Metallica-Kill´Em All (1983)

In 1983, Metallica unleashed their fast, furious, and exhilarating thrash metal with one of the most stunning debuts in heavy metal history. An album of killer guitars, intense and brutal riffs, and a hyperactive and devastating rhythm section, showcasing a raw, direct, and ice-cold sound. Lyrically, they focused on death, hell, wars, victories and bloody defeats, rebelling against the political establishment, and much, much more. James Hetfield (guitar and vocals), Kirk Hammett (guitar), Cliff Burton (bass), and Lars Ulrich (drums) created an album that, unlike their subsequent releases, is composed of relatively simple pieces overall, albeit with somewhat complex instrumental structures. Influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal (Iron Maiden), the American and British heavy punk movement (Motorhead), and fusing these styles with the aggression and rawness of hardcore, this album showcases all these hallmarks, from the frenetic "Hit The Lights", "Motorbreath", "Whiplash" and "Phantom Lord", to the more complex and intricate developments of the semi-progressive "The Four Horsemen" and the superb instrumental "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth". With this debut, Metallica rebelled against all the easy-listening music of the time, breathing new life into heavy metal and hard rock in the early eighties, and simultaneously inspiring and influencing tens of millions of young people around the world.