Nearly every facet of Metallica’s nearly 43-year career has been explored in zines, magazines, message boards, websites, blogs, vlogs, social media, and AOL (and other) messenger chats but first in drunken huddled conversations with friends in bars, parking lots, and hang spaces. From humble beginnings came the now fully not humble biggest band in the world in 2023.
In many ways, there will be no next Metallica. None. Zip. Not a chance. Today they have transcended Heavy Metal to Hard Rock on a scale few have ever climbed, and maybe no one will ever touch. Remove the 18-wheelers, in-the-round stages, speakers heard for over 20 miles away, the lights, the sound, “the fi-yahh,” the merch, the roar of the fans, the pomp and circumstance, Napster, the Rock Hall, Antarctica, Lulu, the “DO YOU FEEL ALIVE METALLICA FAMILY?” – four decades plus of shows, the personal highs and lows, and just strip it all away. Metallica was first and foremost, all about music and kicking ass on stage more than anyone had ever done. Revolutionary, neck-breaking, heart-pounding music. Massive riffs, shouting words in key (sort of), double-time snare hits, double bass drums, insane levels of bass guitar mastery, shredding solos, and lyrics about the Devil and being a metal fan. And the occasional case of beer.
Chances are you know the story so well, you can write it yourself, but here are the Keef’s Notes. Danish ex-pat and Heavy Metal obsessive Lars Ulrich puts an ad in the Recycler newspaper and meets James Hetfield soon after formally founding on October 28th 1981. Hetfield brought along his guitar-playing mate Hugh Tanner from their band Leather Charm. With a slot on the upcoming Metal Massacre compilation from new-ish Metal Blade Records but no songs, Ulrich conceived of the sound of the band before he even had one, in typical Lars fashion. After adding Panic guitar player Dave Mustaine for as much of his reputation, attitude, and a massive pile of guitar gear as his playing, the band recorded their first single “Hit The Lights” in early 1982. They quickly added bassist Ron McGovney while Lars wrote press releases in the third person like a pro. You can make a case that Metallica was one of the best DIY bands of all time, and surely Punk Rock’s less snotty, better musician cousins and guerilla marketers, before they were signed. Before Thrash Metal got its name from an Anthrax song in 1984, Hetfield had called their music “Power Metal” which was also the name of another early demo. Eventually replacing McGovney with dynamic Trauma bassist Cliff Burton, all the chess pieces were in place. Oh, Burton made them move to the Bay Area where Thrash Metal was also forming already in bands like Exodus.
After Metallica’s early gigs consisted of playing a handful of originals left over from Hetfield’s and Mustaine’s prior bands, as well as a few new collaborations, and the bass solo from Burton he played live in every band he ever had, they started to create the music that would become Kill ‘Em All, or as it was originally called, Metal Up Your Ass.
Metallica would have and should have been on Metal Blade in another universe, but the label could not cover the cost of recording the full album. In came Johnny and Marsha Zazula from Megaforce Records to save the day and sign the band. Although Dave was kicked out when the band stopped off in New York City on their way to record the debut album, his imprint was heavily felt by the music the band continued to play for multiple albums to come.
Quickly bringing in Exodus co-founder Kirk Hammet, anybody who has ever seen a pre-debut album live concert bootleg of Metallica’s gigs knows that Kirk was mostly just playing Dave’s parts with just a little variation to each solo. Give Dave his writing and riffing flowers after all this time. With just weeks to learn the set and play some gigs, Kirk was assimilated in the Metali-ranks quickly, and the debut album was recorded in just over two and a half weeks in May.
Kill `Em All was a revolution and a revelation, all at once. I’m sure when they were recording it, they knew it was gonna change the world. The confidence these guys had must have been massive because Kill `Em All sounded like nothing else at the time. Meaner and faster than Motorhead, heavier and wilder than Maiden. They were American metal’s true answer!
The opening rave-up that kicks off the lead track “Hit The Lights” is fun, but also the last vestige of real classic rock sound of the 1980s. Not the most brilliant track the band has ever written, it’s definitely an anthem for heavy metallers that set the table for the party that was to come. Maybe you are in the Megadeth fan camp that says “Mechanix” is better than “The Four Horsemen” but it’s ok to be wrong. But all of Dave’s compositions on the Kill `Em All are absolutely essential – from the “Jump In The Fire” main riff and verse licks, the brutality for 1983 of “Phantom Lord,” to the marching boots of the album-closing second anthem “Metal Militia.” It’s no wonder “Jump In The Fire” was one of the singles.
In addition, tracks like “Whiplash,” Burton’s classic bass solo (“take one”) “Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) instrumental, and of course “Seek and Destroy” – their longtime show closer are tracks burned into the brains of metal fans everywhere. As with Metallica’s rise to fame, these songs have become etched into thrash metal history, much more for what they represent than the actual songs themselves, or thousands of performances we have heard and seen over the years.
So what is this album’s legacy, if we already know this music so well? In addition to Mustaine forming Megadeth after being kicked out of Metallica, the early underground success of Metallica was definitely a boon to Dave in kicking off his new band. Both Slayer and Anthrax cite it as the impetus for them to become better bands. Countless other bands around the world still copy the style of this album. Their debut, as much as any Metallica release, with the exception of Master of Puppets, arguably the pinnacle release in the genre most copied work of the band, has more impact than any other record.
So today let’s “bang the head that doesn’t bang” – turn this bad boy up to 11, and praise and worship this keystone release in the thrash genre.
“Fall to your knees and bow to the Phantom Lord!”
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WORDS BY KEEFY