Description

Red vinyl. Limited 100 copies

Ron McGovney were replaced by Cliff Burton in March of 1983. A month later the band sacked guitarist Dave Mustaine. Metallica was in need of a new guitarist and called Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett for whom they flew up to New Jersey from San Francisco to audition for them. He instantly bonded with the band and played his first concert with them at at The Showplace, Dover, New Jersey on April 16th 1983. A few weeks before that he received a call from them to come and try out for them. At first he thought it was a April Fool’s Day joke but it really wasn’t. The band did shows through April and September. And at the same time they were recording their debut album Kill em All, one of the most iconic and important albums in the genre, helping kickstart the thrash metal movement in the early 1980s and ushering in a new generation of metal-heads that were hungry for something faster and more aggressive than the NWOBHM scene that was leading the charge for heavy metal at the time. Kill ‘Em All was just that: rough around the edges, but full of a youthful exuberance and wild untamed energy that seemingly no band before had mastered. And I’m not discrediting any metal that came before—bands like Iron Maiden, Venom, Judas Priest, Angel Witch, and countless other acts apart of the “British invasion” were releasing heavy metal classics and gems that have stood the test of time just as well as Metallica’s early work. But Kill ‘Em All is just a different breed and although Exciter’s Heavy Metal Maniac was released first, for many this is the true birth of thrash metal. With two new members in the band they had that strong line-up they needed and the energy the band had were probably even bigger live. They had or almost invented most of the thrash metal’s core elements and pushes them to the forefront so that they are impossible to ignore—the guitars are razor sharp and sizzling with a raw punk energy. Cliff Burton’s bass is thick and weighty, thundering alongside James Hetfield’s rhythm playing and even Lars Ulrich was a force to be reckoned with in the 80s, with his angst and attitude laden, tightly wound punk-ish drumming that serves as the backbone for Hetfield’s riffs. And Kirk Hammett solos feel right at home among the chaos the band managed to create. The band only did one gig in October of 1983 and that was on the Halloween on the 31st at The Keystone in Palo Alto together with Steeler featuring Ron Keel and Yngwie J Malmsteen. This was also the night they first tried out Creeping Death during their encore. They also played When Hell Freezes Over, which is an early version of The Call Of Ktulu. This album features part of that special Halloween show back in 1983.

Track list:
1. Hit The Lights
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Jump In The Fire
4. Fight Fire With Fire
5. Ride The Lightning
6. Phantom Lord
7. When Hell Freezes Over