Saying that the 80s were good for metal is like saying that the sun is good for plants. That statement however comes with a gigantic ‘but’ stapled to it. The 80s were good for metal BUT we also had glam metal, which we all know was a piece of shit and gave us insufferable bands like Twisted Sister, Poison, Bon Jovi, and a host of others. So perhaps a more accurate statement would be that the 80s were good for more underground metal (although what was underground in America was mainstream in Europe because Europe took one look at glam metal and kicked it so hard in the balls that it went flying all the way back across the Atlantic and landed squarely on Hollywood Boulevard). While I would love to talk about all of the great stuff that came prior to this album, I have decided to focus this article on the birth of thrash.
First off, anyone who says this isn’t the first thrash metal album can go fuck themselves. No, Venom was not a thrash metal band; they were a speed metal/first wave of black metal band. Thrash is, was, and always will be an American genre. Every single band in the Big Four is from America. So now after that rant let’s take a look at the album.
This album sounds like a debut. I’m not talking about the songs, I'm talking about the production. Probably the best praise I can give the production is well at least it’s not Show No Mercy or Killing is My Business. But given the production value of the debuts of most thrash bands around this time it is by and large forgivable. The interesting thing about this album is that some of the best songs on it are the most overlooked. I’m not saying that "Seek & Destroy" is a piece of shit, god no, it’s probably the best song on this album. No I’m talking about two songs in particular: "No Remorse" and "Jump in the Fire". Metallica had a good twenty-year gap in between performances of the latter. The thing is, you rarely hear either of those songs played even though they are the third and second best songs on the album, respectively. "No Remorse" almost sounds progressive enough to make it onto Ride the Lightning. I’m not saying I dislike the other songs but I like these more and they don’t get the attention they deserve. I do like "Hit the Lights", "The Four Horsemen", and "Whiplash" but they have sort of staled to me. This sounds like a condemnation of those songs but it should not be taken that way at all. I love this whole album start to finish. It’s easily Metallica’s third best album. I just want to give "Jump in the Fire" and "No Remorse" the praise they deserve.
Jump in the Fire
No Remorse
Seek & Destroy
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