Kill 'Em All vs Bonded by Blood

well

this is grossly unfair

my appreciation for Kill 'Em All shrinks more by the year. Not that it's not a good album, but I feel like all of the songs work better live. A bunch of songs are played at a slower than ideal tempo ("Motorbreath", which works better at the breakneck live speed, and "Whiplash"...same).

The guitars are occasionally out of tune, out of sync, the production stinks even on the remaster, and James's voice really is at its worst. I still like it a bit but I find myself always reaching for something RTL through AJFA first. but....let's be fair. I'm comparing this on how I felt about this album when I first heard it, right?

Well...when I first heard it, I loved the shit out of it, and I heard it in reverse order (after I'd heard the rest of their catalog), which makes that more impressive. "Four Horsemen" is an epic that doesn't even really have an epic arrangement, it's a simple earworm with an effective chorus, and some of Kirk's better shreddy guitar solos at the end. "Motorbreath" basically feels like a hardcore punk tune, even at its slower tempo. This was probably my favorite as a teen.

"No Remorse" still fucking rules, as does "Phantom Lord", the latter that I actually got to hear them play when I saw them in 1999, which at the time, was a shock (as this was pre-bringing back songs from the dead on tour). "Seek and Destroy" is still one of their finest moments. really feel like the only song that's a cut below is "Metal Militia", which feels more forced than the rest of them.

But....I just feel like Bonded kicks the living shit out of KEA. Unlike KEA, I didn't like this one at first, mostly because I liked my thrash teutonic at the time. Balls out speed wasn't really their thing (though they were *fast*), but the riffs were well-composed, simple yet effective and they swang a bit. drumming is effective, Baloff, well, he's an acquired taste, and unlike others....not entirely my thing, not to mention he's drenched in that shitty 80s reverb everybody threw on metal recordings back then.

they save the most brutal tunes for the middle to end. It's funny how much the intensity ratchets up between "And Then There Were None" and "A Lesson in Violence", which earlier this year on the metal cruise, about got the pool deck destroyed (as they played it about 35% faster). I think Kill Em All might be the more aggressive album, I just think Bonded is more well crafted?

I'm not even one of those BONDED IS THE BEST THRASH EVAR guys, for years I even thought it overrated, but...to me, this, and Show No Mercy are both better than KEA. KEA though I prefer to Endless Pain.

anyway, what say you

also "Piranha" fucking rules

voted other (Lulu)

I prefer Show No Mercy to both, but out of those I still go for Metallica, more variety & better choruses.

I prefer SNM to both as well, mostly because the first 5 tracks are pretty much perfection.

Bonded by Blood is among the rare old-school thrash classics I genuinely enjoy. No contest here.

kinda interesting to me that they were a pretty solid band after that too, but there's no one other album anybody really points to. some love Pleasures of the Flesh, others not. some (like me) tout Fabulous Disaster, others think it was them watering their sound down.

2000 and onward is hit or mess but I still like Blood In, Blood Out a lot.

I've never listened to Bonded By Blood. (I'm listening to it as I type this post, and...nope, not really into it.) I saw Exodus once, in 1990; they were the middle band between openers Pantera and headliners Suicidal Tendencies. I heard Pleasures of the Flesh back in the '80s, and didn't like it enough to buy any more of their albums. So I'm gonna vote for KEA even though it's probably my fourth-favorite Metallica album.

Bonded is so savage, Holt is on fire, Baloff was a wickedly cool frontman, just a perfect underground album.

Kill 'Em All, on the other hand, is visionary, so much more musically varied than just thrash. It essentially laid the groundwork for everything that came out afterward.

kill em all is fuckin amazing

you listen to that record and your hair automatically grows out into a waterfall of curls and a frayed jean jacket envelops your torso

but i'm gonna listen to both before voting

https://i.imgur.com/JBqKeBY.jpg

I mean, I know what the correct answer is...

why does that toilet not have a tank

always wanted to ask Metallica that

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I always felt that including School in the Birth-Metallica-Death timeline was a weird capitulation to authority and said so to my friend who had that shirt in 6th grade.

kill em all still gets me amped as hell, ridiculous lyrics aside, a whirlwind of beer cans and spikes and smoke. bonded in blood is a white hot meteor of righteous aggression, completely fucking up every poor soul in earshot. how much furniture was maimed at 80s house parties because of these albums?

RIFFS

i just ended my post with "RIFFS" because i'm at a loss for words, but you all can start calling me RIFFS if you like

riffstead

bay area speed metal would be nothing without the signature cavernous echo

IT ALL RULES

just watching stranger things 2 tonight and “four horsemen” came on and every hair in the back of my neck stood up

hair ON but maybe the RIFFS pushed some back down inside, i wouldn’t be surprised

Oh yeah that’s one of those riffs that makes ur eyes big out and in the mood to throws some sofas around lol. CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA

I remember seeing Metallica in January 2009 and they encored with "Hit the Lights" and "Seek & Destroy" and it felt like the arena exploded.