Infighting between Hetfield, Ulrich, and Mustaine – fueled by the latter’s behavior and alcohol problems – would lead to the guitarist’s firing, leading to the recruitment of Exodus’ Kirk Hammett. This move to the Bay Area would eventually lead to the dismissal of bassist Ron McGovney, who would be replaced by the laidback Cliff Burton. No one had ever heard a metal act like this before, one that combined the speed of punk with the energy and imagery of bands like Maiden and Preist. Dissatisfied with the lack of reaction they were getting at shows - being usurped by acts like Ratt and Mötley Crüe - they found themselves relocating to the fog-ridden San Francisco Bay Area where a pang of hunger for their thrashing brand of heavy metal was palpable.
After forming in Los Angeles in 1981, with a lineup consisting of Ulrich, Hetfield, bassist Ron McGovney and guitarist Dave Mustaine (who would later form Megadeth), the band began to cut their teeth playing live shows, recording demos that would dominate the metal cassette tape trading scene, and working out material that would eventually make its way onto their ambitious debut album. The album is a war cry to a generation that found itself not quite fitting in with the rawness of the punk scene, yet not as hedonistic and theatrical as the burgeoning hair metal scene that was dominating LA’s Sunset Strip. We hear a pick slide move across both speakers, and we’re hit in the face with the opening riff to “Hit The Lights”, the first track on Metallica’s 1983 debut album, Kill ‘Em All. A Rush-inspired drum fill crosses from one speaker to the other, and the band holds out an F chord, even louder this time. It begins with the fader on the mixing board rising, as drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarists Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield, and bassist Cliff Burton make an E chord reverberate through the speakers.
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