Kill 'Em All

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Untitled

Kill 'Em All is American thrash metal band Metallica's debut album, released on July 25, 1983 on Megaforce Records. It was recorded in only two weeks on a small budget. Only 1500 copies were initially printed.

Impact

Released in 1983, the record's release set the band on the path to "world domination," as drummer Lars Ulrich would put it in the following year. [2]

According to some music critics[citation needed] the album is acclaimed for combining high-tempo (discounting the Cliff Burton bass solo "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth") and a tribute to the band's early influences: Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Venom, all English bands who combined the heaviness and technicality of Black Sabbath with the speed and aggression of Hardcore Punk.

The Mustaine factor

Metallica's original lineup featured James Hetfield (guitar/vocals), Lars Ulrich (drums), Ron McGovney (bass) and Dave Mustaine (lead guitar/vocals). Due to tensions between McGovney and Mustaine, McGovney left the band. Castro Valley-born bassist Cliff Burton was recruited as a replacement.

Mustaine and Hetfield had personality conflicts, with Mustaine later blaming the rivalry on the fact that "there was too much personality" in the band [3]. These tensions led to a fist-fight that broke out between Mustaine and Hetfield[4], after Mustaine accused Hetfield of kicking his dog.[5]

Despite their differences, Mustaine's contribution to the early years of Metallica were not completely neglected; he received co-writing credits on four of the songs in Kill 'Em All. One song, "The Four Horsemen" was originally written by Mustaine and titled "The Mechanix". It was performed at many early Metallica shows. Following Mustaine's exit, Hammett added a mid-paced, melodic middle section. Hetfield also wrote new lyrics and the band renamed it The Four Horsemen. Mustaine kept the faster paced original version of the song, renamed it simply "Mechanix", and included it on the first Megadeth album, Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!. Mustaine's other writing credits on Kill 'Em All are for the songs "Jump in the Fire", "Phantom Lord" and "Metal Militia".

Mustaine was fired in early 1983, just prior to the recording of Kill 'Em All. Hetfield and Ulrich stated that they fired Dave because of his alcohol problem. Mustaine initially denied this, and in Metallica's 2004 movie Some Kind of Monster, Mustaine stated that he wished Metallica had told him to go to AA. After Mustaine's departure, Metallica recruited Kirk Hammett, Exodus guitarist and one-time student of guitar legend Joe Satriani. The band started recording Kill 'Em All with Hammett barely a month after his joining. Mustaine went on to form the band Megadeth, who also achieved multi-million selling success.

Album title

The band initially planned to title the album Metal Up Your Ass, and it would boast a cover featuring a toilet bowl with a hand clutching a dagger emerging from it. However, Megaforce urged them to change this [6], and they agreed, switching to the marginally less-offensive Kill 'Em All. This time the cover featured the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied sledgehammer. Cliff Burton is credited with coming up with the name Kill 'Em All (referring to timid record distributors) as a response to the whole situation. [7]

Awards and recognitions

  • In 1989, the album was ranked #35 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80's.
  • The album would reach #120 on the charts, according to Metallica.com
  • The album was deemed the #1 underground album by Hit Parader

Track listing

  1. "Hit the Lights" (James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich) – 4:17
  2. "The Four Horsemen" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Dave Mustaine) – 7:13
  3. "Motorbreath" (Hetfield) – 3:08
  4. "Jump in the Fire" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 4:42
  5. "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" (Cliff Burton) – 4:15
  6. "Whiplash" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 4:10
  7. "Phantom Lord" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 5:02
  8. "No Remorse" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 6:26
  9. "Seek & Destroy" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 6:55
  10. "Metal Militia" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 5:09
  11. "Am I Evil?" (Sean Harris, Brian Tatler) (originally recorded by Diamond Head, bonus track on 1989 re-release) – 7:50
  12. "Blitzkrieg" (Ian Jones, Jim Sirotto, Smith) (originally recorded by Blitzkrieg, bonus track on 1989 re-release) – 3:36

Songs

Hit the Lights

"Hit the Lights" is the first track on the album. It was the first song that Hetfield and Ulrich worked on when forming Metallica. Early versions of the song can be heard on 1982's Metal Massacre compilation of emerging thrash metal bands, as well as its subsequent re-issue, and the group's first demo, No Life 'Til Leather. The demo's title happens to come from the first line of the song. Hetfield had brought the majority of the song to Ulrich from his old band, Leather Charm, and the two worked out different arrangements. This was one of only a handful of songs that were performed live with Mustaine as the lead guitarist.

The lyrical theme of the song is about performing live, travelling on the road and living the 'heavy metal' lifestyle: it also refers to an appreciation of the band's many loyal fans.

The Four Horsemen

"The Four Horsemen" is the second track on the album. The original song, called "The Mechanix", had different lyrics, and was written during the time when Mustaine was Metallica's guitarist. After Mustaine was ejected from the band, he included it on Megadeth's first album, Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!, with the title slightly shortened to just "Mechanix", with the original lyrics, and a much faster tempo played at double speed. After he left, Hetfield rewrote the lyrics and Hammett added a new, melodic guitar solo in the middle of the song. This section is not played when Metallica performs this song live.

"The Four Horsemen" is a definite fan-favorite song of Metallica, and is commonly played live by the band. The title also served as a source for one of the band's nicknames.

The lyrics, as the title suggests, are about the end of the world and the apocalypse, referring to the biblical text about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, many believe the song is about Metallica themselves as the "horsemen."

The lyrics refer to the horsemen as Time, Famine, Pestilence and Death. However, in the Apocalypse, Time is not represented by a horseman; War is. Metallica replaced War with Time because of their anti-war stance.

Motorbreath

"Motorbreath" is about "living life in the fast lane" and "not ending up like others [the] same song and dance." It means to live life to the fullest and enjoy being alive. During early shows former lead guitarist, Mustaine, said that it was their version of a love song. This is the only song in the history of the band that is credited to Hetfield alone, one of two in which Ulrich doesn't have a credit (the other is "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth"). It is the shortest Metallica song on an original studio album, at 3:03.

"Motorbreath" is featured on the soundtrack to the game MTX: Mototrax. During the film Any Given Sunday the song can be heard playing in the locker room after one of the Miami Sharks' victories.

Jump in the Fire

The lyrics of "Jump in the Fire" are written from Satan's point of view. It describes how the Devil watches the people who are killing each other, and so he is sure that they will all go to hell for their actions. They "jump in the fire". The original lyrics, featured on the No Life 'Til Leather demo, dealt with sexuality, and were written by Mustaine.It is known for it's guitar solo at 3:46.

The song was released as Metallica's second single, accompanied by fake live performances of "Phantom Lord" and "Seek and Destroy", which were alternate studio recordings with sounds of a crowd overdubbed in.

(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth

"(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" is a bass solo by Burton. An instrumental track, with accompaniment on drums by Ulrich, it features Burton's distinctive style of playing, incorporating heavy distortion, use of the wah-wah pedal, and tapping. This is also the bass solo that Burton was playing when Hetfield and Ulrich first saw him at a gig: “We heard this wild solo going on and thought, ‘I don’t see any guitar player up there.’ It turned out it was the bass player, Cliff, with a wah wah pedal and this mop of hair. He didn’t care whether people were there. He was looking down at his bass playing.” -James Hetfield

They immediately wanted Burton in their band.

Whiplash

"Whiplash" is the sixth track and first single from Kill 'Em All. It is credited to Hetfield and Ulrich. "Whiplash" is about the feeling one experiences when headbanging. ("...thrashing all around, acting like a maniac.... whiplash!")

Often in concert, Hetfield changes the original lyric from "But we'll never stop, we'll never quit, 'cause we're Metallica" to "But we'll never stop, we'll never quit, 'cause you're Metallica" emphasizing that it is the fans who've made Metallica what they are. In live performances, Jason Newsted often sang for part or all of the song, notably in recorded footage in San Diego, California. He also sang it without Hetfield on the stage 14 July 2000 in 3Com Park San Francisco. Hetfield was having a beer while Hammett, Newsted and Ulrich performed. [8]

A number of covers of this song have been performed. In 2005, Motörhead won their first Grammy for the cover of this song on a Metallica tribute album. "Whiplash" is also on Tony Hawk's Underground 2. It was also covered by Billy Milano, Scott Ian, Phil Soussan, and Vinny Appice for Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica, while Pantera, using the joke name "Pantallica", performed the song live with Newsted on bass, and members Dimebag Darrell (guitar) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) switching instruments. [9]

Phantom Lord

"Phantom Lord" is the seventh track. It is written about the war cry of a mythical creature. The track was included on the band's first demo, ''No Life 'Til Leather. It is the first Metallica song to include clean melodic guitars into its structure.

The lyrics deal with a mythical battle between heavy metal beasts. The band would often dedicate this song to members of the audience who "were bumping heads and getting their heads bumped too" during their early concerts.

Hetfield's third band before Metallica was called Phantom Lord.

This was used as professional wrestler Mike Awesome's entrance music when he was in Extreme Championship Wrestling.

No Remorse

"No Remorse" is the eighth track on the album. The song contains a variety of tempo changes and guitar riffs. It is popular in gaming circles for being the inspiration behind the first song of the first Doom game. The song is about not feeling any remorse or regret during battle in war. It also explains that not helping those in need is as good as killing them "Like a loaded gun right at your face".

Seek & Destroy

"Seek & Destroy" is the ninth track on the album. It was written by Hetfield and Ulrich. The song has been frequently played in concerts over the years since its live debut in 1982.

The song has become a fan favorite and has been played at virtually every Metallica concert since the band's inception. It is sometimes played as a closing number for their live performances, with Hetfield often asking the audience to sing along with him when he shouts, "Seek and destroy!" The most memorable renditions of the song occurred during the years 1991, 1992 and 1993 for the Wherever We May Roam Tour. Here, "Seek & Destroy" was played with Newsted singing vocals, however at the end of the song the band would commence in a jam for nearly 7 minutes until James took the microphone and continually had the audience sing the lines "Seek and destroy!" Hetfield also went to the edge of the barriers holding off the crowd and got them to sing the lines individually. The song length went from an average of 7 minutes to an average of 16 to 20 minutes for the elongated concert version of the Black Album tour. On the band's 2007 Sick of the Studio '07 tour it became a regular closing song at the end of the band's set. Hovever, instead of it being played in E flat tuning, it is played in D tuning.


When played live, Hetfield often changes the beginning lyrics "in the city tonight" by replacing "the city" with the name of the town in which they are performing.

The song is about feeling the urge to kill. It can be inferred from the lyrics that it's not senseless killing but as revenge to someone that very much deserved it. It is said to be heavily influenced by the Diamond Head song "Dead Reckoning".

A performance of the song with Burton on bass in 1985, is available on the DVD Cliff 'Em All. Newer live versions can also be found in the Live Shit: Binge & Purge box set (with Newsted singing the lead vocals) and the Cunning Stunts DVD.

This was also the theme song of former WCW and current TNA wrestler Sting and AAA wrestler Cibernetico. In Sting's case, the song was a live recording from Woodstock '99.

Since the song's debut on Kill 'Em All, Hammett has apologized for the unusual pitch of the string bend which occurs at 3:46, during the solo, is in fact a mistake or "bum note".

During the documentary film about Metallica, Some Kind of Monster, the song is used when footage of the band down the years is shown highlighting the progression in the band's appearance and sound over time. In the book Metallica: This Monster Lives one of the film's directors said how initially they wanted to alter the footage so it flowed smoothly but soon noticed the value of showing the alteration in the band in each piece of footage.

The song has been covered by Chuck Billy, Jake E. Lee, Jimmy Bain, and Aynsley Dunbar for the album Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica. The song has also been covered by thrash metal band Testament and Acid Drinkers and instrumentally by Freaklabel as part of a tribute medley. Apocalyptica and Pantera cover it Live only.


Steve Huey of All Music Guide selected "Seek and Destroy" as an AMG top track pick for the album.[10]

Metal Militia

"Metal Militia" is the tenth and final track on Kill 'Em All. It is one of their fastest songs and the namesake for the band as well as a series of Metallica tribute albums. The band Evile started out as a Metallica tribute band going by this name.

Am I Evil?

On the 11th track, Metallica covered the song "Am I Evil?" by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. This song first appeared on Diamond Head's Lightning to the Nations album. Metallica has made the song recognizable to metal fans today when playing it live many times. The song was part of Metallica's Creeping Death cassette single and on some pressings of the Kill 'Em All album. The song appeared again in 1998 on Metallica's Garage Inc. anthology of covers, as well as on Disc 3 of the Live Shit: Binge & Purge boxed set.

Blitzkrieg

The 1989 re-issue of the album by Elektra Records added the songs "Blitzkrieg" (a cover of a song by the band of the same name) and "Am I Evil?" (the aforementioned Diamond Head song). Both of these Metallica covers were previously released as Garage Days Revisited on the B-side of the Creeping Death EP from the label Music for Nations in 1984.

Singles

  • "Whiplash" was released as a U.S. 12" EP, featuring the same tracks as the UK "Jump in the Fire" EP but also featuring a special Neckbrace remix of "Whiplash". However, Lars Ulrich stated that there is no difference between the remix of "Whiplash" and the original version[citation needed].

Personnel

Charting positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1986 The Billboard 200 #120

References

  1. ^ Q magazine, issue 253, released in August 2007
  2. ^ As stated in Metallica: In Their Own Words
  3. ^ as stated in Metallica: In Their Own Words
  4. ^ Uhelszki, Jaan (February 2008), "Hammer Time", Guitar World, p. 70 {{citation}}: Missing |author1= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Uhelszki, Jaan (February 2008), "Hammer Time", Guitar World, p. 70 {{citation}}: Missing |author1= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ "Hammer Time", Guitar World, February 2008
  8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cJts1eCviU
  9. ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=_8BDMPnzrxU
  10. ^ http://wm09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9fixqq5ldte

External links

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