Review Summary: Kill' Em All is fast and hard hitting mixture of thrash and classic metal put into a killer debut album.
1 of 3 thought this review was well writtenFew bands have the accomplishments of Metallica. They have millions of fans and millions of albums sold, but that wasn’t always the case. They were basically underground when they released their debut album Kill’Em All. Kill’Em All is a hard edged, brutal riff filled debut. If I had to use one word to describe the album it would be fast. From beginning to end the album is fast, but efficient.
The band lets you know it’s purpose from the opening riff of “Hit the Lights”. The album basically follows the same format, and that is fast and heavy. Metallica does a tremendous job of getting full effect from their guitar sound, and they even manage to have multiple main riffs in each song. James Hetfield’s voice is not quite as defined as on future releases, but he still conveys his rage and purpose. The album has spawned multiple legendary songs in the chunky “Seek and Destroy”, the frenzied “Whiplash” and the hard hitting “Four Horsemen”. One of the hallmarks of the album is the blistering intro solo to “No Remorse” and the following riffs that show that Metallica is on to big things. The riffs and guitar solos will satisfy metal fans and even most hard rock fans. This album exemplifies what Metallica does best, and that is take simple concepts and twist them into fast and heavy masterpieces.
I would caution any new Metallica fan about starting with this album, because it may be hard to see the direction the band takes especially in the 90’s. I would personally recommend working my way backwards from maybe the black album or Load. Figure out what you like about the mainstream stuff, and then dig deeper. Casual Metal fans should be able to jump in and enjoy the madness. Take away a few minor sound quality issues and Kill’Em All is a solid album that sets the foundation of Metallica’s future work.
