Released: January 1, 1982

Songwriter: Lars Ulrich James Hetfield

[Verse 1]
No life ‘til leather
We're gonna kick some ass tonight
We got the metal madness
When our fans start screaming it's right
Well alright, yeah

[Pre-Chorus]
When we start to rock
We never wanna stop again

[Chorus]
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!

[Verse 2]
You know our fans are insane
We're gonna blow this place away
With volume higher
Than anything today
The only way, yeah

[Pre-Chorus]
When we start to rock
We never wanna stop again

[Chorus]
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!

[Verse 3]
With all-out screaming
We're gonna rip right through your brain
We got the lethal power
It is causing you sweet pain
Oh sweet pain, yeah

[Pre-Chorus]
When we start to rock
We never wanna stop again

[Chorus]
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!
Hit the lights!

[Instrumental Outro]

Metallica

Like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden before, Metallica has managed to transcend the genre from which it was originated. To their metal fanbase they are considered one of the Big Four bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer; however Metallica is also one of the most commercially successful bands in all of rock music, having sold 110 million records including the 16x platinum Metallica, which stands as both the highest selling metal album of all time and most successful album of the past 25 years.

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles after drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advert in the classifieds newspaper The Recycler, which was answered by singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. They were soon joined by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who later formed Megadeth after being kicked out of the band because of his substance and alchohol abuse, and bassist Ron McGovney, a childhood friend of Hetfield. These two early members were replaced with Cliff Burton (who relocated the band to San Francisco) and ex-Exodus lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett to form the band’s classic line-up.

The band released three albums, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, 1984’s Ride The Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets before the tragic and untimely death of Cliff Burton on September 27th, 1986.