Following up on yesterday's post about Metallica....I've been listening to nothing but Metallica for about 5 straight days. Each album, mostly in chronological order, in its entirety. I made some general, sweeping, hasty observations yesterday. Now the experiment continues. Last night I listened to Kill Em All closely....and here's what I think about this landmark album 30 years after its release. Yes, that's right. 30 fucking years. I'm old. Metallica is old. Kill Em All is old. And it sounds fucking fresh.
Can't believe this was released in 1983. If the masses had been exposed to this in 1983, the world would've exploded. Fortunately, the world at large wouldn't hear about Metallica until 86 or 87....after they opened up for Ozzy supporting Master of Puppets.
The album opens with Hit the Lights. Right from the start these guys make their mark as being different with the opening of this track. This track fades in with the band playing as if they are ending a song live...just beating their instruments rhythmically and winding down, as if to bring a song to a close. I've never heard a band open in this manner. Metallica announce themselves to the world boldly. The cacophony leads to a great screeching, guttural vocal by Hetfield. If there ever was a definitive sound of metal, the guitar sound on this album is purely that. Hammet lays down some blazing solos: metallic, fast, yet emotive. The riff is urgent and bouncy. Cliff's bass is fat, a sound so drastically absent from later releases (sorry Jason). The mixing on this album is excellent. Every instrument can be heard clearly; nothing is muddled or lost. It's hard to believe this was 1983...this album is light years ahead of the scene.
The Four Horsemen follows and is a definitive Metallica song. Between 6-7 seconds in you can hear some "fingering" on the guitar as Kirk or James readies himself to play. Shit like that gets the pro tools treatment these days. It gives the album some street feel. It's got the human element right there to hear. Great assimilation of all the players playing the same thing on the main riff after the intro: dual rhythm guitar, double bass kicks, and Cliff's bass galloping along in syncopated perfection. Hefield keeps shrieking and cracking like a pubescent schoolboy. Listen closely to Cliff's playing and he's noodling all over this song. There are some shades of Sweet Home Alabama in the bridge. Kirk's soloing sounds like two different solos overdubbed on top of one another. Really gives the track a large sound. This song is a perfect example of metal songwriting. There's not a wasted second, every part leads to the next and lends itself to it. Everything complements everything else unlike Death Magnetic where the "songs" seem to be more of a jumbled collection of riffs. Don't get me wrong, I like Death Magnetic, but the strength lies in the aggression and riffing, not the strong structures.
Motorbreath....thanks Motorhead for the influence. Thanks punk rock. This song is more punk than metal. Take out the drum fills on the toms and Lars has been playing this beat for 30 years. Great Carpe Diem song. Go out and live....kill it. Take it. Burn fast. You got one shot, do it right. Kirk's solos wordlessly continue the message of the song....burn hot and fast.
Jump in the Fire - great riff. dumb lyrics but good vocals if not a bit heavy on the back up vocals "COME ON!!! jump in the Fi-----ya!" Lots of good soloing by Kirk. Song grows dull though. It just doesn't have the cohesion of The Four Horsemen.
Anesthesia, Pulling Teeth...interesting sounds but not really a song but fun to hear with Cliff's absence from the world. He was one hell of a player. Song gets cool when Lars comes in on the drums and then it goes into Whiplash.
Whiplash----starts like Hit the Lights...a cacophony. BIG FAT GUITARS. Blistering main riffing and chugging. Good syncopation of riffing and symbol crashes. Some more good tom fills like Motorbreath, what happened Lars? This song is total metal. It was also the first song I ever sang in front of a crowd back in high school at a party. Band with no singer was playing metal songs, I figured I could yell this. I did. Don't think I was able to match James's shrieking and hoarseness. The whole band is playing so tightly together and Kirk's solos scream....St. Anger wishes they were there.
Phantom Lord---the guitar tone is so consistently steady from song to song...did they record this in one day? None of the controls must've been touched in the studio once they started recording. Another song that shows the Motorhead influence. Blistering riffing. Nice movement of chords in chorus. More bad lyrics. So glad James got in touch with his personal demons later on and left the supernatural Ronnie James Dio geek bullshit behind. Kirk's worst soloing on the album....tinny and weak. The breakdown in the middle of the song sounds like The Thing That Should Not Be from Puppets. Song has some great parts but he weakest parts weigh it down..it could've been a classic.
No Remorse....Main riff is a bit less interesting than what's come before. Not Kirk's best soloing here. About 50 seconds in, the delay echo on the single guitar sounds great. The song also has a nice bouncy groove going into the chorus, the best part of the song. After "war without an end" the song turns "funky," dare I say? Funktallica! Did i just invent something? Sort of like Dread Zeppelin...but with 100 times more funk!!!!!!
Seek and Destroy....another classic riff but possibly the most overplayed song in their catalog. I believe they've been closing the live shows out with this for over a decade...maybe longer. Time for a change James. Listen to Cliff's squealing bass....awesome stuff. Song too long. Too repetitive. It's doing the same thing over and over...maybe this is the influence of Discharge? Just nonstop repetition. Faith No More were kings of this....well, Billy Gould's bass lines were...the other band members took the songs elsewhere. It worked so well for them.
Metal Militia.....total brutal thrash. James is really grating in his singing...almost indecipherable. Song is harsh. So fast. Definitive of much music in the metal genre to follow.
Overall, this is one hell of an album. This put these guys and thrash on the map. There is so much aggression and speed in here. This is the sound of metal. There is a primal urgency in getting this out. They were young and burning bright. They were a part of something new and all of that comes across in this. It's a great listen and no matter how many times you put this one on, it doesn't grow stale. Grade: A-
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