Dudes were in their early 20s making music like this. Bringing thrash metal to the big stage.

The reaction on Anesthesia is the greatest example of the difference in the way a musicians and an Audio Engineer think, they listen completely different things they focus in completely different stuff ... and the way it is

Damn dude. Never heard anyone talk trash about Cliff playing bass. Anesthesia is an amazing lead into Whiplash. Watch Cliff em All to see what he brought to the band.

You will appreciate anesthesia pulling teeth more if you watched cliff play it live. It really helps non-bass players appreciate the talent once they see how it's played Edit: if you choose to check it out live Chicago 83 is a good quality recording of it.

Ahh yes, the $15,000 album... punches way above it's production cost.

There’s some unwritten rules on metal scene that you can’t broke, talking trash about Cliff Burton is one of them, so… that was brave dude

personally, i love the bass part in the slow part of Four Horsemen

James's vocals aren't aggressive enough on Rtl,Puppets, and Justice, really?

James did ALL rhythm and harmony guitars on the first 5 albums. Both James (left) and Kirk (right) did rhythm guitars on Load, ReLoad, and St. Anger. James did ALL rhythm again for Death Magnetic. I'm assuming he did the same for Hardwired and 72 Seasons.

For this album, there are many interesting ideas and concepts. This being made by practically kids/immature young adults on a low budget all while creating a new genre of music, the sound isn’t bad. Some may consider it so but if you take into account those things I stated before, it’s impressive.

Man don’t shit on cliff lol , he is a bass god …. Fkn fact 😂 such a legend

When thrash started (right here) it was basically punk rock married with NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). This is the most "punky" of their albums, easily. Without living through this time, it is hard to understate how game-changing this album was. Nothing was as fast and wild as this UNTIL this. This is the first thrash album.

amazing video. really enjoyed to hear you in this album. Keep going

you know i never expected to learn so much about recording, mixing and producing, from watching reaction videos. these are some pretty good tips for when you are going to (eventually) record your own album and such. these videos are great!

Yo dude, Kill 'Em All came out in 1983 and White Zombie came out in 1985 and RZ first solo music came out in 1996. This album literally started the thrash movement. Kill Em All was recorded in two weeks with the band not allowed in the mixing sessions. The white Gibson V is the unicorn for these first albums.

James laid it back for studio vocals but live performance vocals around the justice era were amazing. Definitely suggest checking out stuff from around that time.

It’s clear people don’t understand your content Patrick. Don’t listen to the hate, do your thing! The best part about music is that we DON’T have to agree on anything. Music is a way for us to talk discuss and take in each others opinions and experiences. Do I agree with you about Anesthisia? No! Do I respect your opinion and taste? Yes! Keep doing your thing, that’s what brings me back to these album reviews.

we'll never stop, we'll never quit 'cuz we're Metallica! 🤘

I really enjoy your videos man. I like how you take your craft very seriously and listen very carefully to each part of the music and analyze them but at the same time have fun. Your face expressions really do tell me a lot. There would be a part of a song that I really enjoy or not and I watch your expression on it to see what you think and of course your input. I enjoyed the hell out of your 72 Seasons analysis! Great job guys! Thank you. Here we go Cliff Em' All.......lol.

Big Metallica fan since I was a kid. Big vibes from Costa Rica. Most influential metal band and still after 40 years they are trying new stuff

finally! cannot wait to see what you think.

The slow riff in the four horsemen was written by Dave mustaine. He did it as a joke and was playing the intro to Lynyrd Skynyrd sweet home Alabama and changed it up and Lars liked it.

I am learning so much from you guys, and the other Chris too, thanks guys!

I like how he complained about James not being aggressive and not having a scream has he ever even hear james live during 83 84 and 85 literally demon mode vocals

They were locked out of the studio while the producers were mixing it, according to Hetfield. He said there were some decisions made that they would've not wanted. Lars is the one screaming during the Ride the Lightning "I don't want to die" part.

one benefit of listening to metallica's live versions of old tracks, is the improvement of James Hetfield's voice over the years - hearing "Kill 'Em All" songs with his "Load" voice is just a different experience!

It still amazes me how blue that drink is

Now, Patrick, when they sing “Whiplash” live, James sings “You’re Metallica” in the last verse. I don’t think there’s any acoustic guitar on this album. That part of “Phantom Lord” sounds like a clean electric guitar.

nice vid dudes, always cool to get a different and more experienced analysis from our primitive metal minds 😈

My first Metallica show was November 1983, Berkeley, Ca. I was 14...Bay Area..we are still the epicenter. This album changed everything..everywhere...now do some Exodus and watch Murder in the Front Row.

Perhaps a quick wiki glance before if youre going to do a 3hr video on an album. Also Kill em All was pretty much the first thrash album. That's why they were so important and popular.

The intro to Hit The Lights is an homage to the song Set The Stage Alight by Weapon. It's not meant to be a "good intro"; it's meant to be similar to Weapon. You just sound snarky when you comment on musical choices you have no real insight into.

You know the slow section of the four horsemen actually sounds like Sweet Home Alabama

Dude said zombie was making musics in the 70s, zombie was not an influence to Metallica brother by any means. Rob didn’t make it big until the start of the mid late 80s. This was 83

Can't wait for the Load and Reload reactions

I really enjoy your reviews of albums, there's numerous things I don't agree with you about but it's always good to hear a different perspective. I also want to hear your opinions when you do go back and listen to that live version of Seek and Destroy, which was recoded at Woodstock 99.

Man is drinking Windex

I am a new subscriber because of the 72 seasons review you guys did I can't wait for you guys to do load and reload

I must correct you rob zombie started in 1985 when i was 20. He started 4 years after metallica

We used to cover Jump in the fire back in highschool, on bass I could never get used to that staccato walking bass line. It's totally different to anything else Cliff did with them. I suspect it was a McGovney bassline. Also Pulling teeth was what got me into bass, I understand it may be a 'waste' of a track but them being either unprofessional or having the guts to put it on the album certainly influenced my music career

Nice one again guys. As someone that listens to music, rather than from an engineering perspective, it's very engaging nonetheless. I'm hooked.

Let's go! R.I.P. Present Chris. You'll be missed.

"It's not like a song existed forever before you listened to it" ......ORION

Cliff passed the day/night of my birthday as well. 7 years before I was born, but still

Haven't listen to this album for a while and is interesting to hear how Kirk's lead playing was so much better back then than now. Playing was so much cleaner and solos were way more interestingly written.

It's currently 83 degrees fahrenheit, and this album came out in '83

I saw them play this entire album live at their Orion Festival in Detroit. It's a completely different experience that can't be captured in a studio cut or even live recording. After seeing that show it moved Kill 'em up my list of favorite Metallica albums. Yes, they still play many of these songs and these songs get some of the biggest reactions. Especially Seek. The songs off this album are my favorite at any Metallica concert. There are copies of that Detroit show out there.

They played Jump in the Fire live in 2004 at the all state arena in Chicago. I was there. They played it half a step lower but it sounded great

The pedal in (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth is a Morley fuzz wah. Also a big muff pi and a Boss cs-2 compressor

I so much enjoy your videos Patrick even though I am not in agreement with most of your observations. It's the strangest thing but I like it. Keep it up, I find your content authentic

hope you react to Load and Reload next!

The version of Seek and Destroy Sting used is from Woodstock ‘99.

I love how an unknown "engineer " knows what tracks should and shouldn't be on the biggest metal band's album. 😂

Lars did backing vocals at least once, he did the long screams in "ride the lightning". Also, I believe you will like "whiplash" even more when you watch it live. They've played it fairly regularly throughout the last 3 years

Yes please do Death Magnetic next!!!!

I can see the similarity in early Rob Zombie vocal sound, but he graduated High School in 1989 and didn't start making music until '85.

Love how you mentioned Twisted Metal on No Remorse

Was wondering if they’d pick up on the “full speed or nothing” in Motorbreath that Lux calls back to

Dave Mustaine was way too rowdy of a drunk (even for a band dubbed “alcoholica”) for a group of guys that were serious about their music careers and could’ve very easily torn them down with one bad stunt here or one embarrassing situation there. They made a business decision and put him on a bus from NY to San Fran. They were all like 18-20 and 3000 miles from home in 1983 they had no clue how to handle that situation. Took Dave a couple of years to get his sh*t together but he clearly made a good run at it himself.

Always love the Mountain Dew gag.

You mentioned Rainbow. I would definitely recommend checking out their album “Rising.” It features Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Dio) on vocals and Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) on guitar. Awesome record!

Cliff showing what can be done with a bass hes done some stuff that i never knew you could do on a bass

Did you that no remorse was the inspiration for doom’s at doom’s gate or e1m1

What does your google mean by 1975-06? Motorhead was active all the way till Lemmy's death in 2015

good stuff guys..i appreciate the effort to talk less over the songs compared others Metallica reactions!! waiting for Load reaction

Previous bands members were in was Leather Charm (james) and Trauma (cliff). Kirk would bring his Exodus influence on Ride on the song Creeping Death

Really cool that you are a fan of Finnish Metal. Nightwish is a very appreciated band in Finland together with Children of Bodom. I also heard you mentioned 69 Eyes or some other finnish band. By the way, greetings from Finland.

Being audio engineers clearly doesn’t mean you know much music lol

That was a great fade in!!

I listened to this, but I couldnt write notes during it, so now Im going through the video at 1.25x and skimming through it to find the sections I wanted to comment on, so I wont be able to be as detailed. in Lux Aeterna in 2:03, they basically used the same riff as in hit the lights in 43:42. (in this video) About the four horsemen, they actually recorded the original "the mechanix" in the "no life til leather" demo. After dave mustaine left, they decided to rewrite the song, and take out the sexual innuendos and what not, and made about what it is now. And also, slowing the song way down, and adding the slow "acoustic" bit, that iirc, dave mustaine had created at some point, but didnt use for this song. James did record all rythm guitars up to load and reload. in those albums, kirk also played. but I think after, it goes back to only being james. James cannot sing most of the stuff out of this album. One of the reasons they play half a step down live, since the late 90's, so its easier to sing overall, and to try to hit the higher stuff, specially from this album. which is why they also dont play much of this album at all. From metallica wiki: jump in the fire. Written largely by Mustaine. Even when Mustaine was in the band, Hetfield and Ulrich helped him tweak it, hence why they are both credited alongside him. also, lars did do "backing vocals" on ride the lightning: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bpulgb2EnM3Dhqs.html Anesthesia is awesome, patrick "I hate instrumentals" Musilek!!! I dont remember jason playing it, but rob has definitely played a few times. Whiplash was kurt cobains favorite metallica song, if thats worth anything! (metallica wiki) Phantom Lord: Mustaine wrote the riff towards the end of the song's bridge (before Hammett's solo). This riff would later appear on Megadeth's "This Was My Life" on the album Countdown to Extinction (from around 3:10 to the end of the song). About the effects in this album: “But when everything was recorded, the engineer [Chris Bubacz] and producer decided that they wanted to mix the album themselves, and pretty much locked us out of the studio while they were mixing it, and added all these weird delays and reverb and all these things that we wouldn’t have done. That’s why there’s such a drastic sonic difference between Kill ’Em All and Ride the Lightning. There’s a lot of things on Kill ’Em All that we just wouldn’t have done. And there are also things that we had recorded which we’d have liked to have maybe fixed or re-recorded, but couldn’t because of the time allowance. We were just running out of time.” (metallica wiki)Metal militia: Mustaine has been credited with writing the main riff of the song. (metallica wiki)Seek and Destroy - has that solo, and in an old interview with Metallica, Seek and Destroy had already been written, and James said he played the solo, and he played it right. This means Dave wrote that solo. Also about seek and destroy. Its kinda weird, because at one point, I used to go through youtube listening to metallica live, and seek and destroy would occasionally appear. Then sometimes I would go play seek, and felt sorta bored playing, because its actually quite slow. (other than the middle section). Although, at that time, (maybe 2011, 2012), metallica was actually playing all of their songs way to fast for some reason. so it definetly influenced the "song is too slow". About the name of the album "But if there was a race to get the album finished, there was about to be another battle. Over the actual title. The band had always wanted to call it Metal Up Your Ass, which was the title of a live tape recorded in 1982 at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. They even had a cover mocked up - a hand holding a machete coming through a toilet bowl. But when word came back that the record distributors were refusing to handle such a sleeve, the band had to rethink their cunning plan. It was Cliff who came up with the alternative title, as James acknowledged in 1986: “Cliff said, ‘Those record company fuckers. Kill ’em all!’.” Also, these songs for the most part, were written in 1981. So at the point the album got made, they were close to 2 years old. So they definetely improved quite a bit when it came time to make ride. Will be here for the next one! Hopefully remote chris is back! Also, I would love to have you, chris and chris, reacting to the music that made me want to listen to music. Linkin Park! Although I started with Meteora first, I would you three listening to Hybrid and Meteora, if thats possible! Cheers Patrick!

Please do Load and Reload. You gonna love it promise

Lars actually HAS done background vocals once. During the bridge sections of the song Ride The Lightning, the screaming heard in the background is actually lars, you could clearly tell its him on the isolated version of it.

Always glad to see someone else who doesn't hate st anger.

You ought to check out the other big 4 first albums. Loved the bored zoom-in during anesthesia. Seriously though, doing a project like this metallica thing with megadeth would be extremely interesting

"We're doing a thrash now" We need this on a shirt 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

You raised the question about whether any of Metallica’s later work deliberately calls back to their early material, or if that’s just the way they write. I’m surprised how little I’ve heard people pointing out that “Lux Aeterna” is clearly a deliberate reference to “Hit The Lights” both musically and lyrically. Both songs use bluesy riffs centered on the A string (rather than their usual E) with a similar feel. Both short and fast with a more uplifting, almost “happy” feel as opposed to their standard dark and minor sound. Both songs are about the energy and camaraderie felt at a metal concert, and both use light as a metaphor for that feeling (lux=light). AND there is a brief riff at 2:04 in “Lux Aeterna” that is a direct reference to the bridge riff of “Hit The Lights” (2:33). I think it’s a really cool full circle moment for them.

There were some versions of Kill em All that included Blitzkrieg (after Whiplash) and Am i Evil (after Metal Militia). Give those two songs a listen.

When listening to 80s pre mainstream Metallica you have to consider the timeframe, nobody had ever heard anything like this before, to me and my best friend it felt like our own band, a secret very few people knew about, unless you were a massive metalhead like me and my buddy you didn't know about Metallica at the time, to me their 80s output is the greatest heavy metal ever created.

I've listened to this album 100 times or more id bet, and im not sure it really dawned on me that they were only 19-20 yrs old writing fucking BANGERS like this whole album... That's makes it more impressive to me somehow.. lol

The chorus of no remorse is used in the game Doom E1M1. People often mistake this for Master of Puppets

"Whoah, what was that " .. That, Sir, is Mr. Cliff Burton. 🤘🤘

1:00:19 - Funny part is the slow part in the middle of Four Horseman is *NOT* a Cliff Burton influence....but it was totally Dave Mustaine ripping off Sweet Home Alabama. He trolled the shit out of them and he still can't believe they left that part in. Cliff's only real influence on it was that he was listening to Lynard Skynard at the time. You can find the interview - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a9OUqturnbK2nqM.html

Metallica basically didn't write together for the first few albums. They would send each other tapes of their various ideas and they would build off of stuff. It wasn't really until the Black Album where they actually all wrote together and played "live" in the studio together while recording.

That was sweet home alabama, confirmed by Dave Mustain there in the middle of 4 horseman.

Phantom Lord to me is VERY early Maiden-inspired, especially the calmer part (1:52:02) is heavily inspired by songs like Children of the Damned and Murders in the Rue Morgue . The tone, the melodies, the lyrics everything is very much early punky (NWOBHM) Iron Maiden (1979-81). Would love for you to check out their discography eventually!

I love live music and albums!!! As a great man once said "If you're gonna do it, do it live on stage, or don't do it at all... If you're gonna do it ya better take it to the stage, or don't do it at all!" 😁🎸

This album rips! Hope you had a good time

I find it amazing that people think the early albums sound 'bad'.

48:00 or thereabouts... yeah, James is definitely at a higher pitch than usual here. He was 19 years old, after all.

Crazy sound you herd during four horsemen was a bass

Can’t wait to see your reaction to the clipping nightmare of Death Magnetic and the horrendous production of St. Anger

One more comment :P. The harmonization that Metallica started doing on Ride The Lightning was actually taught to them by Cliff Burton who was the only member of the band who was actually properly schooled in music theory. It probably took them a while to get into that stuff.

Fun Fact: the clean middle section of four horsemen is sweet home Alabama slowed down.

Late reactions as always, but in the Four Hoursemen, they have admitted that the slow part in the middle of the song is just the Sweet Home Allabama riff simplified and slow down. I think both Lars and actually Mustaine have both addressed this in the past.

St.Anger is gonna be fun.

Phantom Lord intro is bass guitar,,my daughter's favorite song,,Kirk said they didn't get enough time to record this album,,he also said there are some wrong notes on some songs

So the volume on the guitar gets lowered when the vocals come in on Metal Militia?

I'm so excited for when you get to the MASTERPIECE that is St. Anger. I can't wait to see that.

Did you use the original recording or the remastered? Wondering how improved is the latter?

I’m pretty sure Dave Mustaine wrote the main riff in Jump in the Fire…I could be wrong tho 🔥🤘