what it means to be here today honoring Ozzy?

It’s an incredible honor. We’re just happy to be here to support Ozzy in any which way that he needs to be supported. MAP and MusiCares is a great organization that have helped so many of our friends. It’s just a real honor to be a part of it all.

While Metallica are legendary in their own right, do you get inspiration from being around an icon like Ozzy Osbourne?

Being around other musicians is always inspiring. I would say tonight, knowing that Ozzy is going to be there, and other incredible musicians, pushes me. Another thing that pushes me is just wanting to get better as a musician and wanting to grow both as a musician and as a person. I still have that hunger to just get better at my instrument and learn new stuff. I think that will help me in terms of the longevity of the band. I hope all four of us are in step with that idea moving forward.

What's the latest on the upcoming Metallica album?

Still the early stages of a new album. I mean, we’ve got a lot of riffs. We’re blessed with the curse of having too many riffs. So you just have to be patient, but it’s a good curse to have. We probably have three or four albums' worth of material but we want to make one really good album. Maybe we’ll just throw it all into one song, make it a nine-minute song with all those riffs!

At the MusiCares event, Metallica performed a very unique set that included covers of songs by The Beatles, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne and more. Check out footage from their performance here, and see our photo gallery of the event by clicking below:

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