This is only Metallica's 2nd album, but already they were turning into a great, "thinking man's" heavy metal.  Sometimes I like to think this is Metallica's debut, because this is really the first album where they became Metallica.  Many early fans bemoan Metallica's later albums, wanting them to return to the days of thrash metal with Kill 'Em All (their weakest album in my opinion).  They say they sold out by using slower tempos and multi instrumentation (like pedal steel guitars and hurdy-gurdy).  The reality is that Metallica has always been ambitious, and here on their 2nd album, they prove in conclusively.  This is a fantastic album, one that has really stood the test of time (it was made over 20 years ago, and still sounds fresh today).  It is loaded with classic Metallica tracks.  The thrash opener Fight Fire with Fire, the fantastic title track, the brilliant For Whom the Bell Tolls, the magisterial, signature track Fade to Black, another majestic, signature track in Creeping Death (one of my all time favorites), and the brilliant, prog influenced instrumental that closes the album, The Call of Ktulu.  It is also interesting to note that Kirk Hammett has a much larger role on this album.  He co-wrote many of the songs, and his lead guitar doesn't seem thrown in like it did on Kill 'Em All.  This is one of my favorite Metallica albums.  It's the 2nd step in a discography that just keeps getting better.