Metallica: 10 Most Brutally Heavy Songs - Ranked
You will die...when I say.
Metallica have gotten a lot of flak over the years for watering their sound down. From the Black Album onward, there have always been naysayers who want to discredit the band for writing material that is more radio-friendly and not in tune with their metal roots. Sure, there have been plenty of trolls, but the band's heavier material does give some credit to those who miss the glory days.
Before they started changing up their sound in the early 90's, Metallica were one of the greatest thrash metal bands to ever emerge on the scene, with songs that hit you with the force of a battering ram. Even if the tunes weren't blowing you away with their speed, the weight behind them felt like a monster stomping across the land to kill you.
After the band got back to their roots on their later albums, even some of the newer tracks ended up capturing the same maniacal spirit of the early years.
Metallica has some great work across each of their albums, but it's always important to realize where your roots are, and Metallica's are in heavy metal through and through. Grab a neck brace if you need to, it's gonna get a little intense in here.
10. Hit The Lights
Where else to start than with the riff that started it all? This was the first song that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich first jammed on and the song that initially got the band their first recorded material on the Metal Massacre compilation release.
For a band that was still in its infancy, "Hit the Lights" is surprisingly tight with its fast syncopated riffs and tasteful construction. At this point, Hetfield was already on the top of his game when it came to pumping out some of the most maniacal sounding riffs the metal world had ever seen. This is also one of the clear examples of the punk influence of the band, with much of the track being just three riffs at different fast tempos.
The song also became the jumping off point for their record Kill Em All, with therecord starting with the opening crash of guitars before the pick slide reels you into the riff's sharp descent. For all OG Metallica fans, it's debatable whether Kirk Hammett or Dave Mustaine played a better solo on this track, but Hammett's wailing on the studio version is the perfect mix of precision and a chaotic barrage of notes.
We're a long way from "Master of Puppets," but this song really cemented the core sound of Metallica going forward.