Kill 'Em All

Kill 'Em All is American thrash metal band Metallica's debut album, released on July 25, 1983 on Megaforce Records.

The album is acclaimed for combining high-tempo (discounting the Cliff Burton bass solo "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" and a tribute to the band's early influences: Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Venom, all ENGLISH bands who combined the heaviness and technicality of Black Sabbath with the speed and aggression of punk rock.

The band received criticism from the Bay Area scene and the underground rock press at the time for their proposed title for their debut album. The band initially planned to call it Metal Up Your Ass, and it would boast a cover featuring a toilet bowl with a hand clutching a dagger emerging from it. The band's label urged them to change this, so they agreed, switching to the marginally less-offensive Kill 'Em All, with a cover featuring the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied sledgehammer. Cliff Burton is credited with coming up with the name Kill 'Em All (referring to timid record distributors and the censors) as a response to the whole situation.

• In 1989, the album was ranked #35 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the The 100 Greatest Albums of the 80's.

• The album would reach #120 on the charts, according to Metallica.com

• The album was deemed the #1 underground album by Hit Parader

Track listing

1. "Hit The Lights" (Dave Mustaine, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich) - 4:17
2. "The Four Horsemen" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 7:12
3. "Motorbreath" (Hetfield) – 3:08
4. "Jump In The Fire" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 4:41
5. "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" (Cliff Burton) – 4:14
6. "Whiplash" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 4:10
7. "Phantom Lord" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine) – 5:01
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?" (Sean Harris, Brian Tatler) (originally recorded by Diamond Head, bonus track on 1989 re-release) – 7:50
12. "Blitzkrieg" (Ian Jones, Jim Sirotto, Smith) (originally recorded by Blitzkrieg, bonus track on 1989 re-release) – 3:36