Kill Em

Product Information

Rhino 04:Very loud and punchy version. It sound little compressed and noisy to me. Remains fine vinyl For being metal, fun, metal, fast, metal, enthusiastic, and holy shit is this metal, Metallica's thrash progenitor gets 80 out of 100 or a 4 out of 5.

Overall, Kill Em All doesn't disappoint, the album is just full blown old school thrashing madness, over the 51 minutes that the album spans, there isn't a single boring moment to be found. It's all killer, absolutely no filler! If you want a classic album to rage to look no further! Bang that head that doesn't bang! This is a speed metal album with thrashy parts. The speed is what really catches anyone from the start. Next, the crunchy and ripping guitar tones make this almost automatically heavier than any predecessor (excluding maybe Venom and Motorhead). The guitars are also extremely catchy at points with songs like The Fourhorse Men, No Remorse, Whiplash, Etc. No band up until this point had this sort of mix. The solos are both easy to listen to and technical. They are not too special but they defiantly get the job done here. But in fact, that attitude seemed silly even by 1984, when Metallica released Ride the Lightning and pretty much left its youthful naivete behind for good. Yes, Hammett and late bassist Cliff Burton's fascination with comic books and Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy rears its head on "The Call of Ktulu," but on Ride the Lightning the band no longer comes across like a street gang but like a group of frightened young men using their hellacious sound as a shield against life's unsettling realities. There are a few albums – specifically debut albums – that work much better because of their simplicity. I’ve written something similar about Iron Maiden’s debut and I feel that Kill ‘Em All fits the mould too. Style, songs, cover art – none of it complicates the basic enjoyment of pure heavy metal. And, yes, I would classify Metallica’s debut as something closer to pure heavy metal than actual thrash metal as we know it today, because this (as the almost indisputable First Thrash Album) was a blank slate that described a kind of thrash metal without rules and restrictions. I like it all the more for that. Anyway,brilliant debut,so important in the metal world and the best of Metallica is yet to come in next few years and next three albums.

The tone of the whole album is set by the killer first riff to 'Hit The Lights', to this day one of the greatest riffs of all time, and the song itself is a thing of sheer visceral beauty, climaxing with a spiralling solo. Vertigo South Korea of 90?: Distortions and surface noise all over the place. Also ultra flat sound Of course, we can't review a Metallica album without speaking of Lars Ulrich. Lars' drumming here isn't anything to jizz about but it's consistent and flows well with the rhythm of the music, which is what it's supposed to do in the first place. That's the idea behind drumming. His style is basic and at times fast, showing the punk influence in every song. I think he would showcase his skills a lot more on the next couple of albums but here, he does what he's supposed to do.

The production is rather weak, but what would you expect? So, a fine thrash metal record, all in all, but Metallica improved and released much better albums after this one. Still, a must have for thrash fans, as Kill'em All was one of the pieces that really shaped and created the genre. To combat the downright energy of that opener, we go right into The Four Horsemen, the most atmospheric song here. Mechanix is far inferior in nearly every aspect. It's faster, but just listen to this! It will ingrain its way into your memory, never to leave again. The lyrics are much better, unless you’re in middle school, and sex puns are fresh and raunchy. Though this version is not perfect either; there's a reason the band doesn't play the Sweet Home Alabama bridge live.... Vertigo EU 89 reissue "DMM": Great version to listen the album. Contains the best mastering of "Bod Ludwing". This album has some great lyrics in songs like The Fourhorse Men, Jump in the Fire, Seek & Destroy and Phantom Lord. They all speak of some sort of mayhem or pain and devastation. This sets a frenzied mood in the lyrics for the whole album. Kill 'Em All marks the start for one of the most well-known thrash metal acts of all time. A band which I don't think I have to introduce, since you're here already, anyway. As I was saying, what we have here is a prime cut of pure thrash from a former giant, and it is good.MFN 86 reissue:Repress from the 1st press "MFN" pressing. Same sound but lower surface noise. See below more details about the sound.

Kill Em’ All”, just maybe the most influential thrash metal album of all time? Well some would agree, some would disagree. I think we can all agree that this album is one the most important thrash metal albums of all time. Introducing the masses to this new thing called thrash metal with some help from Overkill and Exodus, but demos aside, Metallica, for me at least, takes the glory when it comes to first full length thrash album ever.

Reviews

Hit the Lights” is a great opener, cymbal and guitar nonsense, a really simple but awesome riff, lots of speed and about 15 different solos equals an amazing song. “The Four Horsemen” once again has some pretty simple riffs but wow this song is good. Kind of NWOBHM sounding. This album has the most thrash ever put on a Metallica album. “Hit the Lights”, “Motorbreath”, “Whiplash”, “Phantom Lord”, “Metal Militia”, and “No Remorse” all have some insane speed in them. “No Remorse” probably has my favorite thrash part of all time. You’ll know what I’m talking about. “Jump in the Fire” is another slower song that has some of James’ best vocals. “Motorbreath” has an awesome drum intro and has some very punk influenced riffs and is full speed ahead the whole song. “Anesthesia” Pulling Teeth” is just a bass solo. Don’t get me wrong, Cliff is my idol, but I just don’t see the point. As far as bass solos go, it’s an amazing solo but I don’t really wanna listen to a bass solo. “Metal Militia” is definitely the fastest song on here. This song should be the thrash metal anthem. The outlier on this album is obviously Cliff's bass solo, dubbed "Anesthesia" (Pulling Teeth". Technically it's quite a display, but unfortunately it's too long for it's own good and there are only 2 sections that really provide a dynamic contrast, and that is helped along by the drums entering. Joey Demaio did a much better job a year before this album with his rendition of the William Tell Overture, which was probably technically more difficult than this song is as well, though obviously it wasn't original.