10 Worst Hard Rock Lyrics Of The ‘80s
3. Whiplash - Metallica
When Metallica broke onto the scene in the early ‘80s, they shattered everyone’s illusions of what a metal band should sound like. Instead of going along with the hair metal trends that were starting to grow, Metallica played fast and loose and created what became known as thrash metal. Though their lyrics often took you on a journey, the band’s debut Kill Em All had a lot more sophomoric moments than you remember.
As far as first albums go, this is a solid lyric sheet for metal, with songs that deal with killing, Satan, and even the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. With all that in mind, “Whiplash” fits perfectly, with the idea of getting battered and bruised meshing with the other song themes. There’s nothing wrong with the title, but the song gets a lot goofier when you realize that the entire thing is about headbanging.
Yeah... rather than being a deep dive about someone who has gone through a lot of physical pain, this song is basically about the “bangover” that you get from the first time you go off at a metal show. There’s a lot to admire about Kill Em All, but the juvenile attitude of “Whiplash” makes it look almost cute in comparison to everything else.