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Jul 25, 202317 min read

Metallica — Kill ’Em All

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

July 25, 1983 — Metallica released their debut full-length studio album, Kill 'Em All via Megaforce Records. (Listen)

Intro:

Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton.

The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording.

The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York.

It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. The band was asked to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.

Metallica promoted the album on the two-month co-headlining Kill 'Em All for One tour with English Heavy Metal band Raven in the US.

The album also generated two singles: Whiplash and Jump in the Fire.

Although the initial shipment was 15,000 copies in the US, the album sold 60,000 copies worldwide by the end of Metallica's Seven Dates of Hell European tour with NWoBHM band Venom in 1984.

The album did not enter the Billboard 200 until 1986, when it peaked at number 155, following Metallica's commercial success with its third studio album, Master of Puppets; the 1988 Elektra reissue peaked at No. 120.

Kill 'Em All was critically praised at the time of its release and has since been regarded as a groundbreaking album for Thrash Metal, because of its "𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝚆𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚢 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙿𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚜". It was also retrospectively placed on a few publications' best album lists. The album's musical approach and lyrics were markedly different from Rock's mainstream of the early 1980s and inspired a number of bands who followed in similar manner. It was certified 3× Platinum by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999 for shipping three million copies in the United States.

But, that's not the whole story. Let's take a closer look at Metallica, "now the biggest Metal band in the world", the band's beginnings and their debut release, Kill 'Em All!

The Early Days:

As probably the biggest Metal band in the world, Metallica is almost a household name in North America and around the western world. But, there was a time when they were just a bunch of young, hard working upstarts just trying to make a name for themselves on the Hollywood scene.

The story of Metallica is probably one of the most famous tales in the world of Metal, The story goes that the band began with a young Lars Ulrich, who had just returned from London, where he attended a Diamond Head concert, placing an ad on a local LA newspaper, The Recycler: “𝙳𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚊𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑’” it read, he also gave away some early influences: “Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden.”

A friend of James Hetfield called the number on the ad and brought him along to jam with Lars, and the rest is history. Lars was from day one the most active member of the band, it all starts with gathering up some guys to jam in a garage and Lars was the one who did exactly that.

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by drummer Lars Ulrich and by vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. Before settling on a definitive lineup, Metal Blade Records owner Brian Slagel asked Metallica to record a song for the first edition of his Metal Massacre compilation.

Hetfield and Ulrich chose Hit the Lights from Hetfield's and his childhood friend Ron McGovney's previous band Leather Charm, and recorded it with Hetfield on vocals, McGovney on bass, and temporary guitarist Lloyd Grant.

The band's first lineup featured Hetfield, Ulrich, McGovney, and guitarist Dave Mustaine, who was acquired through The Recycler advertisement. The band practiced in McGovney's garage and looked for gigs at local clubs.

Metallica's first show was on March 14, 1982, at the Radio City in Anaheim. The nine-song setlist consisted of two originals (Hit the Lights and an unfinished version of Jump in the Fire from Mustaine's earlier band Panic) and covers of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Diamond Head, Blitzkrieg, Savage, and Sweet Savage. The gig did not go as well as planned, because Mustaine had problems with the guitar distortion pedal, and broke a string during a song.

Metallica's second gig was on March 27, 1982, at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go, opening for Saxon. Although Motley Crue was originally scheduled to open the show, the group canceled because of its growing popularity. Metallica recorded a three-song demo to persuade the venue's management to allow the band to open for Saxon.

Metallica's third concert was in April 1982, at which was premiered The Mechanix, written by Mustaine during his tenure with Panic. Mustaine interacted with the fans at Metallica's earliest shows because Hetfield was shy.

To garner attention from club owners, Metallica recorded the Power Metal demo in April 1982, which featured Motorbreath in addition to the already-performed originals. The logo, displaying the band's name with the first and last letter drawn larger with sharp serifs and italicized, was designed by Hetfield.

The No Life 'til Leather demo was recorded in July 1982, and it created a buzz in the underground tape trading circles. No Life 'til Leather featured a re-recorded version of Hit the Lights, which appeared on the second pressing of Metal Massacre, in addition to new songs such as Phantom Lord, Seek & Destroy, and Metal Militia. The recording and mastering was financed by Kenny Kane, owner of the Punk label High Velocity, and distributed by Ulrich and his friend Pat Scott. Because of tensions with Mustaine, McGovney left the band in December.

As you may recall, Cliff Burton first met James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich when he performed with Trauma at The Troubadour in West Hollywood. He played the bass solo that would later become the instrumental piece Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth). James and Lars were impressed by Cliff's performance, and offered to let him join the band. Cliff joined the band in December 1982 (replacing Ron McGovney) on the condition that Metallica would relocate to the San Francisco area.

Moving to El Cerrito in February 1983, the band stayed and rehearsed at Exodus manager Mark Whitaker's house, which they called the "Metallica Mansion".

Metallica intended to record its debut in Los Angeles on Slagel's independent label on an $8,000 budget.

Slagel could not afford the record, and Ulrich contacted Jon Zazula, a New Jersey record store owner and promoter of Heavy Metal bands on the East Coast who had already heard No Life 'til Leather.

Metallica rented a U-Haul truck and drove to New Jersey in late March, and upon arrival, allowed Zazula to sell copies of No Life 'til Leather to help him found Megaforce Records, because no label wanted to finance the album's recording.

On March 5, 1983, Cliff Burton made his first show with Metallica.

The show was held at a club called Stone in San Francisco Bay Area, which today, in retrospect, is considered as the place where Thrash Metal was born.

This is one of Cliff Burton's only appearances on stage with guitarist Dave Mustaine, who will be fired from the band about a month later.

The show took place shortly after the band moved to San Francisco.

On that historic evening, the band played 12 songs, most of which will eventually be included on the debut album Kill 'Em All, except for Hit the Lights.

The opening song, The Mechanix, was reworked as soon as Kirk Hammett joined the band, and its name was changed to The Four Horsemen (Dave Mustaine will keep the song close to the version played that evening and a few years later it will be included on Megadeth's debut album "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!").

Firing Dave Mustaine & Recording Kill ‘Em All:

Hetfield and Ulrich fired Mustaine on the morning of April 11, 1983 after a gig in New York, allegedly because of his drug and alcohol problems, overly aggressive behavior, and clashes with bandmates.

On Whitaker's recommendation, Metallica recruited Kirk Hammett, who played in Exodus and was a one-time student of Joe Satriani. Hammett learned the songs on his flight to New York, and started recording the album with Metallica barely a month later.

Metallica met producer Paul Curcio at Music America Studios in Rochester, and recorded the album in two weeks. Unable to afford a hotel during the recording sessions, the band members stayed over in people's houses in Rochester and at the Music Factory in Jamaica, Queens, where Anthrax held rehearsals. Curcio had set the studio equipment as if he were recording an ordinary Rock band. He thought the initial tapes sounded very distorted, and tried to compensate by turning down the knobs. Metallica resented Curcio's involvement, because he seemed uninterested, and had little impact on the sound.

Although Zazula wanted Hammett to replicate Mustaine's solos, Hammett's guitar solos on the album were partially based on Mustaine's original solos, with the first four bars of most solos written by Mustaine before his departure. Despite their differences, Mustaine's contributions to the early years of Metallica were still acknowledged, and he received four co-writing credits on Kill 'Em All.

Zazula was not pleased with the initial mix because he thought that the drums were too loud, and the guitars were too low in the mix. The remix was done by sound engineer Chris Bubacz, according to Zazula's instructions.

The final cost for the record rounded to an estimated $15,000, which nearly caused Zazula to go bankrupt. "𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝙸‘𝚖 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝙸‘𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚜𝚝," he said later. Zazula had a hard time finding a distributor for the record, but he eventually convinced Relativity Records to distribute the album in the US and Canada, and Music For Nations in Europe.

The band intended to title the album Metal Up Your Ass with a cover featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. However, Zazula convinced them to change the title, because he thought that distributors would not stock it as it was too explicit to display. The final cover featured the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied hammer. Burton was credited with coming up with the name Kill 'Em All—referring to timid record distributors, saying, "𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚜 ... 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 '𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚕𝚕!"—as a response to the situation. Ulrich thought Kill 'Em All was a good name, and Zazula agreed.

Burton suggested to Gary L. Heard, also responsible for the Metallica photograph on the back cover, to feature a bloodied hammer on the album art.

According to Hammett, "𝙲𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚏 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜." Even though the original title was unused, the band did later release a Metal Up Your Ass T-shirt with the proposed artwork.

A live bootleg recording of a 1982 performance at the Old Waldorf, titled Metal Up Your Ass (Live), featured the original cover artwork.

Original pressings of Kill 'Em All came with an inner sleeve that included pictures and lyrics as well as a silver label on the vinyl.

Subsequent pressings had a blank white sleeve and standard album label.

The 1988 reissue re-introduced the lyrics and photos.

The original release can be distinguished by the words "𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗‘𝚝 𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚐" at the top of the back cover.

This was dropped from the reissue. The phrase "𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗‘𝚝 𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚐" was dedicated to San Francisco fan Ray Burch, known for his headbanging at the band's early shows.

The Music & Lyrics of Kill ‘Em All:

“Kill 'Em All's 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍‘𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌. 𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚋𝚞𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚋𝚞𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕, 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛, Metallica. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚖 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢." — Deena Weinstein, Essays on Debut Albums

Kill 'Em All features intricate riffing reminiscent of the NWOBHM bands played at high velocity. The album is considered crucial in Thrash Metal's genesis because it introduced fast percussion, low-register chords, and shredding leads to the genre. Hammett played some pentatonic patterns in addition to his breakneck solos. Ulrich adopted a double time snare pattern that would become a mainstay on Metallica's subsequent albums. Hetfield's vocals evolved from the melodic wail on No Life 'til Leather to a rough-edged bark, and the entire band played faster and more accurately on Kill 'Em All.

Author Joel McIver described Burton's and Hetfield's performances as nearly virtuosic, highlighting Burton's smooth-sounding bass and Hetfield's precise picking skills. According to journalist Chuck Eddy, the juvenile lyrical approach to topics such as warfare, violence and life on the road gives the album a "𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖". The musical approach on Kill 'Em All was in contrast to the Glam Metal bands who dominated the charts in the early 1980s. Because of its rebellious nature and Metallica's street appearance, it appealed to fans who were not into the mainstream of Hard Rock.

Hit the Lights was based on an unfinished Leather Charm song written by Hetfield and Hugh Tanner. Hetfield had brought the majority of the song to Ulrich, and the two worked out different arrangements. Performed at 160 beats per minute, Hit the Lights opens with fade-in distorted guitars and a short shriek by Hetfield. The song is driven by the 16th note repeated main riff and the continuous eighth note snare drum hits. The lyrics celebrate Heavy Metal itself and are sung with short and high pitched vocals. The song ends with several lengthy guitar solos by Hammett, who some say had performed cleaner and more melodic versions of Mustaine's leads.

As previously noted, The Four Horsemen is a revamp of the Mustaine-penned The Mechanix, which originally had lyrics about having sex at a gas station. As also noted, a modified version of his composition with the original lyrics appeared on Megadeth's debut “Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!” (1985), named "Mechanix".

Although Mustaine told Metallica not to use any of his music, Hetfield wrote lyrics about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and added a bridge and cleanly picked guitar solo in the middle. Mustaine said the bridge was inspired by the main riff in Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama.

Motorbreath was written by Hetfield during his time in Leather Charm and tells about life on the road. The song is based on a four-chord verse and a stop-and-start chorus. The most recognizable parts are Ulrich's drum rolls in each chorus and the riff that accompanies Hammett's solos. Because of its speed, the song requires fast picking by the bassist.

Jump in the Fire was the first song ever written by Mustaine, with lyrics about teenage sexual experience. Hetfield's revised lyrics for the album were written from Satan's point of view, describing how the devil watches people killing each other, and is sure they will go to hell for their actions.

Jump in the Fire was released as a single in the UK in February 1984 to promote a UK tour with Venom. The single featured Phantom Lord and Seek & Destroy as live tracks, although they are actually studio recordings with fake crowd noise dubbed over them. The single's cover art features an oil painting titled The Devils of D-Day, created by artist Les Edwards in 1978.

(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth is of course, the bass solo by Burton, accompanied on drums by Ulrich. A staple of Burton's live performances since his high school days in the band Agents of Misfortune, the instrumental track featured Burton's distinctive "𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍-𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚜" style of playing, incorporating heavy distortion, use of wah-wah pedal and tapping. Bubacz introduces the track as "𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘, 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎", informing listeners that the song was recorded in one take.

As you all know by now, (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth was the bass solo that Burton was playing when Hetfield and Ulrich first saw him at a gig. Hetfield stated:

"𝚆𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝, '𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗‘𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.' 𝚆𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, '𝙳𝚞𝚍𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝‘𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚜!' 𝙲𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚑-𝚠𝚊𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚍𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚞𝚐𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛. 𝙷𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗‘𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐."

Whiplash was the album's first single, issued on August 8, 1983. It features a swift rhythm line of straight 16th notes played at about 200 beats per minute. Hetfield and Burton performed with palm muted technique and precise metronomic control. The lyrics celebrate crowd energy and headbanging. Rock journalist Mick Wall wrote that Whiplash signified the birth of Thrash Metal, stating:

"𝙸𝚏 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚝."

Phantom Lord is a lyrical nod to devilry. The song begins with synthesized bass drone and contains a middle section with clean, arpeggiated guitar chords. Written by Mustaine, its central riff is in NWOBHM fashion.

No Remorse is a mid-tempo song which suddenly accelerates its tempo in the fifth-minute . The song is about not feeling any remorse or sense of repentance during battle.

Seek & Destroy was inspired by Diamond Head's Dead Reckoning and is the first song Metallica recorded during the Kill 'Em All sessions. Hetfield wrote the main riff in his truck outside a Los Angeles sticker factory where he was working. Because of its simple, one-line chorus, the song became a permanent setlist fixture and a crowd singalong.

Metal Militia, one of the fastest songs on the album, is about Heavy Metal's way of life and nonconformity. Mustaine composed the main riff, which emulates a marching army. The song ends with tramping feet and bullet ricochet in a fade-out.

Critical Reception:

Kill 'Em All received critical acclaim. Bernard Doe of Metal Forces described Kill 'Em All” as one of the fastest and heaviest albums ever recorded, and remarked that the album is not for the faint-hearted.

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune acknowledged it as the "𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎", but felt the lyrical replication of Judas Priest and the Misfits kept the album short from becoming a classic.

In a retrospective review, Billboard praised Kill 'Em All for changing the face of popular music with its unique combination of Punk and Metal.

AllMusic's Steve Huey called it "𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑". He praised Hetfield's highly technical rhythm guitar style and said that the band was "𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚢 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚜".

Rob Kemp, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, credited the album for consolidating the Punk Rock and Heavy Metal scenes, but felt that apart from Seek & Destroy and (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth, most of the album had the band "𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑" over-enthusiastic but unfinished riff-based songs.

Journalist Martin Popoff said Kill 'Em All differentiated from the debuts by Metallica's Bay Area contemporaries because the fans could identify with Hetfield's lyrics and the band's appearance.

SPIN's Chuck Eddy considered Kill 'Em All the inception of the "𝙴𝚡𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚊" of the early 1980s. He noted the album did not receive much critical praise at the time of its release but said it aged well and opened the doors for the less commercially successful bands.

Although McIver credits Venom's Welcome to Hell (1981) as the first Thrash Metal album, he acknowledged Kill 'Em All as a major influence on the flourishing American Heavy Metal scene.

Despite its "𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜-𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗-𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝" production, Loudwire's Jon Wiederhorn said that Kill 'Em All sounds like an "𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢" and stands on the same level as classic albums by Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest.

Kill 'Em All was released by Megaforce with an initial pressing of 15,000 copies. Because of the label's financial restrictions, the album was pressed in batches of 500 copies. Kill 'Em All had sold 17,000 copies in the US by the end of the year.

Similarly to Punk Rock acts, Metallica promoted its material through the tape trading network and independent music magazines such as Metal Forces in the UK and Metal Mania in the US. As previously stated, the album did not enter the Billboard 200 chart until 1986, when it peaked at No. 155 following Metallica's commercial success with its third studio album Master of Puppets. The 1988 re-issue on Elektra Records also charted on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 120.

It was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999 for shipping three million copies in the United States. Despite being the lowest selling Metallica studio album, it helped the band establish its image and build a fanbase in its inaugural years.

Kill 'Em All, as the first Thrash Metal album released in the US, had substantial impact on the emerging scene and inspired numerous bands with its aggression and austere seriousness.

Guitarist Kerry King acknowledged Slayer was still finding its sound while Metallica had already determined its image and musical identity.

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian was impressed by the album's heaviness and songwriting, and said it influenced him as much as the albums by Iron Maiden.

Dream Theater's drummer Mike Portnoy observed that Kill 'Em All surpassed the NWOBHM bands in terms of sheer velocity and cited Burton's bass solo as the album's peak.

Guitarist Ulf Cederlund of Swedish bands Morbid and Entombed cited Motorbreath and Metal Militia as songs that influenced him as a young musician.

Kill 'Em All was ranked at No. 35 on Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Albums of the '80s.

Additionally, the album placed at No. 54 on The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time and again at No. 35 on 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, two lists compiled by the same magazine.

Kerrang! listed the album at No. 29 among the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.

In 2010, Consequence of Sound (Consequence.com) ranked it number 94 among its Top 100 Albums Ever.

Touring for Kill ‘Em All:

In late July 1983, Metallica embarked on the two-month Kill 'Em All for One tour with British co-headliners Raven.

The tour name melded the titles of the albums the two bands were promoting: Metallica's Kill 'Em All and Raven's All for One, both released on Megaforce.

The two groups met in Zazula's home two days before the tour began and traveled in the same vehicle throughout the tour with five roadies and sound engineer Whitaker.

The tour was set to conclude with three shows in San Francisco, thus Hetfield painted No Life 'til Frisco on the Winnebago tour bus.

The tour had a few poorly attended gigs, such as a performance at the Cheers club in Babylon, New York, attended by some 50 people.

After the conclusion of Kill 'Em All for One in early September, Metallica returned to El Cerrito to work on new material.

Seven weeks after the tour ended, Metallica booked a number of performances at Bay Area clubs, the first a Halloween gig at the Keystone in Palo Alto.

At the Country Club in Reseda, the group debuted Fight Fire with Fire and Creeping Death, along with an early version of The Call of Ktulu, then titled When Hell Freezes Over.

Three days later, at a gig at The Stone in San Francisco, Metallica premiered Ride the Lightning, the title track from the upcoming album. In December, Metallica went on a short tour in the Midwest and eastern United States with a three-man road crew: Whitaker, guitar technician John Marshall, and drum technician Dave Marrs. The concert of January 14, 1984, in Boston was canceled because the band's equipment was stolen the night before.

In February, Metallica embarked on its first European trek with Twisted Sister, supporting Venom's Seven Dates of Hell tour. The tour was sponsored by Metallica's UK distributor, Music for Nations, who released the Jump in the Fire EP for that occasion.

The first show was at the Volkshaus in Zurich on February 3.

At the Aardschok Festival in Zwolle on February 11, Metallica played in front of 7,000 people, its largest audience at the time.

The tour stretched through countries such as Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium, culminating in two sold-out shows at the Marquee Club in London.

After concluding the Seven Dates Of Hell tour, Metallica headed to Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen to record its sophomore album Ride the Lightning. By the end of the tour, Kill 'Em All had sold 60,000 copies worldwide and Metallica began to gain international recognition.

Noteworthy:

Coming up with a band name is probably one of the most important moments of a band’s life. Especially if your band’s name is one of the greatest of all time in the history of band names. But how did a name like ‘Metallica’ come up in the first place? If you guessed “𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚜”, well, you were right! Lars is often credited with naming the band we all love. The story of the best band name ever goes like this: Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has a friend named Ron Quintana who came up with the name Metallica and Metal Mania for a heavy metal fanzine he was creating at the time, and Lars famously convinced Ron to use Metal Mania, so that he could have Metallica for himself. Years later Ron was asked if he was annoyed that Lars had stolen his name, and his answer was simple :

“𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚊, 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 (𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎) 𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚢𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 Metallica 𝙸 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 (laughs) “.

Moral of the story: Keep your friends close, and your friends who come up with awesome band names closer.

Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells