Kill 'em all

"Frightening, awe-inspiring, and absolutely relentless, Kill 'Em All is pure destructive power, executed with jaw-dropping levels of scientific precision".

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"... once Metallica stepped up the pace, everyone else followed suit. Listening back through modern ears, it's almost like revisiting those first three Ramones records-you know this music shaped the world you live in, but since so many artists have added extra levels of intensity since then, there's no way to re-create the sensation of how revolutionary the music was during its time. Today, the sequencing sounds a little more abrupt, and a surprising share of the riffs fall closer to traditional Maiden/Priest-level heavy than outright thrash. But of course, there are moments-the crunching chugga-chugga riffs that propel songs like "Whiplash," "Metal Militia," for instance-where Metallica's sense of purpose crystallized, and it's easy to see why the band became known as such a genre-defining force right out of the gate".

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"There aren't many metal albums more influential than Metallica's 1983 debut, Kill 'Em All. While it might not have invented thrash metal (comedy geordie Satanists Venom have a strong claim there), it certainly popularised the genre and laid the foundations for all who followed in its wake, from Pantera to Slipknot. Now remastered and available again on vinyl, CD and deluxe boxset (the latter of which includes a wealth of bonus material across vinyl and CD, including three live sets from 1983-84, a disc of early mixes, a lengthy contemporaneous interview with Metal Forces editor Bernard Doe, a DVD and a book. Unsurprisingly it doesn't come cheap), it still sounds fresh 33 years on".

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