Bonded by Blood

Some songs were co-written by Kirk Hammett.

The album was originally titled A Lesson in Violence, but had its name changed when a suitable cover idea could not be found. An advance cassette copy of the album (with the original title) was widely distributed through the tape-trading network upon the record's completion late in the summer of 1984, creating an immense underground buzz prior to the official release of the LP. The release was delayed, however, due to problems with the artwork.

The song Bonded by Blood came to be, after a "bonding experience" between Kirk Hammett, Gary Holt, Tom Hunting, and Paul Baloff. One night, after drinking, they were talking about how great it was to be in a band, and play the music they like. At some point, they decided that they wanted to immortalize it. So, the four used a razor blade to make some cuts in their hands and mix their blood, and therefore be "bonded by blood". Kirk talked about this in a video where he thinks back on Paul Baloff.

Released on Paul Baloff's 25th birthday.

Recording information:

Recorded at Prarie Sun Studios, July 1984.
Mixed at Tres Virgos Studios, August 1984.
Mastered at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California, USA.

Identifiers:

Matrix / Runout (A side): TOR 666 A2 MX 8019 A 41201-1 19613 (3)
Matrix / Runout (B side): A TOR 666 B MX 8019 B 19530 (3)