For Fans Only (Kill 'em All - Metallica)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Kill 'em All - Metallica
Date:	28/02/01 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see how how they used to sound

Disadvantages: they were'nt very good

Metallica Were...

James Hetfield (vocals, guitar);
Kirk Hammett (guitar);
Cliff Burton (bass);
Lars Ulrich (drums).


This was Metallica's first serious album release and was met with a little critical acclaim at the time(being ranked number 35 in Rolling Stone's greatest albums of the 80s survey for instance) but is quite frankly pretty poor by today's standards.
The album sleeve proclaims this as being a turning point in heavy metal, stripping 70 metal of its pomposity and reducing it to its 'base element of brutal sonic force' however the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden overtones are apparent through the allusions to ghosts and demons running through most of the tracks. However, Kill 'em All is an out and out thrash album, from a time when thrash albums were few and far between and in this sense Metallica can be seen as a leader in the field and perhaps this album was important, but unless you are a huge fan you are unlikely to care. Concentrating on speed guitar work rather than actual song writing ability this is probably only of interest to the real Metallica fan who wants to look back at their history rather than the music lover wanting to add something great to his/her collection. There are a few saving graces though.

Firstly, tracks like Phantom Lord, Whiplash and Seek and Destroy give an idea of the talent which was yet to be released. Phantom Lord has a great riff and some intelligent(ish) lyrics, whilst Whiplash is still played at Metallica concerts now because of its sheer speed and live impact. On CD however, this doesn't come across so well, particularly as the production here is very tinny. Seek and Destroy is another Metallica anthem track which invited crowd participation...'Searching....Seek and DESTROY!', and has a great riff again.

Probably the main fault with this album is simply the production and the quality of Hetfield's vocals. The songs sound very t
inny and do not have that 'meaty' quality seen on later Metallica offerings. Hetfield's vocals are extremely 'squeaky' and 'squealy' rather than the gruff barking we have come to expect which again lessens the impact of the tracks and leaves this a poor catalogue album.

Overall, I could not possibly recommend this to today's listening audience as it really hasn't stood the test of time well. The production is attrocious and the tracks simply not really very good(although probably better than most at the time). If you are a big Metallica fan then check it out for curiosity value, but other than that perhaps give it a miss - or borrow it.

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