Silver Lining Music will release “No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” on November 14. The third single from the all-star compilation is TESTAMENT‘s cover of METALLICA‘s “Seek & Destroy”.

“We had fun covering METALLICA‘s song ‘Seek & Destroy’,” comments TESTAMENT vocalist Chuck Billy. “Songs like this started a movement.”

The first single from “No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” was THE ALMIGHTY‘s blistering, full-throttle cover of METALLICA‘s legendary “The Four Horsemen”, THE ALMIGHTY‘s first recorded work with their founding lineup since 1991, chosen by the band as both a nod to their roots and a declaration of intent.

THE ALMIGHTY guitarist Ricky Warwick commented: “‘The Four Horsemen’ by METALLICA got us back into the studio with the original lineup for the first time since 1991… Unbelievable.

“When the opportunity presented itself, it was really a no-brainer. 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. I think it turned out great, make sure you turn it up really, really loud!”

Watch THE ALMIGHTY‘s video for the band’s cover of “The Four Horsemen”, edited by Freakshot Film, below.

The second single from the all-star compilation is former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson‘s monumental cover of METALLICA‘s instrumental epic “(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth”.

Ellefson comments: “It was a total honor to be asked to participate in this album, especially to record the iconic bass composition ‘(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth’ by the one and only Cliff Burton [late METALLICA bassist]. I was able to borrow one of Cliff‘s Aria Pro signature bass guitars and signature Morley fuzz/wah pedal for the session to replicate his sharp-yet-thunderous tone he created on the original recording. It is my hope that this homage will highlight Cliff‘s larger-than-life personality and that his music will always live on through this unique and iconic song he gave to the world.”

Ellefson and Dave Mustaine formed MEGADETH in 1983, after Mustaine got kicked out of METALLICA. METALLICA recruited Kirk Hammett and went on to record its debut album, “Kill ‘Em All”, later that year, while Ellefson and Mustaine began work on MEGADETH‘s first LP, “Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!”

During a 2019 ALTITUDES & ATTITUDE conversation with moderator Ryan J. Downey at the MI Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Ellefson was asked if Burton was an inspiration on his bass playing during MEGADETH‘s formative years. Ellefson responded: ” I met Dave [Mustaine] in June of 1983. He had just left METALLICA literally not more than eight weeks before that, in April. So I didn’t know anything about METALLICA, didn’t know who Dave was, heard nothing about Cliff Burton — knew nothing about it, coming from the Midwest. And I didn’t know anything about Cliff. And because the only recording Dave had of METALLICA was ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’, and that had another bass player on it named Ron McGovney. So when we did a cover of ‘Mechanix’, I played Ron McGovney‘s basslines.”

He continued: “Really, quite honestly, my METALLICA bass player was Ron, believe it or not, and I kind of modeled what we did off of that ‘No Life ‘Til Leather’ demo. And I remember the day when ‘Kill ‘Em All’ and we sat… There was complete silence in the room, and we sat and we listened to the album. And the differences — tempos were pulled back. And obviously the bass solo, ‘Anesthesia’. That was really my first experience hearing Cliff. And at that point, we were two months into… MEGADETH was well on its way.

“So, long answer to your short question is I didn’t really have an influence [from Cliff]… That was not where my influence came from. And quite honestly, growing up in a rural area of Minnesota, bass players in rock and roll were cool, but when I started hearing some jazz players… Those guys were more of my influence, along with Steve Harris [IRON MAIDEN] and Geddy Lee [RUSH] and Ian Hill [JUDAS PRIEST] and the metal guys. But, for me, I went more into the jazz world… But those were the things that I brought in, and I think that made, me and Dave, our participation together with the MEGADETH sound something that was… And even then with Gar Samuelson and Chris Poland — they were jazz-fusion musicians. We really had a very different sound — different even from ANTHRAX, from METALLICA, from SLAYER — a very different sound. And I think that probably is what sort of set us apart as our own pillar of the ‘Big Four.'”

“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” is a colossal celebration of the most propulsive debut album in heavy metal history, reimagined by the legends who inspired it and the generations that came in its wake!

The veteran likes of SAXON, DIAMOND HEAD and MOTÖRHEAD — three of METALLICA‘s favorite bands — are joined by rising stars such as TAILGUNNER and Swedish prog metallers SOEN to create a who’s who of heavy music, with each performer lending their unique sound to one classic track. Contributions from thrash giants TESTAMENT, ex-MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal linchpins TYGERS OF PAN TANG show the label looking beyond their own artists to amass the greatest lineup possible. Joining the superstar lineup are the legendary RAVEN (closing with the thundering anthemic “Metal Militia”) who were part of METALLICA‘s first-ever tour, 1983’s famous “Kill ‘Em All For One” venture.

“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” is an ambitious achievement worthy of METALLICA‘s game-changing legacy. By the fans and for the fans, it reaffirms the Four Horsemen’s ironclad status — and its stacked roster continues the band’s mission to shove metal up your ass.

“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.

“No Life ‘Til Leather – A Tribute To Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All” track listing:

01. Hit The Lights – TAILGUNNER
02. The Four Horsemen – THE ALMIGHTY
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

DIAMOND HEAD‘s version of METALLICA‘s “No Remorse” was originally included on a reimagined and re-recorded version of DIAMOND HEAD‘s “Lightning To The Nations” album, which was released in 2020 via Silver Lining Music.

“I wanted to cover a song from METALLICA‘s debut album, ‘Kill ‘Em All’,” DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler explained, “partly because METALLICA covered songs from DIAMOND HEAD‘s debut album ‘Lightning To The Nations’ and it felt like things have come full circle to me. None of the band members knew how to play any of the songs from ‘Kill ‘Em All’, and I eventually decided we should all learn ‘No Remorse’. Then when we got into the rehearsal room, we played ‘No Remorse’ and immediately it just sounded great; it was very ‘DIAMOND HEAD‘ and it really suited us as a band. Of the four covers we ended up doing, ‘No Remorse’ sounded the best straight away. I’ve seen METALLICA live over twenty times and they don’t play ‘No Remorse’ very often, but it’s always great when they do.”

Back in December 2011, SAXON‘s Biff Byford joined METALLICA on stage for the first of four intimate shows at the 1,200-capacity Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. The iconic metal vocalist performed the SAXON classic “Motorcycle Man” with METALLICA.

It wasn’t the first time Biff and METALLICA had surprised their fans with a live rendition of the song: in 2009, Byford joined the San Francisco heavy metal giants in Paris, at Palais Omnisport de Bercy.

METALLICA‘s second-ever gig was opening for SAXON, and Biff has been a longtime friend of the California band; like many other seminal bands of the genre, METALLICA always recognized SAXON as one of their main influences.

When METALLICA played Sheffield Arena on February 28, 2009, they invited as VIP guests former SAXON members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson.

There has always been a strong link between the pioneering MOTÖRHEAD and mighty METALLICA. A unique bond of friendship between the two has stood over the decades, with METALLICA even playing Lemmy‘s 50th birthday party in 1995. In turn, MOTÖRHEAD have paid homage to some of METALLICA‘s finest compositions, even winning a Grammy Award for their cover of “Whiplash” in 2004.

METALLICA paid tribute to MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy on its 2016 album “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, which came out less than a year after the iconic rocker’s death.

Shortly after Lemmy‘s passing, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich penned a lengthy tribute to the MOTÖRHEAD mainman in which looked back on the influence Lemmy had not just on METALLICA but also on him personally.