KILL 'EM ALL

Well, first of all I have to clear a point: I'm a big fan of these guys. Metallica has been one of my favorites band ever, they're certainly on my Top Bands Of All-Time, so this might decrease the sense of objectivity I'm supposed to have. In fact, I do see the first 4 studio albums by Metallica as essential for the basic understanding of Rock culture. But certainly, this is not RockArchives, these are the ProgArchives, so the main goal is to analyze their importance into Progressive Rock. So, here we go.

First of all, we need to travel through time to gain a little perspective. After a few line-up changes, Metallica introduce themselves with their most prolific set of members: Lars Ulrich on drums, Kirk Hammett on lead guitar, James Hetfield on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Cliff Burton on bass guitar.

Metallica's roots are deeply set on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal; they found inspiration on bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Motörhead, the last one is considered as their main influence and Thrash Metal's forefathers. Along with those bands, the San Francisco Quartet took the speed and aggression of the Hardcore Punk, all these were factors that obviously brought the last elements to the most brutal and fastest style of Heavy Metal to the date.

Another aspect to consider is the classical training of Cliff Burton, the leader of the band at the time. Burton was trained as a cellist; fortunately he took the bass and never left it anymore.

With all these antecedents, it's no surprise that their debut album, originally titled as "Metal Up Your Ass", would be the cornerstone of Thrash Metal, and the solid base for the development of their unmistakable sound. An unstoppable sequence of heavy high-speed riffs spiced with some time signature changes that would be explored extensively on ". And Justice for All"; but on this one is pure and stunning Thrash Metal. I think there's no need to explain it song by song since it's one of the most listened albums ever, so the rest of the review I'll focus on its impact on Progressive Rock, specifically Progressive Metal.

Since Metallica is considered "The World's Biggest Metal Band", it's obvious that most of the Progressive Metal bands are heavily influenced by these Californian dudes. But, I don't really see many elements on "Kill 'Em All" for it to be considered as essential. As a matter of fact, I see their next 3 records as seminal albums for the creation of Prog Metal. Even the rhythmic sections of Prog Metal are more in the vein of Power Metal, infected with a more epic sound and not that aggressive, something that had always undermined the subgenre among the metalheads. Even those bands that have a grasper sound look forward to other bands such as Slayer or Death as their main influence.

My rating: 3 Stars

Reason of my rating: It's a great album, quite essential for the band's right appreciation, but if you aim to catch Metallica's Progressive contributions, it's better to check out some other albums. By the way, it isn't a bad place to start.