The April 18, 2015 episode of That Metal Show featured the first-ever Kirk Hammett-Michael Schenker jam session.
Below, you can watch the pair rehearsing on the set right before taping started.
Things kicked off with “chord progression that would be good for us to jam on,” which the Metallica guitarist showed the UFO/Michael Schenker Group guitarist. And then they were off.
“In the 14 seasons of That Metal Show,” Trunk said afterwards. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a moment like that, because Kirk Hammett and Michael Schenker just warmed up on the set before we taped he episode. I was jokingly saying this may be as proud [an] accomplishment as [the] day my kids were born to have been able to orchestrate this to happen on the show.”
Trunk added that he and Hammett originally bonded over their love of UFO, and that Hammett was willing to to fly across the country to finally play with Schenker, whom he had met on a few occasions.
Hammett's appreciation for Schenker is no secret. When Guitar World asked him to select the record that changed his life, he chose UFO's Force It (1975).
"When it got to the guitar solo, I was just blown away by Michael Schenker's tone, phrasing and technique," he said. "By the time the second solo came on with the fastest descending lick I'd ever heard, I was totally hooked! I immediately grabbed the album cover and saw the picture of Schenker playing a Flying V."