''Kill 'Em All'' features intricate riffing reminiscent of the
NWOBHM bands played at high velocity. The album is considered crucial in
thrash metal's genesis because it introduced fast percussion, low-register chords, and
shredding leads to the genre. Hammett played some
pentatonic patterns in addition to his breakneck solos. Ulrich adopted a
double time snare pattern that would become a mainstay on Metallica's subsequent albums. Hetfield's vocals evolved from the melodic wail on ''No Life 'til Leather
to a rough-edged bark, and the entire band played faster and more accurately on Kill 'Em All''. Author
Joel McIver described Burton's and Hetfield's performances as nearly virtuosic, highlighting Burton's smooth-sounding bass and Hetfield's precise picking skills. According to journalist
Chuck Eddy, the juvenile lyrical approach to topics such as warfare, violence and life on the road gives the album a "naive charm". Because of its rebellious nature and Metallica's street appearance, it appealed to fans who were not into the mainstream of hard rock. written by Mustaine, with lyrics about teenage sexual experience. Mustaine explained that "Mechanix" and "Jump in the Fire" were the writings of a young man who experienced religious abuse from his mother's religion,
Jehovah's Witnesses: "That kind of stuff really affected the way my myopic of the world and the prism that I saw it through." Hetfield's revised lyrics for the album were written from
Satan's point of view, describing how the devil watches people killing each other, and is sure they will go to
hell for their actions. "
(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth" is a bass solo by Burton, accompanied on drums by Ulrich. A staple of Burton's live performances since his high school days in the band Agents of Misfortune, the instrumental track featured Burton's distinctive "lead-bass" style of playing, incorporating heavy distortion, use of
wah-wah pedal and
tapping. Bubacz introduces the track as "Bass solo, take one", informing listeners that the song was recorded in one take. "(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth" was the bass solo that Burton was playing when Hetfield and Ulrich first saw him at a gig. Hetfield stated: "We heard this wild solo going on and thought, 'I don't see any guitar player up there.' We were both counting the strings and I finally turned to Lars and said, 'Dude, that's a bass!' Cliff was up there on stage with his band Trauma with a wah-wah pedal and his huge mop of red hair. He didn't care whether people were there. He was looking down at his bass, playing." For the album version, Cliff Burton insisted on recording this track alone in an empty room, while the studio technicians were downstairs. He made this recording in one take, after about twenty minutes of preparation. "
Whiplash" features a swift rhythm line of straight 16th notes played at about 200 beats per minute. Hetfield and Burton performed with
palm muted technique and precise metronomic control. The lyrics celebrate crowd energy and headbanging. Rock journalist
Mick Wall wrote that "Whiplash" signified the birth of thrash metal, stating: "If one wishes to identify the very moment thrash metal arrived spitting and snarling into the world, 'Whiplash' is indisputably it." {{Listen "Phantom Lord" is a lyrical nod to devilry. The song begins with a synthesized bass drone and contains a middle section with clean, arpeggiated guitar chords. Written by Mustaine, its central riff is in NWOBHM fashion. "No Remorse" is a mid-tempo song that suddenly accelerates in tempo around the five-minute mark. The song was remodeled from its original version to match the rest of the album's style. "
Seek & Destroy" was inspired by Diamond Head's "Dead Reckoning" Because of its simple, one-line chorus, the song became a permanent setlist fixture and a crowd singalong. "Metal Militia", one of the fastest songs on the album, is about heavy metal's way of life and
nonconformity. Mustaine composed the main riff, which emulates a marching army. The song ends with tramping feet and bullet ricochets in a fade-out. ==Artwork and title==