MetallicA - Kill 'Em All [Sunday Funday]

I was in the 5th grade and had recently discovered the smooth vocal stylings of Boys II Men. Boys II Men 2 was on constant repeat on my parents stereo system until one night I'll never forget. "What the hell is this wussy music you're listening to?" my older cousin said[more like an older brother. more on that later]. He walked out of the room, went home[he lived around the block] and came back with 4 strange CDs that would forever change my life. He ejected Boys II Men 2 and put in Kill 'Em All. As he did this he instructed, "Listen to these albums in this order: Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lighting, Master of Puppets, and then ...And Justice For All." With those instructions lay the road of discovering MetallicA.

The open guitar chords and cymbal crashes began to fill the room as screeching noise[later I learned that this was called a pick scrape] moved from the right to the left speakers. "Hit The Lights" was the first song that played and instantly got me hooked. It was summer vacation and I had just started learning how to play the guitar. My mother taught me open chords and I took some classes at some parks & rec course but I wanted to know more. With this new music discovery I was set on learning every rhythm guitar part of this album. So every other day or so my cousins would come over and teach me a new guitar lick[on my classical guitar]. My favorite at that time[still is] would be the opening guitar phrase of "Seek and Destroy".


The year was 1983 and I haven't even been born or conceived. But an album that was created would forever change the lives of countless Metal/Trash/Punk/Guitarists lives. Originally titled Metal Up Your Ass, later changed to Kill 'Em All became the re-energizing force that brought back the fierceness into Heavy Metal. MetallicA would often play their songs faster and their amps louder if audience members weren't paying attention. Always with a "F(*)ck you" attitude for those who didn't pay attention they earned the respect through countless shows and a ruthless touring schedule. This was before the days of Social Media|Internet and the only way to get your music out there was to perform live.

Returning back to that summer where I discovered MetallicA, there was another additional force that fueled this interest in the band. Every night on a local radio station called KNAC there was a program called Mandatory MetallicA where they would play various MetallicA songs for an hour. This was before iPods and such so I had my free pocket sized radio from Montgomery Ward keeping me company every night so I could get my nightly dose of Metal. After many complaints from my younger brother and my mother trying to get some sleep for work they bought me a Sony Walkman[R.I.P.] w/ headphones. The summer was ending and my older cousins wanted their albums back. So I made myself some cassette copies and began to study/listen to the albums on repeat every night[the best way to memorize music hands down].


I could go on and on about the ferocity of "Whiplash" or "Metal Militia". Or the time when my older cousins told me that "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" wasn't a guitar solo but a bass solo by Cliff Burton[R.I.P.]. There was also the moment I realized the genius in song structure of "The Four Horsemen" and how this was one of the first instances of song structure dynamics I had heard in my life. The dual guitar solo from 4:10 to 4:34 in "The Four Horsemen" just screams out like cherubim and seraphim. As you can tell I can keep talking about this album until the end of the days but this would do it no justice. So I advice you to pick it up for yourself and find out why this was the album that served as a catalyst for my whole musical journey.


James Hetfield | Cliff Burton (RIP) | Kirk Hammett | Lars Ulrich

Purchase MetallicA - Kill 'Em All @ Amazon | Official Web Store

Tracklist for 1988 Elektra reissue
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" (Instrumental) - 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 - 5:10
11. "Am I Evil?" (Diamond Head cover) - Sean Harris, Brian Tatler - 7:50
12. "Blitzkrieg" (Blitzkrieg cover) - Ian Jones, Jim Sirotto, Brian Ross - 3:35

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