276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Kill Em

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

What we have here is a collection of great songs that just happened to be faster and more jagged than anything else released in 1983. Yes we could snidely remark about Show No Mercy, but that was still a few months away. Not to mention that it would be dishonest to deny Metallica's (or at the least Dave Mustaine's) influence on the thrash scene. 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).

Metallica is a band I'm sure most who browse the metal archives know. Formed in 1981, they had a somewhat controversial early history, mainly due to lead guitarist Dave Mustaine's drinking problems, but nonetheless just 1 year after their first demo, they put out their first full length, Kill 'Em All. 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.

Companies, etc.

Unlike Metallica's later and current material, there are actually songs on here that don't break the 5 minute mark, which is a definate plus. Too many bands nowadays seem to think that a song isn't good until it's over 12 minutes long, has a thousand changes in it, and consists of guitar solos that regularly break the 2 minute mark. There is such a thing as overdoing it, and thankfully at this time period Metallica understood that. However, there is no doubt the actual music is very solid thrash. Hit the Lights, despite having the dumbest lyrics I have ever heard (I am tempted to do a dramatic reading of it someday), is a really fun song with crazy soloing, and before you know it, you’re headbanging and punching your lamps. A definite highlight. But think about this: you’re fifty years old and you’re still performing a vanity song you wrote when you were a stupid kid. Honestly I kind of feel bad for them. But that’s their punishment for not releasing a song that their fans have deemed worthy of being played at all of their shows in, say, the second half of their discography, more than twenty years. Obviously, the most important thing of this album is the guitar work. The riffs are the meat of Kill'em All, and there's a lot of good ones here. Almost every tune has a memorable main riff or an interesting solo, which is great. Phantom Lord is an authentic thrash monster, with its NWOBHM-influenced main riff; Motorbreath follows the same path and Whiplash also contains some of the most aggressive and inspired riff ever crafted by this american act. Obviously the riff progressions are very primitive and basic, but at this time they were just an amateur band so that's perfectly understadable. Still, some songs here contain some progressive elements, which is rather surprising. Take Four Horsemen, for instance. After the usual fast first section, we reach a tremendous breakdown, with a nice solo and clean guitar lines. This is what makes Metallica different; while the majority of the other acts were just focusing on the aggression and power of their music, Metallica tried something more elaborate and, dare I say?, intelligent with songs as the already mentioned Four Horsemen. But, is it a perfect thrash metal record? Well, obviously not. I won't discuss musicianship, since Kirk and Cliff joined halfway through, and Lars was never a good drummer - but his primitive drumming fits here perfectly, at least. And while James' shrieking noises were annoying at first, they grew on me. I mean, if I can stand Sean Killian or Stace McLaren, then why James Hetfield from 1983 should be any different? No, I'll discuss some other things. was a pretty good year. Maiden’s released the great ”Piece of Mind”, and Metallica released their debut. And Slayer. But that one wasn’t any good, so nevermind. Metallica consisted at the time of the same people as now, except for Cliff Burton, the deceased bassist. “Kill’em All” was a revolution within the metal genre, and helped invent what is now known as thrash metal. It has aged quite well, too.

And because they're the biggest, they're also the most visible and most controversial. Everybody has an opinion on the great dramas of Metallica's career, like how Dave Mustaine is the only good thing that ever happened to them (saying their early era was only good because of his influence is like saying The Courtyard of the Old Residency, Munich is only good because Hitler painted it), or how the commercialization would have never happened if Cliff Burton hadn't tragically died in that bus crash (he was a huge REM fan and wrote many of the melodic parts on Master of Puppets, he would have had no problem with, and in fact probably would have encouraged, a new direction), or how Lars is a wretched fame whore and money snatching gremlin who is a smooth talker but a crappy drummer (well... that one's true). The point is that no metal fan's development went by unblemished by the unmistakable scent of Metallica. They're just ubiquitous and profoundly influential on the development of heavy metal as a whole, and unless you entered the scene via Brenoritvrezorkre and Enbilulugugal, you've heard the first four or five albums at least once. This album has some great lyrics in songs like The Fourhorse Men, Jump in the Fire, Seek & Destroy and Phantom Lord. They all speak of some sort of mayhem or pain and devastation. This sets a frenzied mood in the lyrics for the whole album. 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. To combat the downright energy of that opener, we go right into The Four Horsemen, the most atmospheric song here. Mechanix is far inferior in nearly every aspect. It's faster, but just listen to this! It will ingrain its way into your memory, never to leave again. The lyrics are much better, unless you’re in middle school, and sex puns are fresh and raunchy. Though this version is not perfect either; there's a reason the band doesn't play the Sweet Home Alabama bridge live....Regarding bassist Cliff Burton he does a good job on all the songs, Pulling Teeth of course being his instrumental masterpiece, which accompanied with Lars Ulrich's drums makes a good break from James and Kirk's thrashy madness. I once heard someone say Cliff plays bass as if he's a lead guitarist and I'd say that's true for this and Metallica's follow-up album Ride The Lightning. As always, it's a shame he died so young, but for what we do have on this record, it fulfills.

Well here it is ladies and gentleman, the album that started thrash! Metallica successfully took NWOBHM and fused it with hardcore punk on their 1983 debut. This album is pure speed throughout, it just doesn't let up! Let's take a look at the album... Production on here is awesome. Raw, aggressive, thrash metal sound. Those crunchy guitars made famous from this album sound amazing. The drums sound really good. The bass is audible the whole time and the bass sounds really good. Kirk pulls off some awesome solos, and there are a lot of them on here. Mustaine has been mysteriously credited by a majority for decades, as the sole innovator for this album's concept, although if you listen to the early demos and then compare to the official release, it's no secret that the solos that Kirk fixed were his own, and it times even shared little to no similarities to what Dave was responsible for. 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.Basically everything else on here ranges from either "okay" to "bland". "Whiplash" and "Phantom Lord" would both benefit from Metallica reining themselves in and focusing on their strengths, rather than trying to be metal for metal's sake. There's a lot of action going on, but they don't quite pull the vibe they're going for off. "Jump in the Fire", meanwhile, is a sort of recapturing of "Hit the Lights" but without the charm. You know, for all the shit that Lars gets as a drummer and as a human being, I truly cannot find any fault with his playing on this album (or any Metallica album really). Sure there are some unnecessary fills here and there, but a) what drummer hasn't done that, and b) I can think of at least two more respected by the underground bands who's drummers noticeably fall out of tempo in the middle of the song. This was 1983 on a Megaforce recording budget, I refuse to believe anyone involved in the making of this album had access to anything that could razor edit any instances of Lars loses time. Not all of the album is great though. Hit the Lights is a bit repetitive, even though the great riffs make up for it, and Seek and Destroy can get quite boring, as it hardly goes anywhere other than the faster section in the middle. I dont mean to jump on the "metallica bashing" bandwagon, but I think it was Dave Mustaine who made Kill em All a truly great classic, as he wrote some of the better songs. Now, we've gotten past the album cover and instrumentation, and the songwriting process is where people get divided. Yes, we all know about Dave Mustaine contributing to some of the songs on the album, and "Mechanix" being renamed "The Four Horsemen" after he was fired from the band, but some of the most CLASSIC metal lyrics are found on this album:

In 1983, when this was unleashed upon the world, Metallica had already built up a huge reputation around the bay area. Word of mouth about the band was buzzing around various cities on the west coast as well. From the onset, it was hinted at that this band would become huge eventually. 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. The vocals on this release are completely chaotic, with Hetfield using a rather juvenile screech throughout much of the release, which isn't the best of vocal deliveries, but suits the unrefined nature of this album really well. The best vocal song on this album is found on Seek And Destroy, the most well known song from the album, being one of the only songs in which Hetfield sings in a normal tone for the majority of it, only occasionally letting out the shriek found on the rest of the album. The bass is audible throughout the album, which is rare for a Metallica album, and sounds decent enough. The extended bass solo, Anasthesia Pulling Teeth is a well written piece that showcases Cliff Burton at his finest. Lars Ulrich does a fantastic job on drums, his aggressive drumming melds well with Hetfield's rhythm guitar. I never understood the hate for Lars, I have always enjoyed his drumming, especially in the earlier days. Ulrich's drumming sounds especially powerful on Kill Em All, the cymbals are very loud but not too over the top. Overall he does well.The vocals add to the heaviness with James Hetfield going from whiny vocals reminiscent of the N.W.O.B.H.M. bands they adore and aspired to be like, to gruff and crude barks in the style of Cronos of Venom and Lemmy from Motorhead. Almost every song on this album has the two different styles displayed within the first 2 verses and chorus of each song. The vocals are very well delivered in general. Most phrasing feel comfortable and catchy. To conclude, a classic album that is worth owning for historical influence , listening pleasure, and the simple but rather rad album artwork. It's not perfect but it's quite great. This album is ground-breaking as it has been called the first album of the thrash/speed metal movement. This statement can be debated, but it is a very early thrash/speed metal album indeed. Yes, there had been demos before with this sound, even the band Stress from Brazil claim to have preceded this album with their debut studio album in 1982 titled "Stress". Even if that is true, this album was the match to the fuse for American speed and thrash metal. There is good reason for that statement. Let me go into detail and explain this. 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.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment