Metallica Tribute Drops
“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” has arrived. The album consists of songs from Metallica’s groundbreaking ”83 set performed by Motörhead, Saxon, Testament, Diamond Head and others.
“Kill Them All,” released in ’83, was Metallica’s the debut effort on Megaforce Records.
Kill ‘Em All
After forming in ’81, Metallica began by playing shows in local L.A. clubs. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group’s “No Life ‘Til Leather” demo tape (’82) was noticed by label head Jon Zazula who signed the band and provided a budget of $15,000.
Metallica intended to title the album “Metal Up Your Ass,” but it was changed with Burton credited with coming up with the name “Kill ‘Em All”— referring to timid record distributors.
In ’25, the album was certified 4x platinum by the Record Industry Association of America for shipping four million copies in the United States.
The lead single from “No Life ‘Til Leather” was The Almighty’s cover of “The Four Horsemen,” the first recorded work by the band’s founding lineup since 1991.
“When the opportunity presented itself, it was really a no-brainer,” explained The Almighty guitarist Ricjky Warwick. “Metallica has been a huge influence for us. It was a bit nerve-racking because we had not been in the studio for such a long time. We did the whole thing in a day and a half with as much power and passion as you would expect from The Almighty. It is such a powerful track.”
The Almighty
The Four Horsemen
The second single was the epic instrumental “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” by former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson.
The third single was Testament’s cover of “Seek & Destroy.”
“We had fun covering ‘Seek & Destroy’,” shared Testament vocalist Chuck Billy. “Songs like this started a movement.”
“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” Tracks:
01. Hit The Lights – Tailgunner
02. The Four Horsemen – The Alnighty
03. Motorbreath – Soen
04. Jump In The Fire – Tygers Of Pan Tang
05. (Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth – David Ellefson
06. Whiplash – Motörhead
07. Phantom Lord – Saxon
08. No Remorse – Diamond Head
09. Seek & Destroy – Testament
10. Metal Militia – Raven
No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All
“No Remorse” was recorded for a reimagined and re-recorded version of Diamond Head’s “Lightning To The Nations” album which arrived in 2020., “Of the four covers we ended up doing, ‘No Remorse’ sounded the best straight away,” offered guitarist Brian Tatler.
Motörhead’s take on “Whiplash” was recorded in 2004.
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