3. Battery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ7Aif5aXlQ As we described with Wherever I May Roam, that notion of putting together a collection of lower notes only for a higher one to come screaming in is one of the things that makes Kirk's solos so identifiable, and nowhere is it more straight-up enjoyably horn-hand-throwing than when used in Battery. The song itself is easily one of the band's fastest and most pugnacious, with a core riff that sits in the history books alongside Slayer's Reign In Blood as something that's just metal incarnate. It makes sense that when the guys were putting this track together the solo was going to have to keep up the pace - and it doesn't disappoint one bit. Usually heralded in by Hetfield asking the crowd "How it feels to be alive?" before then shouting "Show me!" it's the perfect primer for the opening barrage of notes this starts with before the wah pedal kicks in and Kirk - who recorded this full of youthful exuberance and a sense of metal flag-waving purpose - sears through a frightening number of frets, not just keeping up with the preceding pace but redefining it.