Kill 'Em All

Kill 'Em All is the debut on which METALLICA threw together the momentum of speed metal, the urgency of punk and NWOBHM-derived riff sense all at once. The songs are young and raw, but that rawness itself becomes a force to push forward. In place of Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammett joined on lead guitar, and together with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton they built the prototype of thrash metal to come. On “Seek & Destroy,” “Whiplash” and “The Four Horsemen,” the succession of riffs and the acceleration of the rhythm generate overwhelming heat. Songs like “Hit the Lights,” “Motorbreath” and “Metal Militia” carry the ferocity of early impulse too. Cliff Burton’s technical bass solo “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth” shows the band’s high playing too. Carving with live heat the frame of a thrash metal that would later sweep the world, it is a historic record that became the genre’s starting point.