Tupan The first Metallica album, like most debuts, has the energy and excitement generally found in young musicians. The sound is rougher and cruder than any of their late albums, the songs have an urgency that would be more polished later. We are talking about thrash metal, so these aren’t bad characteristics in this context.

And like most the debuts, their early influences are more obvious here. Kill E’m All is basically a mix of Motorhead, Diamond Head, Budgie, Misfits, even some Iron Maiden… Again, nothing wrong, they manage to package all these influences with a Metallica flavour after all. Songs like Seek and Destroy and Whiplash would become immortal thrash classics, and other less known tracks, like Hit the Lights and Metal Milita are pretty great too! There’s even some experimentalism, with the instrumental (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.

And I have a personal story with this album. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a brazilian TV show named Fúria MTV. It was, for a long time, one of my only sources for metal these days, since the radio was crap (still is…) and only few friends shared my musical tastes. Anyways, the opening theme of this show was Metal Militia, the closing track of this album! And only years later I would know it, because in that pre-internet era all we could listen were the songs from the Black Album onwards, which played ad nauseam in the media at the time. So, Kill ‘Em All has a place in my metal heart since I’ve listened to it first time. Recommended!

SilentScream213 Kill ‘Em All is a mixed bag for me. On one end, it’s got some amazing music that was revolutionary at the time. On the other end, it doesn’t hold up all that well. For a Thrash Metal album, it’s incredibly lighthearted. They’ve got…(2?) songs on here that are just about playing music, they’ve got one about going to hell but it’s carried by an incredibly uptempo riff, and . Basically, real generic stuff you might find on a Nickleback album. The introspective and literature-influenced lyrics of Ride the Lightning are nowhere to be found here, and it really matches the all-around mood, which is not serious at all. As I said, it’s lighthearted, and if I’m listening to Thrash… that’s the last thing I want.

Aside from those weaknesses though, it still was one of the heaviest albums of its time, and it really had no tracks that were bad by any means. The B side is where they really shine, I think. Phantom Lord has great riffs and solos, and stays fast-paced throughout. No Remorse is one of my favorite Metallica tracks, and trudges through slower, darker riffs until breaking out in their fastest finale ever. No one would question the fantastic guitar fest of Seek & Destroy and closer Metal Militia. James’ vocals here are also more savage than ever. I can’t say I prefer them because his voice always sounds fantastic, but this side of them is certainly a treat.

Overrated, but still a great record.

Vim Fuego 23 March 1990.

OK, so I’ve used this introduction before, for a different Metallica album, but hey, if I have a record of it, why not? 23 March 1990 was the day I bought “Kill ‘em All” and I became a Metallica completist. Yep. I had all four albums. (The two major E.P.s then in their repertoire followed soon after – “The 5.98 EP – Garage Days Re-Revisited” on 28 March 1990, and “Creeping Death/Jump In The Fire” on 18 June 1990.) In those days, that made me metal as fuck! I didn’t know anyone else with all four albums. Fuck, I only knew two other metal fans...

Anyway, “Kill ‘em All” was and is a primitive thrash metal tour de force. On the whole it hasn’t aged well. It was already sounding dated in 1990. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that it documented some of the earliest beginnings of a brand new genre of metal. Yes, Venom or Overkill or Exodus or Sodom might be older, but this is really the point where thrash became a thing, where people outside of a very small scene started to take note of it. So what’s actually happening here?

Well, it’s like the NWOBHM with a punk rocket up it’s ass. The noisy racket of “Hit The Lights” was Metallica’s first song, and is the perfect high energy song to kick off the album. The main riff is a bit messy and clumsy, as many of the riffs on this album are, but it is electrified by Lars Ulrich’s enthusiastic drumming and Kirk Hammett’s wild leads. James Hetfield shreds his throat with a near hysterical shriek.

“The Four Horsemen” has a more conventional metal riff, which borrows heavily from the likes of Diamond Head or Angel Witch, but it’s actually faster than it sounds. Hammett’s leads wail a bit more than the first track. This track was co-written by Dave Mustaine, and while Metallica’s biblical inspired lyrics are better, Mustaine’s revved up “Mechanix” version is far the superior song.

There are some absolute fucking ragers on this album, and “Motorbreath” is the first of them. This is where the full on punk energy first comes through. This is like a more metallic Motörhead with higher pitched vocals.

While this entire album must be considered a classic, “Jump In The Fire” is a bit of a clunker. The main riff is too long and a bit over-ambitious for a first album. While it’s not a bad song, it just seems plodding and a bit pedestrian in comparison to the rest of the album.

“(Anaesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” was unlike anything I had ever heard before. I didn’t know you could make noises like these with a bass guitar! This is also possibly the most mature, fully developed track on this entire embryonic album. Cliff Burton showed off his wonderful range of skills with this solo track. It’s also the perfect lead-in to the album’s best (to my ears) song...

“Whiplash”! The pounding tom tom intro hints at something massive and menacing, and it fucking delivers! This is a full-on discharge of well... Discharge! Hetfield’s riffing is insanely fast for the time. This would still have to rate as one of Metallica’s faster songs still. As an ode to headbangers, the lyrics are naïve but heartfelt. And this ode gets the hair flying and necks snapping.

“Phantom Lord” is full of youthful enthusiasm and breakneck speed, and some kind of cheesy lyrics, but hey, it was 1983. It’s one of those songs which races along flat out, gets the speed wobbles, but recovers just before disaster strikes.

“No Remorse” has a chunky main riff, and seems like a solid mid-pace stomper. And stomp it does, very well for nearly five minutes. Just when it seems the song is winding down, it kicks up a gear, with the battlecry “attaaaaack!”, and follows with some of the fastest riffing on the album, finishing with a wrist snapping frenzy.

“Seek and Destroy” is one of the stand-out tracks on the album. The main riff is possibly the best on the album, the best mix of It’s a live favourite to this day, and the simple “Searching/Seek and destroy” refrain is a major reason why. Who can resist headbanging and yelling along to this? “And to round this all off, “Metal Militia” is another rager. “Oh through the mist and the madness/We are trying to get the message to you”. We got the message loud and clear.

While not as technically accomplished as the band’s later albums, even though “Ride The Lightning” followed only months later, “Kill ‘em All” blazed the trail. Albums from Anthrax, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Voivod, and Metal Church followed soon after, laying the foundations for thrash and extreme metal in general. Without “Kill ‘em All” to lead the way, extreme metal would not be what it is today.

martindavey87 Full of energy and pulse-pounding riffs, this is Metallica's debut album with which they changed the heavy metal world back in 1983. Although the songs are a lot more immature than Metallica's later material, both lyrical and musical content, the songs are still great if you're after a straight forward headbanging album from start to finish, with many of these songs still being a major spotlight of any Metallica live set today.

Although some songs are weaker than others, the album as a whole runs smoothly without giving the listener a chance to catch their breath. Metallica classics such as ‘Seek and Destroy’, ‘The Four Horsemen’, ‘Hit the Lights’ and ‘Whiplash’ make this essential for all metal fans.

It won’t be your favourite Metallica album, but your metal collection won’t be complete without it.

Warthur The most interesting thing about Kill 'Em All is the one contributing musician who doesn't appear on it: Dave Mustaine, who had left Metallica by this point to form Megadeth, but whose compositions stand out as particular highlights of the album. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in The Four Horsemen, most of which was composed by Mustaine but had a post-Mustaine interlude inserted into the middle; the difference in songwriting ability between Mustaine's sections and the rest of the band's is notable. Metallica would catch up on their subsequent albums and this one is delivered in an engagingly aggressive and thrashy fashion which makes up for its shortcomings, but this isn't the most auspicious debut the band could have had.

UMUR "Kill ´em All" is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Metallica. The album was released in July 1983 by Megaforce Records. After releasing a couple of succesful demos a very young Metallica were picked up by Megaforce Records in 1983. The band originally consisted of James Hetfield (Vocals, guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Ron McGovney (bass) and Dave Mustaine (lead guitar and later of Megadeth fame). However There were too many tensions between the two latter and Ron McGovney was replaced by new bassist Cliff Burton. Metallica´s lineup troubles were not over though as James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich had to fire Dave Mustaine. Partially due to his drug and alcohol abuse, but also because of his abuse behaviour. The last drop was alledgedly when he kicked James Hetfield´s dog. Dave Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammett who had been a member of Exodus which was another legendary Bay Area thrash metal band. The new lineup recorded "Kill ´em All" in two weeks on a very small budget with producers Paul Curcio and Johny Zazula at Music America Studios, Rochester, New York. Johny Zazula was actually a very influential figure in the early eighties American metal scene also holding producer credits with bands such as Testament and Overkill as well as being the owner of Megaforce Records. The record label was founded after he heard Metallica´s "No Life 'Til Leather (1982)" demo tape. A true visionary who was willing and able to take a chance.

The music on the album is a mix of NWoBHM influenced heavy metal and punk but played with a lot more aggression (well... some punk are pretty aggressive. But still) and speed than usual for those genres and "Kill ´em All" is rightly so called one of the first thrash metal albums in history. The influence from bands like Diamond Head, Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Venom is very obvious in the music. The production is very unpolished and raw which helps give the music and even meaner sound than it already has. it´s definitely one of the most raw, fast and aggressive albums released in those days. Songs like "Hit the Lights", "Moterbreath" and "Whiplash" are absolutely crushing with their "pedal down" simple and powerful delivery. But there are more to the album than songs like that and I count "The Four Horsemen", "Phantom Lord" and "Seek & Destroy" as more sophisticated songs even though they are still pretty direct. "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" has to be mentioned too. It´s a distorted bass solo by Cliff Burton which he often played live in the early years. Most songs are credited to James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich but it´s noteworthy that Dave Mustaine is also credited on "Jump in the Fire", "Phantom Lord", "Metal Militia" and "The Four Horsemen". The latter is a song which in it´s original and shorter form was named "The Mechanix". Dave Mustaine would take this version of the song with him to his new band Megadeth and it is featured on the "Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good! (1985)" debut album by that band.

The musicianship is solid (but not outstanding). Raw and unpolished. You can feel the hunger in the way these guys play their music. It´s like nothing else matters (pun intended).

"Kill ´em All" is a seminal thrash metal album and in retrospect it´s almost hilarious that the original vinyl pressing was limited to 1500 copies (which of course sold out in no time). Today the album has sold around 3 million copies in the US alone. For all it´s groundbreaking qualities it´s not an album I put on very often anymore and when I do it almost always comes off before it´s finished and therefore my personal rating will be 3.5 stars. If I rated albums from the perspective of historical importance "Kill ´em All" would probably receive a 4 rating. So add that half stars to my rating if you think that´s more fair.

Stephen If Mustaine didn't fight his way with Hetfield, there's a big chance that "Kill Em All" will featured him and Megadeth won't even exist, but fate has sealed that both needs to be rival for the next twenty years until they share the stage together again as The Big Four. Metallica's debut is an important piece of Bay Area thrash movement where musically, this is the typical American early speed metal which was formed under the influence of NWoBHM and punk.

"Hit The Lights", "Motorbreath", and "Metal Militia" are similar tracks in terms of furious speed and lightning-paced solos, you have to check your pulse to make sure you're alive if these tracks can't move you at all. "The Four Horsemen", the longest track of the album, blasted with a stampeding rhythm, like riding on the devil's beast, and top off with slaughtering solos at the end, Hammett really shines here.

"Jump In The Fire" and "Seek And Destroy" slow down the tempo and started focusing on the riffs play, those memorable licks will make you hum for days. The charming commanding voice of Hetfield led the songs as they march forward with the sweeping rhythm from Burton's bass and Ulrich's drums. "Phantom Lord" is clearly inspired by Saxon and Motorhead while "No Remorse" is like a prototype to Metallica's complex arrangement approach that's later found in "And Justice For All".

This album is mostly overlooked by their other releases especially "Puppets" or "Justice" but honestly, this album contained many high quality tracks, though judging from the maturity and complexity level, "Kill Em All" is slightly below standard, but tracks like "The Four Horsemen", "Seek And Destroy", and "Metal Militia" alone are worth the whole bucks. A brilliant start to Metallica's world conquest !

bonnek If the 70's were the golden era for prog, then the 80's were the dark battleground for post-punk and metal. It makes both decades equally interesting to me. If I remember well, you had the choice to be totally un-cool or you could join either the Goth or the Metalhead legions in the 80's. A dissection that seems awkwardly irrelevant these days.

Things evolved rapidly in the 80's. Iron Maiden, leading force of British new wave of heavy metal, had started their career by injecting 70's hard-rock with a shot of punk-adrenaline. Three years later in their career, that punk spirit had faded and they had already started to embrace anthemic pop metal idioms by then. But already a new generation was eager to take over and prove that not only Motörhead had the right to stay true to the rebellious spirit of metal. In the California Bay area a new scene evolved, thrash metal: louder, more aggressive, faster, more vicious, darker and more uncompromising then music ever was before.

Iron Maiden remained an icon for Metallica but on this debut, it’s mainly Motörhead's speed and roughness, Black Sabbath's evil tritone and Judas Priest's twin guitar attack that are stretched to their ultimate possibilities. The great improvement that the thrashers did on the NWOBHM was to make the punk aggression more prominent and to eschew entirely from commercialism and metal sing-alongs. At least, in the beginning they did.

Metallica's debut is a rollercoaster of raw and unpolished energy, it's an album that I love a lot but within Metallica's entire discography, 3.5 stars is a fitting rating. I rarely play this album in its entity but it’s the kind of album I put on if I need a 10 minute shot of energy.

poslednijat_colobar Passable teenage debut album

At last it's time for me to review Metallica. In front of me is their debut album - Kill 'Em All. This album is legendary for the fans of Metallica, but for me it's not! I think that the band shows some potential with Kill 'Em All, but this album doesn't contains nothing significant, except Seek & Destroy , which is one of their all time best songs. Everything else doesn't contain enough ideas or the ideas are developed too amateurish. The songwriting is poor. The musicianship is good and reveals the big potential of the band. The vocals by James Hetfield are ridiculous - like a screaming little boy. His voice is still not broken. Production is mediocre and unpolished. Not more than 2,25 stars rounded down to 2 stars!

Metalbaswee Kill 'Em All is the legendary first album by thrash metal giant Metallica. Production of this record is not al that good, but the songwriting makes up for that. This album has a lot of the metallica classics on it, with the whole album only having a few weak moments, for example Jump In The Fire and Pulling Theeth, are some of the weaker songs. On the other side we have great song like Hit the Lights and Metal Militia which are true classics, with some speedy riffing, incredible solos, and some great lyrics.

1. Hit the Lights (5) 2. The Four Horsemen (4.5) 3. Motorbreath (4) 4. Jump in the Fire (3.5) 5. (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth (3.5) 6. Whiplash (4.5) 7. Phantom Lord (4.5) 8. No Remorse (5) 9. Seek & Destroy (5) 10. Metal Militia (5)

4.5 Stars overall, a must have for every thrash fan.

kluseba Many people say that thrash metal was born with this album. Many people claim that this album has an important role for the history of metal music. Many people argue that this album was the first step of a famous legend. All of those things are true but when it comes to review Metallica's debut album, I would like to leave the nostalgic feelings away and concentrate on the music. That's where I must admit that this album is rather one dimensional and has a few fillers in here. Don't get me wrong, I like this record that is full of energy and emotions and I don't question its status at all. Many people may now contradict me by saying that thrash metal must sound exactly like this. But the debut albums of "Overkill" or "Voivod" prove that bands can already innovate within their first albums and sound rather diversified. The only time Metallica try out something else is during the memorable bass solo "(Anasthesia) Pulling Teeth" which may be one of the greatest bass guitar solos ever recorded in the metal genre. It's simply experimental, diversified and technically of a pretty high standard and one of my favourite tracks in here. This courage, this open minded creativity, this last little kick of genius is what is a little bit missing in here.

The other nine songs are mostly straight forward thrash metal tracks with sharp riffs, aggressive but melodic vocal lines, fast guitar solos, a pumping bass guitar and a tight drumming. The sound is raw and aggressive and fits perfectly to the songs and the album title itself. The band employs the technical qualities of the heavy metal genre and mixes them with the fast paced energy of the punk wave and unites two genres that were very distinguished at the time and didn't seem to match together. The birth of thrash metal was a first step of the approach of the two genres and their fans. The great opener "Hit The Lights" hits right my nerve and is a perfect definition of the Bay Area thrash metal genre. A little bit more elaborated tracks like the great grower "No remorse" or the catchy band hymn "Seek And Destroy" work even better and are still a great definition of its genre almost thirty years after the initial release. The killer track "Whiplash" is also one of my favourite tracks on the record and varies a little bit more than some too generic songs its riffs, drum loops and melody lines. The song gives you no time to breathe and delivers everything the band stood for back in time. The guitar solo is simply outstanding and proves us that Kirk Hammett was the ideal choice for Metallica and delivers already here a better job than the overrated and arrogant egoist and former guitar player of Metallica Dave Mustaine would ever do. Sorry for the attitude and I apologize to all the "Megadeth" maniacs, but that's something where I just felt the need to write it down. Anyway, all those songs can without a doubt be called some classics.

But next to many catchy and great songs, there are also a few fillers on here that can't hold the high level. "Motorbreath" is a short and sweet track but has nothing outstanding to survive. The single "Jump Into The Fire" was not the best choice to spread the name about this young band and the new genre and is a rather overrated track. It's difficult to criticize this bunch of motivated and energized teenagers for some repetition but that might be the only weak point of this album and where there is a thin line between a very good album and an outstanding or even perfect record. That's in the end why my rating is really just slightly below the highest degrees of amazing and absolutely outstanding metal music.

Nevertheless, any metal fan should have this great thrash metal record in its collection even if Metallica created even better albums in the next few years in my opinion. This album is a raw definition of the birth of thrash metal with some great and unforgettable classics. But only a few years after, the concurrency and Metallica itself showed us that the summit of thrash metal has not yet been reached yet. They showed us that there was far more to discover than just this respectable beginning of an era. By the way, this album is a grower and gets really addicting and catchy with its simplistic but effective attitude. Anyway, anybody that would like to metal up its ass in an old school way has the perfect record for this right here. Any progressive fan has the occasion here to metal up his ass but it's surely not a complex and thought out masterpiece.

criticdrummer94 The debut of probably the most famous Metal band ever. They really invented Thrash Metal with this one and blew me away when I first heard the opening of Hit the Lights. This album is like a ghetto roller coaster that not only goes very fast but kicks your ass at the same time so you never forget it. The almost progish track The Four Horsemen is a highlight as well as the amazing bass solo of Cliff Burton(best metal bassist ever). Overall, this is one of the best debuts by anyone and is a great way to start the Metallica but the best was obviously to come. 4 and a half stars. Highlights: Hit the Lights, The Four Horsemen, Motorbreath, (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, Whiplash, Phantom Lord, Seek and Destroy and Metal Militia

friso Metallica - Kill 'Em All (1983)

The new wave of British Heavy Metal had almost reached it's highlight in '83, whilst America's heavy metal was about to get a great boost. Metallica became known as the band that introduced the thrash metal genre to public. When I was sixteen I used to like their up-tempo relentless metal very much and I still think it is quality music within it's genre.

The sound of metal changed. First the heaviness of the guitars was used to make the melodic/chord structures more bombastic, but within the borders of thrash the often non- melodic heavy riffs became the main ingredient of the music. The vocals on this record are very tough!

Metallica proved to be the king of these very heavy riffs with extreme guitar amplification. The songwriting was strong with still some punk and rock'n roll influences from bands like Moterhead and Diamond Head. Metallica developed the genre by changing the rules of songwriting from time to time. The Four Horseman had an extended form with song-within-a- song structures, Jump into the Fire has a Deep Purple influenced sound, Pulling Teeth is the best metal-bass solo ever recorded with it's melodic but distorted bass and great drums in the ending section. Opening and ending tracks Hit the Lights and Metal Militia are both up-tempo trash songs with an catchy sound (who would have though such a thing?).

Conclusion. A nice debut of Metallica and still one of their better albums. A very influential and good metal record with little progressive moments. Only the sound of the album can be put forward as a very innovative development. Three and a halve stars. Must-have for metal-fans.