Eagle-eyed viewers of Back to the Beginning over the weekend will have spotted that Metallica’s Kirk Hammett was wielding a mysterious – and gorgeous – Moon Burst Gibson SG during the band’s spot.
Its origins have now been revealed: it was built by no less than Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian.
Dubbed the CEO4, Gueikian’s build is highly elusive at the moment, but the silver, lunar-inspired flame top colorway chosen for the twin humbucker axe is certainly unique. Fittingly, it was employed solely for one of Metallica’s two Sabbath covers, Hole in the Sky.
Still, it hasn’t stayed in Hammett’s possession for long, as it’s already on its way to the auction house. Proceeds made from the sale will go to the Gibson Gives charity. Founded in 2002, the charity aims to amplify the power of music through a series of initiatives, with over $4.5 million raised so far.
As its name attests, this SG is the fourth six-string Gueikian has made for his CEO series, with the last offering taking the form of a Gibson Victory. Each guitar is ultimately auctioned off for charity, but Hammett’s might be the most significant of the builds yet, playing a role in one of the most historic events in heavy metal history.
The guitar was declared finished six weeks ago, with Gueikian having posted a series of build-in-progress Instagram updates along the way. The date 12/13/24 can be seen scrawled in the neck pickup cavity, and the back plate is inscribed with: “CEO-4. You are now a member of the DES family – Riff. Cesar.”
For Back to the Beginning, Gibson has already also auctioned off Ebony and Cherry Red SG Standards signed by Iommi and other guest stars. They sold off for a combined £35,000 (approx $47,200). The SGs nod to Iommi’s famed electric guitar of choice, which wasn’t originally intended to feature on the band’s debut LP. However, a pickup issue with his preferred Fender Stratocaster forced the pivot.
The CEO4 continues the rich history shared between Gibson and Hammett, which has already yielded a Murphy Lab aged reissue of Hammett’s 1989 Les Paul Custom and, naturally, his history-steeped Greeny Les Paul.
Gueikian also traded riffs with Tony Iommi on the charity single Deconstruction in 2023, and he recently helped craft a James Hetfield-inspired Explorer for Jason Mamoa, bursting the bubble of those who thought a production model was in the works.
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Work on the CEO5, a Flying V with a traditional Gibson headstock, is already well underway.
Meanwhile, Iommi has revealed that Sabbath had “six or seven” songs planned for their final performance, revealing which songs didn’t make the cut, and why their set was such short-lived entertainment.
