(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
Dave Roy
from Birmingham, AL
This album is the debut of one one the greatest rock bands in history. It's rough and loud music played by a young band with a very young sounding James Hetfield - he doesn't achieve full maturation of his voice until later albums. The album starts out with Hit the Lights which is a pretty good song and best illustrates how young Hetfield sounds especially when he yells the song's title. The high point of the album follows immediately after. Four Horsemen is undoubtedly one of Metallica's greatest songs. The other two high points of the album for me are Whiplash and Seek and Destroy. The other songs are certainly very good but not great. Although this album lacks the mature songwriting, playing, and vocals of later Metallica albums, it's still exciting to listen to the band in its formative stage. Good album, but get Master of Puppets if you're looking for greatness.
