Metallica - Kill Em All (1983)

With Slayer offering their brand of darker-edged thrash metal, the Bay Area's Metallica provided a leaner crunch with their style of furious metal. Metallica were more influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal which included bands such as Angel Witch and Diamond head. Here was a record that would spawn many an imitator, but not many could claim to rival Metallica's take on things. In Cliff Burton they had a classy bassist whose talents ripped through the superb '(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth' which led into the speedy onslaught of 'Whiplash'', but there were so many moments to note here, all the while taking the more extreme style of metal to new heights, spawning a whole scene of similar hungry bands who weren't just interested in joining Satan, but commentating on everything from political issues to Lovecraftian nightmares.
The original line-up saw James Hetfield on guitars and vocals, Ron McGovney on bass, later to be replaced by Burton, Lars Ulrich on bass, and Dave Mustaine also on guitar, who was sacked and then replaced by Kirk Hammett. Mustaine, of course would go on to form Megadeth who, for a while, were huge rivals to Metallica, and considered part of the 'big four' which also included Slayer and Anthrax from New York. Mustaine's departure caused bad blood at the time although he was given a co-writing credit on the album. As debut albums go 'Kill Em All' will go down as a classic, as throughout the record not only is the musicianship tight but the quality of tracks is astounding. 'Seek & Destroy', 'The Four Horseman', co-written with Mustaine, and 'Jump In The Fire' are metal classics, but through the ten tracks it's difficult to pin-point any weak moments.
From here Metallica would rise, becoming a gargantuan force within not just metal but music on the whole. Unfortunately, the days of 'Kill Em All' are way behind them, but every time this record is played it's sure to bring frenzy.
8/10