 To get attention from club owners , Metallica recorded the Power Metal demo which featured " Motorbreath " in addition to the already @-@ performed originals . The logo , displaying the band 's name with the first and last letter drawn larger with sharp serifs and italicized , was designed by Hetfield . The No Life ' til Leather demo was recorded in July 1982 , and it created a buzz in the underground tape trading circles . No Life ' til Leather featured a re @-@ recorded version of " Hit the Lights " , which appeared on the second pressing of Metal Massacre , in addition to new songs such as " Phantom Lord " , " Seek & Destroy " , and " Metal Militia " . The recording and mastering was financed by Kenny Kane , owner of the punk label High Velocity , and distributed by Ulrich and his friend Pat Scott . Because of tensions with Mustaine , McGovney left the band in December . Ulrich was impressed by Cliff Burton 's performance with Trauma at The Troubadour and offered to let him join the group . Burton joined on the condition that Metallica would relocate to the San Francisco area . Moving to El Cerrito in February 1983 , the band stayed and rehearsed at Exodus manager Mark Whitaker 's house , which they called the " Metallica Mansion " . Metallica intended to record its debut in Los Angeles on Slagel 's independent label on an $ 8 @,@ 000 budget . Slagel could not afford the record , and Ulrich contacted Jon Zazula , a New Jersey record store owner and promoter of heavy metal bands on the East Coast who had already heard No Life ' til Leather . Metallica took a bus to New Jersey in late March , and upon arrival , allowed Zazula to sell copies of No Life ' til Leather to help him found Megaforce Records , because no label wanted to finance the album 's recording . 
