Metallica’s ’80s Songs That Defined Thrash Metal

Metallica is one of the biggest metal bands in the world, and while they're known for their melodic metal gems that get generations of listeners singing their songs, don't forget that they started out as a die-hard, underground thrash metal band.

Before Metallica was a massive metal band that sold out stadiums and arenas around the world, they were just some regular guys with the dream of making music. The story of Metallica begins on Oct. 28, 1981, when drummer Lars Ulrich and guitar player and vocalist James Hetfield got together after finding each other through Ulrich's L.A. Recycler newspaper ad. I know what you're thinking. They found each other through a newspaper ad? That doesn't sound very metal. But, remember, these were the days before the Internet and modern technology, so band members connected through newspaper ads and print media.

After first getting together, Ulrich and Hetfield brought on Ron McGovney to play bass and Dave Mustaine to play lead guitar decided on the metal-heavy moniker Metallica following a suggestion from Bay Area metal scene friend named Ron Quintana. From there, Metallica was born. And it was amazing.

"Their ascent was to be relatively quick, driven by sheer work-rate, effort, and a rare musical chemistry," Metallica's official website states of their first forming, adding that "after hitting the opener’s circuit in LA (where they supported the likes of Saxon), they recorded their first-ever demo, No Life 'Til Leather. The tape-trading circuit went wild for it, and after repeatedly well-received shows in the Bay Area, Metallica found themselves relocating there after convincing bassist Cliff Burton to leave his band Trauma and replace McGovney."

Here's where we get to talk about Metallica's thrash edge. Metallica started really turning heads with their thrash sound, and underground metalheads loved it. Albums such as Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets were among the best in thrash to come out of the early days of the genre. But, then, of course, Metallica released Enter Sandman in 1991, and it showed this very new side of the band. The track, of course, came off the band's controversial Black Album, with that controversy simply being that they were much less thrash and underground and more commercial-sounding on this set.

"'Enter Sandman' remains one of their signature anthems, and even though it's a ballad, it's not acoustic. But, it marked that first foray into something softer, and "while their first full foray into something more balladic, 'Nothing Else Matters,' empathized with the heartstrings of millions," Metallica says in a post on their official website. So, Metallica went "mainstream," but it's okay, because those who missed their thrash roots could go back to the earlier albums. So, let's talk about Metallica songs from the 1980s that defined thrash metal, shall we?

"Whiplash" (1983)

Metallica's earliest work, of course, is very thrash metal. Metallica’s debut Kill ’Em All was the very first thrash metal album, and "Whiplash" is the defining songs from that album. Heck, "Whiplash" really defined what thrash metal was supposed to be, and it's hard to think about the genre without it. The song was super fast at 200 beats per minute. It packed fury, force and might.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1984)

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" proves that thrash metal doesn't have to be fast, even though it is often very fast. Most of the songs from Metallica's early days were fast and furious, but "For Whom the Bell Tolls" slows things down a bit. It's intense but not in-your-face wild. It shows pure metal power in the form of a power ballad.

"[Cliff Burton] used to carry around an acoustic classical guitar that he detuned so that he could bend the strings,” guitarist Kirk Hammett once said, according to Rolling Stone Australia. “When he would play that riff, I would think, ‘That’s such a weird, atonal riff that isn’t really heavy at all.’ I remember him playing it for James [Hetfield], and James adding that accent to it and all of a sudden, it changed.”

"Master of Puppets" (1986)

"Master of Puppets" is really the song that truly defines Metallica. The title track from the celebrated album is one of the all-time greatest heavy metal songs of all time, without question. There are only a few Metallica songs that are as popular and stand up to it. Perhaps "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters" equal it, but "Master of Puppets" stands on its own.

All four members of the band’s classic line-up wrote this song: Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton and Hammett. It's very complex and a difficult song to play. It's still one of the band's most celebrated anthems.

"Trying to obtain the unobtainable is not for the foolhardy, and it will drain you into a husk if you’re lucky," Pitchfork says in their review of the album. That’s what Hetfield tried to warn you about on Puppets by yelling at you about chopped breakfasts on mirrors: control is a deathwish that keeps you alive."

". Not for them is the tra-la-la music of escapism; they never promote the notion that rock itself is some sort of method for salvation or transcendence. Rather, their fiery chomp-chomp-chomp provides the aural analogue to the terrors their lyrics define," Rolling Stone added of the album.

"Battery" (1986)

"Battery" opens Metallica's "Master of Puppets" with a song that, well, sounds like a hard-charging battery. It starts slowly and mysteriously but then launches into a wild assault of sound in the best possible way. This song is pure speed and fire, and that's what makes it such a defining song of the thrash metal genre.

"'Battery,' is like a wake-up call, speed, speed, and more speed, but with dynamics," Audio Ink notes in their album review. "'Master of Puppets' (the song) deals with control and manipulation (not just external but internal), and 'Disposable Heroes' takes the theme of war, sacrifice, and disillusionment to a personal level."

Metallica played their very first concert on March 14, 1982, at Radio City in Anaheim, CA, and today, they're showing now signs of slowing down. Long live Metallica. Reach out to me with your thoughts.