

The demo has been re-released twice unofficially, first under the title of Metallica: Bay Area Thrashers, and was alleged to be a live bootleg recording of Metallica in the early days, however all "live" sounds had been added from various sources including the Metallica video Cliff 'Em All. The title of the demo comes from the first line of "Hit the Lights". It is unknown why No Remorse didn’t appear, as it was on an earlier demo. The only songs on Kill 'Em All that aren’t on the tape are Cliff Burton's bass solo "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth", " Whiplash", "No Remorse" and "The Four Horsemen" (See notes above).

All of the tracks are early recordings of songs that would later appear on the band's debut album Kill 'Em All. It is Metallica's most widely circulated demo tape. No Life 'Til Leather was recorded on July 6, 1982. Mustaine also included a reworked version of the song, simply titled "Mechanix", on Megadeth's 1985 debut album, Killing Is My Business.

Apart from the songs listed below, two other tracks recorded during different sessions, consisting of songwriting ideas and various unreleased riffs, have also been widely bootlegged. Although the demo has never been officially released, it has been in wide circulation in various bootleg versions. This demo tape was also recorded in McGovney's garage during March 1982. "Let It Loose" (originally performed by Savage) "Killing Time" (originally performed by Sweet Savage)
