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Metallica's original line-up featured James Hetfield (guitar/vocals), Lars Ulrich (drums), Ron McGovney (bass), and Dave Mustaine (lead guitar). Because of tensions with Mustaine, McGovney left the band. Castro Valley-born bassist Cliff Burton was recruited as his replacement. Mustaine was fired in April 1983 for his drug and alcohol problems, overly aggressive behavior and clashes with bandmates.
Despite their differences, Mustaine's contributions to early Metallica were still acknowledged; he received credits on four of the songs on Kill 'Em All. The songs "The Four Horsemen" (originally titled "The Mechanix"), "Jump in the Fire", "Phantom Lord" and "Metal Militia" were written by Mustaine, most of "The Four Horsemen" was written by Dave Mustaine when he was in his band Panic."The Mechanix" was performed at many Metallica shows, but following Mustaine's exit, the band added a mid-paced, melodic middle section. Hetfield also wrote new lyrics for both "The Mechanix" and "Jump in the Fire" , and retitled "The Mechanix" as "The Four Horsemen".
Album title
The band intended to title the album Metal Up Your Ass with the cover featuring a toilet bowl with a hand clutching a dagger emerging from it. However, Megaforce urged them to change this, and they agreed, switching to Kill 'Em All.
This time the cover featured the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied hammer. Burton is credited with coming up with the name Kill 'Em All (referring to lame's, saying "why don't we just kill 'em all?") . Even though the original title was unused, the band did release a "Metal Up Your Ass" T-shirt with the artwork. A live recording of a 1982 performance is in existence, titled Metal Up Your Ass (Live), and includes the originally intended cover artwork.( I used that Cover for the Demo today LOL)
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Original pressings of the album came with a sleeve that included pictures and lyrics as well as a silver label on the vinyl. Subsequent pressings had a blank white sleeve and standard album label. The 1988 re-release re-introduced the lyrics and photos. The original release can be distinguished by the words "Bang That Head That Doesn't Bang" at the top of the back cover.
Songs
"Hit the Lights"
Early versions of the song can be heard on the compilation album Metal Massacre, as well as its subsequent re-issue and the band's first demo, No Life 'Til Leather. The demo's title comes 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. It was one of only a handful of songs that were performed live with Mustaine as the lead guitarist. along with "Whiplash" and "Seek and Destroy".
"The Four Horsemen"
The lyrics, are about the end of the world and the apocalypse, referring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. However, the song is about Metallica themselves as the "horsemen". They refer to the horsemen as Time, Famine, Pestilence and Death. This is an interpretation of the Biblical passages. In the Bible, the four horsemen are actually: Conquest, War, Famine and Death. In pop culture they are known as Pestilence, War, Famine and Death.
Mustaine has claimed that the song's bridge is inspired by the main riff in Lynyrd Skynyrd's song "Sweet Home Alabama".
"Jump in the Fire"
The music and original lyrics of "Jump in the Fire" were written by Mustaine. The lyrics were written from Satan's point of view.It describes how the Devil watches people who are killing each other, sure that they will all go to hell for their actions as they, "jump in the fire". The lyrics, were written by Mustaine. It is known for its guitar outro at 3:46.
The song was released as Metallica's second single, "Phantom Lord" and "Seek & Destroy", "Jump in the Fire" was inspired by the Iron Maiden song "Run to the Hills", as Kill 'Em All was in the process of being written. The cover of the "Jump in the Fire" single features an oil painting entitled The Devils of D-Day that the artist Les Edwards created in 1978.
"(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth"
"(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" is a bass solo by Burton, with some accompaniment on drums by Ulrich. The song features Burton's distinctive "lead-bass" style of playing, incorporating heavy distortion, use of the wah-wah pedal and tapping. Hetfield says, "Bass solo, take one", 'Dude, that's a bass!' Cliff was upwith a wah-wah pedal and his huge mop of red hair. He didn't care whether people were there. He was looking down at his bass, playing."
"Whiplash"
"Whiplash" was the first single released from the album, and is credited to Hetfield and Ulrich. It is mostly about the feeling one gets from headbanging. "Bang your head against the stage like you never did before", "Make it ring, make it bleed, make it really sore" and "You're thrashing all around, acting like a maniac" are examples of this.
Pantera, using the joke name "Panterica", performed the song live with Newsted on bass and members Dimebag Darrell (guitar) and Philip Anselmo (vocals) switching instruments.
"Phantom Lord"
"No Remorse" contains a variety of tempo changes and guitar riffs. It is popular in death metal . Cannibal Corpse on its album Gore Obsessed (2002) and its extended play Worm Infested (2003).
"Seek & Destroy"
"Seek & Destroy" has been frequently played in concerts over the years since its live debut in 1982 and has been Metallica's closing song showing the alteration in the band in each piece of footage.
"Seek & Destroy" was covered by Chuck Billy and Jake E. Lee and 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,
Singles
Kill 'Em All has the band "trying to look tough"
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Track listing
All lyrics written by James Hetfield, except where noted.
No. Title Music Length
1. "Hit the Lights" Hetfield, Lars Ulrich 4:16
2. "The Four Horsemen" Dave Mustaine, Hetfield, Ulrich 7:13
3. "Motorbreath" Hetfield 3:08
4. "Jump in the Fire" (lyrics by Hetfield, Mustaine) Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine 4:41
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 5:09
11. "Am I Evil?" (Originally performed by Diamond Head) Sean Harris, Brian Tatler 7:49
12. "Blitzkrieg" (Originally performed by Blitzkrieg) Ian Jones, Jim Sirotto, Brian Ross 3:35
Total length:
62:39
On July 25, 1983, Metallica released their debut studio album, titled Kill 'Em All through Megaforce Records. Ride The Lightning started being performed at concerts. On February 20, 1984, the band began work on recording them at Sweet Silence Studios,The album was produced by Flemming Rasmussen, who also produced the band's following two albums: Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All. Metallica finished recording Ride the Lightning on March 14, 1984,
Ride the Lightning is the last Metallica album to credit former lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine, with co-writing any songs. He is credited on the title track, "Ride the Lightning", and instrumental track "The Call of Ktulu". In 1984, the French record label Bernett Records misprinted the color of the album cover in green, rather than blue. Four hundred copies with the green cover were pressed. Because of their rarity, this misprint caused these green albums to become a collectors' item.
Critical reception
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars[13]
They broke with the conventions of thrash metal to record the genre's first power ballad in 'Fade to Black'."
"Top 10 Metallica Songs of the '80s".The album was placed at number five by IGN Music on their "Top 25 Metal Albums" list.
Songs
The songs on this album show a musical maturity from Metallica. The songs were better composed than those on their previous album Kill 'Em All, which was noted for its one-dimensional sound. James Hetfield also developed more socially aware lyrics, noted in songs such as "Ride the Lightning" and "Fade to Black".
Fight Fire with Fire
The introduction to "Fight Fire with Fire" displays Metallica's evolving towards a more harmonically complex style of songwriting. The song encourages the eye for an eye approach, and its lyrical themes focus on revenge and Armageddon, resulting in the end of the world. The song was covered by Apocalyptica on their album Cult, Therion on the 'Tribute to The Four Horsemen' album, as well as by death metal band Vader, Black metal band Abigail Williams also covered "Fight Fire with Fire" as a bonus track to their 2010 album In the Absence of Light. Flea cited this as being the first Metallica song he heard.
Ride the Lightning
"Ride the Lightning" is Metallica's first song which directly highlighted the misery of the criminal justice system; the lyrics are written from the perspective of someone who is anticipating death by electrocution. A relatively infrequent part of the band's live setlist, the album title track was first played live in San Francisco in November 1983. Following Cliff Burton's death, it largely vanished from Metallica concerts until the 2000s. "Guilty as charged/But Damn it/It ain't right ".
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The lyrics of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are based on the Ernest Hemingway novel by the same name; said novel is about the horror and dishonor of modern warfare. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" has been covered by several bands; Apocalyptica on the album Inquisition Symphony and by Sunn O))) on its album Flight of the Behemoth.
Fade to Black
"Fade to Black" is a live staple , having been played over 1000 times Many have covered "Fade to Black", including Apocalyptica, Disturbed, Sonata Arctica, Steel Prophet, .
Trapped Under Ice
"Trapped Under Ice" is about a guy who wakes from a "cryonic state". Realising there is nowhere to go, and no one will come, he helplessly awaits doom in terror. It is a demo song from Exodus entitled "Impaler", which was on its album Tempo of the Damned (2004). This song has only been played live 21 times and was completely ignored between 1985 and 1999.
Track listing
All lyrics written by James Hetfield, except "Creeping Death" by Hetfield and Kirk Hammett.
No. Title Music Length
1. "Fight Fire with Fire" Hetfield, Cliff Burton, Lars Ulrich 4:45
2. "Ride the Lightning" Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Burton, Ulrich 6:36
3. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" Hetfield, Burton, Ulrich 5:09
4. "Fade to Black" Hetfield, Burton, Hammett, Ulrich 6:57
5. "Trapped Under Ice" Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich 4:04
6. "Escape" Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich 4:23
7. "Creeping Death" Hetfield, Burton, Hammett, Ulrich 6:36
8. "The Call of Ktulu" (Instrumental) Hetfield, Mustaine, Burton, Ulrich
9. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Live in Seattle, 1989) 5:34
10. "Creeping Death" (Live in Seattle, 1989) 8:12
Total length:
61:09
Personnel
Metallica
James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
Cliff Burton – bass guitar, backing vocals
Lars Ulrich – drums, bell
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