Motorbreath

Album: Kill 'Em All (1983)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was written completely by James Hetfield. It's about people in life who sit and waste time and how they will accomplish nothing. It's the only Metallica song credited solely to Hetfield. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Layton - Paris, TX
  • "Motorbreath" first appeared on a demo tape the band made on July 6, 1982 called No Life 'Til Leather. The studio time came courtesy of the owner of Rocshire Records, who wanted to sign them based on the explosive songs he heard them perform in their live sets. What he didn't realize that the songs Metallica played live that he really liked were covers, mostly of the British metal band Diamond Head. Disappointed, he let the band have the demo and released them from any obligation.

    Metallica dubbed about 300 copies of the reel-to-reel master onto cassettes and sent them to every metal tastemaker they could think of. The fanzines wrote glowing reviews, and copies of those copies started to circulate, giving the band some renown not just in their home turf of Los Angeles but also in San Francisco, where the metal scene was much more vibrant.
  • The band still had their original bass player, Ron McGovney, and guitarist, Dave Mustaine, when they recorded the original demo version of this song. By the time they recorded it for their debut album, Kill 'Em All, both had been sacked, replaced by Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett.

Comments: 3

  • Zero from Nowhere, NjI like the drum solo at the beginning. I wonder if James Hetfeild came up with it.
  • Chris from Surprise, Azdude when you sell over 100 million albums then you can talk. they made music they liked not what the fansa wanted. you can still buy kill em all so shut the f--k up
  • Joe from Woodbridge, NjOne of the best metal songs from one of the best metal albums of all time. From the worst sell out band of all time.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Female Singers Of The 90s

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.