Old Timers: Metallica - "Kill 'Em All"

Remember when Metallica used to be good? It was a long time ago, but I'm sure one or two of you out there have a vague memory of the amazing thrash brought by these guys back in the day. Sure, they are more recently known as the whiny bitches that took on Napster or the guys that put out that giant hunk of shit known as St. Anger, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be recognized for their past accomplishments. Since this is the case, I'm going to take it upon myself to give them some credit by talking about how killer their first album was.

Honestly, these guys managed to bring a whole new generation of people to metal, and they also did a great job on improving a lot of what was around at the time. Metallica wanted to play their choons louder and faster than anybody else, and they proved it on this bad boy. When Kill 'Em All first came out, it didn't really get a ton of recognition, but that just seems to happen sometimes. Nowadays people know how head-banging this fucker is, and that's all that matters. This one's got some of the most ripping guitar work you'll ever hear, and since we at the Belly think ripping guitar work is totally fuckshark awesome, it ranks pretty high with us. Plus, Hetfield's voice is one the most recognizable in all of metal (besides Rob Halford from Judas Priest, of course), and this album is where we first got to hear it. Who can't love those weird little accentuations he puts on the ends of certain words?

This record is a circle pit waiting to happen, and that is just gnar. Songs like "The Four Horsemen" and "Whiplash" are classics that deserve to be listened to again. Don't let them just sit there not being played. They'll thank you for it.

Here they are live playing "The Four Horsemen."