Song · Metallica
“Hit the Lights” by Metallica
From the album Kill ’Em All (1983)
“Hit the Lights” by Metallica appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1990 and 2024. It was first released in 1983 on the album Kill ’Em All. Its best result is #649 on the Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,768 hard rock song of all time.
"Hit the Lights" belongs to Kill 'Em All, the debut album Metallica released on the independent Megaforce label in July 1983, and it's a James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich song, with Hetfield singing and playing guitar and Ulrich on drums. Cliff Burton, the bassist the band left the Los Angeles clubs for San Francisco to get, plays bass, and Kirk Hammett, who came in when Dave Mustaine was fired just before recording, plays the other guitar.
Paul Curcio produced the album in May 1983 at Music America Studios in Rochester, New York, with Chris Bubacz engineering and Megaforce boss Jon Zazula, who had signed the band on the strength of their No Life 'til Leather demo, as executive producer. The record came to be hailed as a trailblazer for thrash metal.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 649 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 2024 | 710 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
Also listed as: Hit The Lights.
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