With 1983 came Metallica, and with them came their full
length debut album entitled
Kill 'Em All. Fueled by steady
amounts of alcohol and large doses of partying,
Kill 'Em All
is filled with brutal riffs and speedy solos aplenty. If you enjoy
that sort of thing, then look no further than right here.
Kill 'Em All begins with
Hit the Lights. This
brings about a nice crescendo at the front, then a nice riff and the opening lyrics of "No life 'til leather/Gonna kick some ass
tonight." What follows is some good riffage and a slower break,
where James squeels out the chorus. After some quick solo action, you're greeted with some more verse. Then it's pretty much rinse and repeat 'til the nice solo at the end, followed by a nice chaotic
finish. Next is
The Four Horsemen, which is the longest track
on the album. This is a lengthy affair, but well worth it for the
killer solos, which are some of my favorites that Metallica has
done. There's a nice melody change in the middle which adds some
variety to the 7 minutes.
Motorbreath is next in line, which also happens to be
the shortest track here. Begins with a nice little drum intro from
Mr. Ulrich. It reminds me of... horses. Anyway, there's two good
solos here for your attention, but there's better elsewhere. James'
voice (trys to) get rather high during the chorus, which is sort of
annoying at times as he says "Motorbreath, is how I live my life."
After a slightly sped up ending from the previous track comes
Jump in the Fire. It starts with some nice guitar work and
gradually builds to a nice rock beat from Lars. Then it shifts into
another good riff, and a slight solo. Then comes the vocals, the
album's main downfall, as it's sort of high-pitched just like
everywhere else here. Around the mid-point, there's a patented riff
change followed by some soloing. Next is another verse followed by a
solo, which turns higher-pitched accompanied by some quarter note
snare.
"Bass solo, take one" says the late Cliff, as he then wails
away on his poor strings. This signifies the start of
Anethesia
(Pulling Teeth). The instrumental of the album, it's much more
raw that later 'Tallica instrumentals. As a result, it's not as well
done, but still rather enjoyable. After about two minutes of a lone
soloing, the bass gets a little higher and more frantic. Then our
good buddy Lars joins in with some skin-bashing. I'd say the second
half of Anesthesia is more enjoyable than the first, with some great
bass riffing and a driving drum beat. Some squeeling bass notes end
the track.
Whiplash begins with a little guitar/snare work,
then goes to some tom action. This builds up with more guitar and
some crashes, until it goes to that great metal riff. One of the
faster riffs on the album, this track is good to headbang to.
"You're acting like a maniac. Whiplash!," sings James as it goes to
more speed filled riffing. About halfway through, there's a nice
change of pace into a more melodic riff, followed by a blazing solo.
Phantom Lord starts with a nice intro, then goes into
some team riffage. Rather than the speed demon riffage like the
previous track, this one goes for the "not so much guitar raping"
approach. The solo here leads into a very melodic interlude, which
Metallica would later use well on Master of Puppets (the song). The
one here outstages the MoP one, though, as it's one of my favourite
Kill 'Em All moments. This leads into some chunky riffs, and
back into the main riff with some broken up solos scattered about.
Then it's another verse and that's it.
No Remorse goes right
into some guitar work with Mr. Ulrich pounding out his rock beat.
This leads into a wonderful intro-solo. Then it slows down for a few
measures, then goes back into metal mode. James attempts to sing
some more and then it's slower riff time, followed by an interesting
chorus. "No remorse, no regret/We don't care what it meant/Another
day, another death/Another sorrow, another breath." A riff change in
the middle is mandatory by now with some solo action. Then it's main
riff time, followed by "Attack!!" This signifies that it's time to
speed everything the hell up with those string-raping riffs. The end
is marked by a nice big tom roll and some crashes.
Seek and Destroy is after No Remorse, which marks my
favorite track and riff from
Kill 'Em All. If you were to
hear one track off of this record, hear this one. It's wonderful.
From the riffs to the solos and just guitar work in general, it's
the finest song here. Near the half minute mark is the now token
change in pace. It's a good one, though, so don't fear. Follow that
with some short and sweet solos and then a longer solo. Back to the
main riff, it's time to headbang some more. Another verse and
another riff change mark nearing the end. Lars' drums speed up after
a few measures then slow back down with the riff. After that beast
of some metal is
Metal Militia, which returns to the "rape
the hell out of your guitar strings" plan. I must say, it's not such
a bad plan here. If you want another speedy headbang track, then
here you go. James' voice seems higher here than on the rest of the
album, and sort of brings the track down. After some verses, it's on
the "blistering solo" part Metallica loves so much. Then a slow bass
part, which is then accompanied by guitar and drums. A return to the
main riff is imminent here, and then it's time for another verse.
After that, the song and album ends with the sounds of soldiers
marching and explosions going off.
All in all,
Kill 'Em All is a good metal album. Sure,
there's better out there, but if you just want some good thrash,
this will suffice. Or if you just want to check out Metallica's
roots, it will work well enough.
[+] Pros
(+)Some good thrash metal here.
(+)An opportune time to break out the ol' air guitar.
(+)Contains plenty of speedy riffs.
[-] Cons
(-)May be too heavy for some listeners.
(-)Fans of the Slayer-type thrash metal will find it not heavy enough.
(-)James' voice is rather high-pitched and will probably irk most people
(-)All songs follow the same formula, although it works fairly well.
[?] Perplexing
(?)Why would you want to kill 'em all? Then who would buy your albums?
Tracklist:
1. Hit the Lights -4:19 (Hetfield; McGovney; Mustaine; Ulrich)
2. The Four Horsemen -7:15 (Hetfield; Mustaine; Ulrich)
3. Motorbreath -3:10 (Hetfield)
4. Jump in the Fire -4:43 (Hetfield; Mustaine; Ulrich)
5. Anethesia (Pulling Teeth) -4:16 (Burton)
6. Whiplash -4:12 (Hetfield; Ulrich)
7. Phantom Lord -5:03 (Hetfield; Mustaine; Ulrich)
8. No Remorse -6:28 (Hetfield; Ulrich)
9. Seek & Destroy -6:57 (Hetfield; Ulrich)
10. Metal Militia -5:09 (Hetfield; Ulrich)
SCRUPLES
This Message Edited On 06.25.05
