Kill 'em All

by

Metallica

Edit

Well, here it is, kiddies: Metallica's skull-crushing, bone-breaking, faster-than-the-speed-of-freakin'-light thrash metal debut. This is the one your mother warned you about. This album may cause uncontrollable fits of energy, headbanging, and moshing. Keep out of reach of children. (Give them St. Anguish instead... on second thought, never mind. No one should have to suffer through that...)

What makes this album such a metal classic? The pounding drums and rythyms? The violent cover? The shredding solos and riffs? A 20-year-old James Hetfield's harsh, unpretty vocals? The controversial cover? Well, yes, of course, but one thing makes it even better (although Master Of Puppets remains my favorite): back when they recorded this album, Metallica were no one. They weren't the (now self-parodic) juggernaut they would eventually become. They were four lucky fans who got together, played their hearts out, and had the time of their lives doing it. (Check out James Hetfield's picture on the insert - he has acne!) You can really feel the energy coming from this record.

So, yeah, anyway, if you don't have this one already, see to it that you obtain it (along with Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets, and, if you like, the black album and ...And Justice For All). There are really no standout tracks because they ALL rock. If you can think of a better album to slap My Chemical Romance in the face with, I'd sure like to hear it.

Yeah, it wasn't all that long ago that they were a little thrash band from the Bay Area...

Okay, couple things I need to get out of the way since this is a review of the vinyl version of this album. First, to enjoy this vinyl record fully, you NEED good equipment to play it on. I'm talking at or near audiophile-level hi-fi equipment, with the turntable being nothing less in build quality than something like a Technics SL-1200.

That being said, it would have been real good if Metallica had re-mixed and re-mastered this album for re-issue on vinyl. The big problem I have with it is that James Hetfield's lyrics are a little too buried in the mix on most of the songs. One thing I will say too is be prepared to really turn up the volume to hear things really good. This album really pushes the LP vinyl format to its limit, with 27 minutes of music on side one and 26 minutes on side two. Because of the long playing times, the basic playing volume is reduced to make all the music fit.

Despite the flaws, because this is a vinyl release, it will be a good collectible album and when played on fine turntables will give lots of listening enjoyment. Just be sure to get Metallica's next three after this one though, 'Ride the Lightning', 'Master of Puppets', and '...And Justice For All' on vinyl too.