Metallica’s pivotal debut album was released in July 1983, an uneventful month in an unremarkable year. Rock’s big guns weren’t doing anything special: Kiss and Black Sabbath had completely lost the plot and the bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, once a vibrant force and an acknowledged influence on Metallica, had exhausted its limited supply of ideas. Little did they know, something very special was about to appear.

Metallica could not of appeared at a better time. All the metal bands like Motorhead, Venom and discharge were more or less doing the same thing and there were a bunch of new hardcore bands that were making harder and angrier music. The few survivors of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal implosion had either come back stronger than ever (Iron Maiden) or struck out on their own (Diamond Head). Metallica had squeezed all these influences together, made some slight changes and trimmed the fat. What they were left with soon got a nickname all its own: “Thrash Metal”, and Metallica’s first album ‘Kill ‘em all’ was just down right explosive.

Metallica’s Kill ‘em all line up –
James Hetfield – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Lars Ulrich – Drums
Kirk Hammet – Lead Guitar
Cliff Burton – Bass

1. Hit the Lights: This album starts, as all significant things should, with chaos. A slurry of noise begins to filter through the speakers, building in volume and density. A few seconds later, it’s all stripped away, and a lone guitar begins to pick out a simple riff, only for it to all explode once more. It’s a patented 100mph Metallica track, which has been copied by a hundred imitators, but never bettered. It’s as subtle as a mallet to the nuts, but all the more effective for it.

2. The Four Horsemen: Seven minutes of pin-sharp riffing and labyrinthine time changes, all delivered with military precision. Built around one of the greatest riffs ever created, it’s the entire history of heavy metal up to that point condensed into seven minutes. It isn’t a fast song; it trots along rather than gallops. Instead its power comes from its relentlessness and its determination to impress. The perfect example to use against cynics who said that Metallica were solely about speed.

3. Motorbreath: One of Metallica’s most overlooked songs. The pedal hits the metal once more in this punked-up tribute to longtime favorites Motorhead. Hetfield’s assertion that this is ‘how I live my life’ is difficult to argue with.

4. Jump in the Fire: The albums first sub-standard track. It’s a hackneyed, fussy, stodgy and mid-paced romp that nods to both the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Venoms cartoon Satanism. Not big, not clever, but passable.

5. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth: As a showcase for the Late Cliff Burton’s talents, this bass solo just about does the job. As a memorable entry in the Metallica catalogue, it’s down the bottom of the list. This track seems very out of place on this album, still it’s listenable.

6. Whiplash: This track pretty much defines thrash metal. It’s the albums most pivotal song, distilling all the elements that made the band so unique into five furious minutes. With the great lyrics – “We’ll never stop, we’ll never quit, cos we’re Metallica” – it defines what they did better than anything that came after it.

7. Phantom Lord: One of the albums sub-standard tracks. It expends a lot of energy yet gets absolutely no where. It was planned to be the second epic of the album, and it would have been but it is sadly let down by a fundamental lack of focus.

8. No Remorse: This is just another song that proved that James Hetfield was the new master of the metal riff. It’s sparse, muscular and pulverizing. Hetfield’s vocals also sound positively feral.

9. Seek and Destroy: One of Metallica’s most famous songs, and a longtime staple of the band’s live set. ‘Seek and Destory’, with its snaking riff, isn’t so much performed as carved out of stone. It’s agreat combination of groove and power and will simply take your breath away.

10. Metal Militia: A straightforward sprint to the finishing post that salutes those fans that helped give Metallica their initial leg-up. It’s a very effective ending, but it’s far from being a classic. It’s a slightly flawed end to a great Album.

Metallica had outgrown ‘Kill ‘em All’ almost as soon as it was released. The follow-up, ‘Ride the Lightning’, would be smarter, sleeker and bigger. But as a milestone in heavy metal, their debut remains unsurpassed.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving