SALEM, Massachusetts: Kirk Hammett may be known best as the guitarist whose deafening solos have come to define the band Metallica. But a new exhibit is showcasing a different side of the rocker, his passion for sci-fi and horror films.
The exhibit which opens Saturday at the Peabody Essex Museum features 135 works owned by the heavy metal musician, including some Hammett says have inspired his music. It runs through Nov. 26.
“My collection takes me to a place where I need to be,” Hammett said in a statement. “Among the monsters, where I am most comfortable and creative.”
“That is where the magic has happened for me all these years and it is something I have come to trust,” he said. “From the moment I first encountered these characters, I could see that these guys had just as much difficulty in coping as I did.”
Daniel Finamore, who curated the show titled “It is Alive: Classic Horror and Sci-fi art from the Kirk Hammett Collection,” said although the posters may have played a supporting role to the films, they give the mummies and zombies top billing and “deliver on the promise of fear.”
“These are rare works of art, but they are under-recognized as such,” he said.
There are posters of the undead and unnatural, including ones from the 1931 film “Dracula” and the 1932 film “The Mummy,” which depicts the monster with arms crossed over his chest as he casts a predatory gaze toward a woman wearing a sleek, floor-length red dress. Some three decades later, another poster shows a young, scantily-clad Jane Fonda in the 1968 film Barbarella. In the poster, Fonda is seen grasping weapons, standing on a planet with space aliens in the backdrop.
The exhibit also features some collectible electric guitars, monster masks and sculptures.
One of the stars of the show is the lone-surviving, three-sheet poster for the 1931 film “Frankenstein.” It was found in the boarded up projection room of an old movie theater. There also is one of the only surviving standing cardboard cutouts for the 1933 flick “King Kong.”
“These posters are part of our cultural history, and they play to many of the same fears and anxieties we still have today as a society,” Finamore said.
The works generally were commissioned by the movie studios and created by anonymous artists. They were mostly produced from the 1930s into the 1970s, but people did not focus on saving — or collecting — them until recently.
For those like Hammett who got into the game, it’s been pretty lucrative. The most expensive movie poster — was purchased in 2016 by a private collector for nearly $700,000. It was for director Fritz Lang’s 1927 film “Metropolis.”
“He tapped into a passion and used it to fuel his professional life in a positive way,” Finamore said of Hammett. “If that is a takeaway from this exhibit, then I would say it was a success.”
Metallica guitarist’s monster movie posters go on display
Metallica guitarist’s monster movie posters go on display
Thai coffee chains cut default sugar content in coffee and tea drinks in a new health push
- The Health Department says Thais consume 21 teaspoons of sugar daily, far exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended six teaspoons
- Officials warn this increases obesity and diabetes risks. A survey found iced coffee and bubble tea contain high sugar levels
BANGKOK: For many Thais, a meal doesn’t feel complete without an iced coffee or tea so sugary it could pass for dessert. The government, concerned about the health consequences, wants them to dial it back.
Starting Wednesday, nine major coffee chains across the country have pledged to cut the default sugar content in some of their drinks by half in a government initiative aimed at tackling excessive sugar consumption.
According to the Health Department, Thais consume an average of 21 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than three times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of six teaspoons. Health officials warn that such high intake increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases.
The initiative is the first significant step to change consumers’ sugar consumption behavior, said Amporn Benjaponpitak, the director general of the department.
Pakorn Tungkasereerak, the department’s deputy, said 2025 data show that about 45 percent of Thais aged 15 and older are obese, while 10 percent of the population has diabetes.
A survey by the Bureau of Nutrition found that a 22-ounce (650-milliliter) iced coffee contains an average of nine teaspoons of sugar, while a 10-ounce (300-milliliter) serving of bubble milk tea — an iced milk tea with tapioca pearls known as boba — can contain as much as 12 teaspoons.
Sirinya Kuiklang, an office worker, said she approves of the changes. She already orders her drinks at just 25 percent of the standard sugar level, but she is aware that many others consume too much sugar.
“It’s good for Thai people,” she said.
Another office worker, Porwares Tantikanpanit, said he has enjoyed his non-coffee beverages at their current sugar levels but is willing to adjust if shops reduce the sweetness.
However, putting the policy into practice may prove challenging. Officials have said each brand can apply the initiative as they see fit.
Some customers have expressed confusion in response to social media posts promoting the initiative, asking how to order drinks with the level of sweetness that they prefer. Several brands said that the reduction applies only to certain menu items.
