''Bang the head that doesn't Bang.'' This album will definitely keep you moving. Metallica's first official release in 1983 features some of their best riffs and introduces the world to the genre that would become thrash metal. By fusing the sounds of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) with punk they helped to create the sound of thrash. The band originally feature Dave Mustaine of Megadeth fame on lead guitar but after his drunken behavior and drug use caused him to get booted he was replaced by ex-Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett. Cliff Burton also took over on bass due to Mustaine's terrible relationship with the previous bassist Ron McGovney forced him to leave the band just prior to Dave's ejection. This line-up, while not the original, is probably the one people think of most when discussing Metallica. I would like to point out that Mustaine did help pen most of the tunes on this record.
While I'm not a HUGE Metallica fan, I do love this record. Their first four are the only ones I listen to and I think anything after these lose their thrash sound. I guess you could even argue that it wasn't really thrash after Master of Puppets. But that has nothing to do with this record. I would say my three favorite tracks from this one are The Four Horsemen, Seek & Destroy, and No Remorse. I remember when I first started learning guitar I was really into Metallica and spent a lot of time learning these songs. I have since focused more of my playing on blues but it's still fun to break out with a little metal \m/
Track List:
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hit the Lights" | James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | 4:17 | ||
| 2. | "The Four Horsemen" | Dave Mustaine, Hetfield, Ulrich | 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 |
