Album-a-Day #40: Kill 'Em All

[Jim O]

Album-a-Day #40: Kill 'Em All

Artist: Metallica
Website: http://www.metallica.com
Album: Kill 'Em All
Year Released: 1983
No. of Discs: 1
No. of Tracks: 10

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1. Hit The Lights
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Motorbreath
4. Jump In The Fire
5. (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth
6. Whiplash
7. Phantom Lord
8. No Remorse
9. Seek & Destroy
10. Metal Militia

One of my favorite bands of all time is Metallica. I have seen them 13 times in concert since 1997 including three times in 2004. They have a great live show with unbelieveable stage presence and energy.

Kill 'Em All is fun to listen to because it displays pure aggression. When I was initially exposed to it, I was blown away as it was some of the hardest and fastest metal I had ever heard. I had heard bands play fast and hard before, but the "Cookie Monster" lyrical style was hard to take throught an entire album. James Hetfield's lyrical style, in my mind, was easier to take than that of other metal frontmen.

What many may not know about Metallica is that Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was in the band before Kill 'Em All's release. He was kicked out months before it came out.

While Mustaine went on to form Megadeth a bit later, his imprint is significant on this album. He co-wrote four songs including The Four Horsemen, Jump In The Fire, Phantom Lord, and Metal Militia.

Mustaine and Megadeth have performed Mechanix at their shows which I believe is the original version of The Four Horsemen. If I have the story correct, Metallica changed some lyrics and the title when they kicked Mustaine out of the band.

This is a very raw album and is a must for any Metallica fan. It is awesome to see how this band has evloved throught the years. Although Mustaine was pissed by being kicked out of the band, it was a blessing in disguise for metal fans worldwide. If he would have stayed in Metallica, we wouldn't have Megadeth!

My favorite tracks on this album are Whiplash, Hit The Lights, No Remorse, The Four Horsemen, and Seek & Destroy.

 

[vince56]

Actually, the original LP had 12 tracks on it. "Am I Evil" and "Blitzkrieg" were taken off the album on prints of 1986 and after because they were cover songs and Metallica or their record company didn't want to pay royalties. Those 2 recordings later showed some 15-20 years later on "Garage, Inc."

Might I say they were incredible songs too, and much better than the original versions by the original bands. In fact, the only reason anyone knows who Diamondhead is is because Metallica covered about 5 of their songs in their career.

Great pick, Omo.

 

[vince56]

What many may not know about Metallica is that Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was in the band before Kill 'Em All's release. He was kicked out months before it came out.

Actually, they had traveled to NY from California to record KEA and had Mustaine with them. When they arrived in NY, they had had enough of Mustaine and sent him back to Cali by Greyhound. They brought Kirk Hammett in, and less than 2 weeks later he had recorded all the solos on KEA. That's why so many of his solos sound the same or similiar on that album, it was a rush recording for him.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Another solid selection!

I love all the c.d.s from the Cliff Burton era, however, my favorite Metallica song is "One".....

I'm glad though that they seemed to rebound well with "St. Anger" [even though it isnt as great as their earlier material, but definitely better than both "Load" and "Reload") and I wonder what direction theyre headed in now.... I did love Jason Newsted on bass as well, but Robert Trujillo ranks among the top-5 in bass-players out there today and his style suits Metallica brilliantly......

 

[vince56]

Another solid selection!

I love all the c.d.s from the Cliff Burton era, however, my favorite Metallica song is "One".....

I'm right in line with your thinking. My favorite 'tallica song is Orion, the instrumental off of Master of Puppets. When I was about 13 or 14, I used to go to sleep with headphones on and I'd have the MOP cassette in the player on auto loop. Around 5 am or so every morning Orion would come on and I'd wake up. I still think of Orion every time I see early morning light coming through a window because of it.

I also thought the experiments they did with the Iron Maiden-esque guitar duets on Ride the Lightning, and my 2nd favorite Metallica song is My Friend of Misery off the black album. Once again some great heart-wrenching chord progressions set to hard, dark music. I wish they still wrote like that. St Anger is heavy as hell, but it sucks. Heavy doesn't always = good.

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

One Word: Classic.

This changed the face of hardcore music.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

St Anger is heavy as hell, but it sucks. Heavy doesn't always = good.

I definitely agree with this comment...It's just nothing could be worse than most of the songs on "Load".... I'll never forget when my friend and I were driving around and this lame song suddenly comes on the radio....We're trying to figure out who it is and were cracking-up hysterically, especially since this was a country-flavored song being played on Detroit's heavy metal station.... Suddenly, the DJ come on and announces that the song was Metallica's new release "Mama Said"..... We began to burst out laughing more in a bit of shock since we thought that the DJ must have made a significant error.... Then, when more tracks were broadcasted on the radio (and bought the album) we all (along with the other legion of Metallica fans) discovered how much they sold-out..

At least "St. Anger" recaptured their harder sound, so I must give them credit in that regard.... I do agree though that it doesn't measure to their earlier albums, but unfortunately they've become a caricature of former selves and must try to be as commercial as possible....