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Favorite Metal Albums – Metallica – Kill Em All

Metallica_-_Kill_'Em_All_coverThis was the first metal album I ever got, back in like 9th grade. Seems pretty fitting, since it’s slightly older than me. I hadn’t listened to a lot of metal by then, mostly the stuff that made it onto like KISW or random industrial songs friends would play. So going from a vision of Metallica that was mostly Sad But True and Enter Sandman to this amazing thrash was a shock to my core.

Hit the Lights starts like a true thrash song, almost like an orchestra tuning up before a performance. Except they were probably drunk and angry. And Kirk Hammet (could’ve been Dave Mustaine I’m not sure) dropping that slide after the initial crescendo just lets you know that you’re in for 52 minutes of great. This song is the prototypical thrash song upon which other bands ape. And that is a great thing. The guitar solos have the same balls-out fury that matches the rest of the song, the noodly progressions that some say are cliche but are very needed.

The Four Horsemen is a great exercise in how dueling guitars can be amazing in stereo (see also: Guns N’ Roses Apetite for Destruction.) You can also hear Cliff Burton’s bass line wander throughout the melody, reinforcing the structure of the song. I have a conspiracy theory that he and Dave Mustaine wrote most of the music. And the Black Album is what happens when they’re not around to help. Back to the track, biblical reference in heavy metal is great, and Metallica does a great job of tying scripture into various songs. I’ve said that Creeping Death is my favorite Passover song, and for good reason.

Kill Em All has a frenetic pace to every song that keeps you wanting more. The transitions between key phrases and verses have a kind of raw feel to them, but these guys were like 17 at the time and trying something that few other bands had at the time. It’s unfortunate how much the band gets shit on with regard to their later albums (Black album and on), especially with how they came out of the gate with such a strong offering in this album.

Hey you know Anesthesia – Pulling Teeth? That’s a bass solo. Because Cliff Burton was a bass phenom. And then it drops into Whiplash, a great song. In all, this album is a fantastic primer for growing an appreciation of thrash metal and the frenetic joy they bring to so many guys with mullets.

Key Tracks: Hit the Lights, Seek & Destroy, Whiplash (protip: don’t watch the current versions of these songs. They are sad)