Metallica’s 1983 groundbreaking debut might be considered the first thrash metal album to many. While I didn’t live those days nor that scene in the flesh, I think thrash metal reached its definitive, purest form in 1984, by Metallica and Slayer’s hands. Of course, there’s no denying Kill ‘Em All was the starting point of thrash metal’s direct evolution. Sure, Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe” or Accept’s “Fast as a Shark” contributed greatly in its formative aesthetics, but they weren’t the finished product. One can certainly argue palm-muted rager “Whiplash” IS the finished product. In fact, the ‘thrashyness’ in this debut LP is dialed up from side A to side B, starting with the aforementioned side A closer. Just like fellow Californian thrash pioneers Slayer, whose own debut was released later in ’83, the flavors of the NWOBHM were still very strong in their formula, but in the case of Kill ‘Em All, one can distinctly realize that the further into the record, the heavier and harsher it becomes. Vertigo EU 89 reissue "DMM": Great version to listen the album. Contains the best mastering of "Bod Ludwing". Kill Em All was a fast album, more aggressive than anything that had been released to date, garnering the band a fair amount of attention in the Bay Area scene, building them a nice following. The album was something entirely fresh for its day, with songs such as Hit The Lights showing exactly how fast and heavy music could be played, without ever sacrificing its musical integrity. Hit The Lights was the original thrash metal song, a blueprint for everything else that was to follow, opening with the sound of the band jamming, before diving headfirst into a fast series of riffs that demolish everything in their path. Whilst not quite as mature musically nor lyrically as the albums that would follow, this was more than an adequate song, standing the test of time as one of the bands best songs, with the immortal sound of James Hetfield's tortured shriek of "hit the lights".

Beyond that, this vinyl is one of the best sounding pressings of the album and probably the 2nd best out there (imo) after the "Columbia House" club edition of 1988 that contains the best mastering of "Bob Ludwig. And, though the rough mixes vary in quality, the more fully-developed songs provide a startling new perspective on the material. Classics like "Motorbreath" and "Hit the Lights" actually sound fuller, meatier, and more vital. In this more organic form, the music breathes more. Apparently, the conventional wisdom of the time dictated that this sound was too crude for public consumption. But today, bands put a lot of effort into getting this kind of loose, raw sound on purpose. Now, we finally get to see that perhaps the final Kill 'Em All mix that the public got was too constricted, which makes sense given this music demanded a new approach to production values that hadn't been invented yet. But the new mastering job doesn't serve the main mix especially well. If anything, it only exposes the clenched and unnatural quality of the reverb that's applied to pretty much every instrument. Any time a vocal or snare hit rings out (like when frontman James Hetfield screams "PESTILENCE" on "The Four Horsemen"), the echo tail abruptly closes shut. If you were used to listening to this album on a shitty cassette or in a car or a noisy work environment, you probably never noticed. Here, the clunky gated reverb becomes the music's most noticeable feature. 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.Hit the Lights” is a great opener, cymbal and guitar nonsense, a really simple but awesome riff, lots of speed and about 15 different solos equals an amazing song. “The Four Horsemen” once again has some pretty simple riffs but wow this song is good. Kind of NWOBHM sounding. This album has the most thrash ever put on a Metallica album. “Hit the Lights”, “Motorbreath”, “Whiplash”, “Phantom Lord”, “Metal Militia”, and “No Remorse” all have some insane speed in them. “No Remorse” probably has my favorite thrash part of all time. You’ll know what I’m talking about. “Jump in the Fire” is another slower song that has some of James’ best vocals. “Motorbreath” has an awesome drum intro and has some very punk influenced riffs and is full speed ahead the whole song. “Anesthesia” Pulling Teeth” is just a bass solo. Don’t get me wrong, Cliff is my idol, but I just don’t see the point. As far as bass solos go, it’s an amazing solo but I don’t really wanna listen to a bass solo. “Metal Militia” is definitely the fastest song on here. This song should be the thrash metal anthem. Highlights of the album include The Four Horsemen for its galloping rhythm and complex song structure. No Remorse was also great because of its crunching heavy beginning and its high speed thrash section near the end, and Metal Milita had some of the best riffs Metallica had written. The rest of this album is very good - ranging from frantic speed/thrash ("Metal Militia") to more controlled bludgeoning power-metal sound ("The Four Horsemen", "Seek and Destroy"). The opener, "Hit the Lights" (a Tanner/Hetfield Leather Charm song, along with Motorbreath) is probably the best song on here, and "Whiplash" the most ironic (see Destruction's treatment of the song for how it should REALLY be interpreted). 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.

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. On lead guitar we have Kirk Hammett, and while Kirk may not be the most well-respected lead guitarist among metalheads, he does quite the sound job on KEA, with my favorite solo of his being on "The Four Horsemen". The tone of his guitar matches the other instruments and he synchronizes quite well with Hetfield's rhythm guitar. The rhythm guitar riff-work provided alot of base for other thrash metal bands (at the time) to follow and improve upon; as I'd say due to Metallica being big into NWOBHM at the time the riffs are closer to British heavy metal rather than what would be seen on later thrash releases. This applies to the solo's as well though there's definitely much more thrash in the solo's then the riffs. I couldn't imagine one of Kirk's solos on this record being in, say, an Iron Maiden album. 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. Rhino 04:Very loud and punchy version. It sound little compressed and noisy to me. Remains fine vinyl Kill Em’ All”, just maybe the most influential thrash metal album of all time? Well some would agree, some would disagree. I think we can all agree that this album is one the most important thrash metal albums of all time. Introducing the masses to this new thing called thrash metal with some help from Overkill and Exodus, but demos aside, Metallica, for me at least, takes the glory when it comes to first full length thrash album ever.

Credits

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. 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!