Metal Militia Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Thunder and lightning, the gods take revenge
Senseless destruction

Victims of fury are cowardly now
Running for safety
Stabbing the harlot to pay for her sins
Leaving the virgin
Suicide running as if it were free
Ripping and tearing

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, through the mist and the madness
We're trying to get the message to you


[Chorus]
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia


[Verse 2]
Chained and shadowed to be left behind
Nine and one thousand
Metal militia for your sacrifice
Ironclad soldiers
Join or be conquered the law of the land
What will befall you
The metallization of your inner soul
Twisting and turning

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, through the mist and the madness
We're trying to get the message to you

[Chorus]
Metal militia
Metal militia, oh!

[Guitar Solo]

[Instrumental Break]
Oh!

[Verse 3]
We are as one; yes, we all are the same
Fighting for one cause
Leather and metal are our uniforms
Protecting what we are
Joining together to take on the world
With our heavy metal

Spreading the message to everyone here
Come let yourself go


[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, through the mist and the madness
We're trying to get the message to you
[Chorus]
Metal militia
Metal militia

[Outro]
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia
Metal militia

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About

Genius Annotation

“Metal Militia” is the 10th song on Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All. It is written by James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine and Lars Ulrich.

Lying around 175 BPM, it is one of their fastest songs to date. Therefore, “Metal Militia” was often the finishing song during the early concerts to close off their presentations strongly.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Metallica say about "Metal Militia"?
Genius Answer

Obviously, a song like “Metal Militia” has a different lyrical vibe to it than some of the stuff we came up with over the next few years, ha ha. ‘Leather and metal are our uniforms’? I wish I could tell you 35 years later that it was a kind of pisstake, but there wasn’t a lot of irony present in Southern California in the early 1980s. It was a case of people taking themselves slightly too seriously. You’re 18 years old and you’re just trying to figure it all out, trying to make head or tail of it. There weren’t a lot of guys in the harder rock and metal scene who were writing otherworldly, poetic stuff. The lyrical subjects were almost secondary to the music. They were just there to keep the song going.

Lars Ulrich, Metal Hammer

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