Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Reads Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’

Kirk Hammett, the lead guitarist of one of metal's most ferocious bands, has taken on one of American literature's most haunting poems—and the unlikely pairing reveals how artificial intelligence is collapsing the boundaries between high art and popular culture in ways that neither institutions nor artists fully anticipated. The Metallica virtuoso's narration of "The Raven" marks a curious moment when AI-generated media is democratizing access to canonical works while simultaneously raising uncomfortable questions about authenticity, attribution, and what it means when a rock star's voice becomes interchangeable with a machine's. It's a test case for how the digital age will reshape our relationship with both literature and celebrity.

Rolling Stone·6d ago