Kirk Hammett will battle Mrs Smith in a live guitar Cry Baby Battle Royale wah-off

Last year Mrs Smith, the guitar virtuoso alter-ego of actor-musician David Hanbury, laid the gauntlet down for Metallica's Kirk Hammett; “I’m the number-one wah-wah abuser,” Smith said on camera in full grey beehive-crowned attire. “I abuse the wah more than Kirk Hammett and I’ve challenged him multiple times to a wah-off. Why are you hiding behind your wah-wah pedal, Kirk Hammett?” 

This time it struck a nerve. 

(Image credit: worldofsmith.com)

“Challenged received and accepted,” Hammett replied on Instagram, before adding the hashtag “#wahoff.” Now the two players are preparing to face off in a Cry Baby Battle Royale onstage in Columbia, South Carolina on 8 March.

It's being billed as 'the battle to end all battles' and we think this could get very fierce indeed. 

Hammett will appear with Smith as part of a night featuring The Wedding Band – a lineup that includes the Metallica lead man alongside bandmate Rob Trujillo on bass, Ugly Kid Joe's Whitfield Crane on vocals, Bad Wolves' Doc Coyle on rhythm guitar, former QOTSA and Mars Volta member Jon Theodore on drums.

For tickets head over to Ticketweb

Rob Laing
Reviews Editor, GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.