What is the first song on Metallica's debut album 'Kill 'Em All'?

The first song on Metallica’s debut album Kill ’Em All is “Hit the Lights.” It opens the original 1983 track listing and introduces the album’s fast, aggressive sound, which helped define the emerging thrash-metal movement.

“Hit the Lights” predates the album itself. James Hetfield brought an unfinished version from his earlier band Leather Charm, and he and Lars Ulrich developed it into a Metallica song. The band recorded an early version for the Metal Massacre compilation, then revised it for later demos and for Kill ’Em All. Kirk Hammett added new guitar parts after joining Metallica, giving the album version a more flamboyant lead-guitar character.

The song celebrates heavy metal culture, live performance, and the physical energy of loud music. It was played at Metallica’s early shows and appeared on the No Life ’til Leather demo, helping circulate the band’s music through underground tape trading before the debut album was released.

Listeners sometimes confuse the answer with “Seek & Destroy,” because that song was the first one recorded during the Kill ’Em All sessions and became one of the band’s best-known concert staples. Recording order and album track order are different: “Hit the Lights” is the opening track, while “Seek & Destroy” appears later.