Kill Em

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I've got some reservations currently in writing this review. For one thing, it's kind of weird to know that you like an album less than every reviewer before you. People think very highly of this album, and why shouldn't they? Hell, I think highly of this album. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for what Kill 'Em All was able to do. It was one of the first thrash albums many people heard, it put Metallica at the forefront of a brand-new subgenre of metal that was attempting to play heavier and faster than the bands they were inspired by, and there's a lot of youthful energy on display here that is quite infectious. This is an important album in metal's history, to say the least, and for that, I give it all the credit in the world.

RoadRunner 1st pressing without "MFN" logo:The most raw version of the album. It lags on bass because they use the "Tim Young" mastering and it was bad imo but "Roadrunner" did excellent job on the cutting process and this version it sounds very sharp and very lively. 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.Basically everything else on here ranges from either "okay" to "bland". "Whiplash" and "Phantom Lord" would both benefit from Metallica reining themselves in and focusing on their strengths, rather than trying to be metal for metal's sake. There's a lot of action going on, but they don't quite pull the vibe they're going for off. "Jump in the Fire", meanwhile, is a sort of recapturing of "Hit the Lights" but without the charm. Your computer may be infected with malware or spyware that makes automated requests to our server and causes problems.

The thing that really strikes you about this album, is the youthful enthusiasm of it all. Unemcumbered by alcoholism, drug addiction, family and all the rest of it, Kill 'Em All scorches by in a dazzling blur of speed. Hetfield's voice is still a screech, rather than the gruff but clean tone of recent years, the songs are barely developed, full of abrupt speed changes, and the solos are in plentiful supply - at least three in 'The Four Horsemen' alone. First. I'd like to say that James Hetfield is a riff machine! Hetfield's riffs are in vein of Diamond Head's Brian Tatler but faster. Hetfield clearly shows his inspiration from the NWOBHM. Hetfield's vocal delivery is also raw and unhinged, he shouts with a raspy edge; unlike his Sean Harris vocal delivery of the demo days. Kill 'Em All" is generally called the first thrash metal record, and while I would argue that it isn't(Motorhead, Raven, and Venom were doing speed earlier), it's damned important, and the next one would tie up all the disparate elements and give us the first true thrash record. But I'm reviewing "Kill 'Em All" and it deserves our attention. Getting to our lineup, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich all preform fantastically, for the most part. James’s performance here is very much different from how he sings on later albums as he is much more raw here. He’s just full of screeches and shrieks as he more so yells at you than he does sing at you. He does have some more melodic singing like he’d utilize on later albums, such as in “No Remorse” and “Seek & Destroy” but for the most part stays pretty powerful and raw in “Kill ‘Em All”. James is also on rhythm guitar and his skill is excellent here as he keeps up with Kirk’s impeccable leads. Cliff Burton is fantastic here as his bass lines really help shape the songs and give the music a extra dimension. Fun fact, Cliff’s only writing credit here is“(Anesthesia)- Pulling Teeth” as he would join the band shortly before the recording of the debut. Never less, his performance here is a stand out in the genre and he’d only get better with his next release.

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Vertigo South Korea of 90?: Distortions and surface noise all over the place. Also ultra flat sound Overall, an amazing album. The first full length thrash metal album and it kills. Buy this right now if you don’t already own it. 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. The thuggish lyrics on Kill 'Em All updated Motörhead's roaming-pirate vibe for a younger generation of brash American kids, as reflected in lines like "The show is through, the metal's gone / It's time to hit the road / Another town, another gig / Again we will explode" from the headbanging anthem "Whiplash." Fueled by hatred for L.A. hair metal and a pop mainstream that the band never could have dreamed would embrace it eight years later, Kill 'Em All raised a middle finger in the air while sounding a trumpet of unity for metalheads everywhere with its us-against-the-world mentality. Now, of course, its youthful persecution complex seems silly and sophomoric.

In conclusion, Kill 'Em All is the mark of a band still in artistic development, but one that showed incredibly promise for what's to come. Despite that the album itself overstays it's welcome, and is a bit too repetitive to justify it's 51 minute run-time. Nexus International Japan:Not the best version of the album. The instruments are pretty weak imo. This version can not fill your space. 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. Metallica is an exception to this rule. All of the songs from their first demo made it onto Kill Em All, and this stuff is pretty solid. The riffs are memorable and the solos excellent, the songs are fast and furious; everyone performs well, even Lars. His drumbeats are the typical generic patterns, but he works in some cool fills here and there. You can identify the album just by James’ voice. It has more of a shriek to it, but it’s well-suited to the music. I can actually hear the bass, and I’m not talking about just Anesthesia, I mean most of the album. There isn’t a decrease in quality over time, though you have standout songs. The album length (51 minutes) is just right for the amount of variation heard, and the song lengths themselves are short, the longest song only at seven minutes and Motorbreath at the shortest in their whole discography (barely three minutes). I wish they’d used this idea of shorter songs their whole career. There’s less experimentation with structure than in any of their other eighties works, but Kill Em All doesn’t need that. Its influences are obvious, and if you listen to it, it’s easy to tell that they were listening to lots of NWOBHM and punk when they wrote it. It literally defines thrash metal in a way that Metallica’s other albums don’t. As they went on, they became less and less thrashy, with this album the only pure thrash they’ve put out. Master of Puppets has about two complete thrash songs on it, and this is being generous because each of them have specifically non-thrash intros (Battery and Damage Inc). …And Justice For All should not be considered thrash at all, except for Dyers Eve. Hit The Lights,Metal Militia,Phantom Lord,No Remorse....every song on this LP is strong and stood the test of time even 40 years later.Vocal is raw and undeveloped as is Lars drumming,lots of Dave Mustaine in songs and great bass solo by Cliff.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.... Obviously, the most important thing of this album is the guitar work. The riffs are the meat of Kill'em All, and there's a lot of good ones here. Almost every tune has a memorable main riff or an interesting solo, which is great. Phantom Lord is an authentic thrash monster, with its NWOBHM-influenced main riff; Motorbreath follows the same path and Whiplash also contains some of the most aggressive and inspired riff ever crafted by this american act. Obviously the riff progressions are very primitive and basic, but at this time they were just an amateur band so that's perfectly understadable. Still, some songs here contain some progressive elements, which is rather surprising. Take Four Horsemen, for instance. After the usual fast first section, we reach a tremendous breakdown, with a nice solo and clean guitar lines. This is what makes Metallica different; while the majority of the other acts were just focusing on the aggression and power of their music, Metallica tried something more elaborate and, dare I say?, intelligent with songs as the already mentioned Four Horsemen. 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. 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! On other hand, the lyrics here are hilarious. While not speaking about Satan and darkness and killing goats, their lyrical subjects were, hm, just laughable, really. Behold.