The most prominent club played by Metallica was the Old Waldorf at 444 Battery Street in downtown San Francisco.
AllMusic's Steve Huey called the songs "Battery" and "Damage, Inc." "two slices of thrash mayhem".
ranked the song number 5 on its 20 Greatest Metallica Songs Ranked list, commenting, "Echoing Ride The Lightning's superb Fight Fire With Fire in its medieval-tinged acoustic opening before bombing headlong into a masterclass in lean, taut thrash metal, Battery was the fine-tuned statement of intent from a band ready to make their serrated sound a platinum success.
"[9] Revolver magazine hosted a fan poll and "Battery" was ranked number 4 out of "Top 5 Metallica Songs".
[13] "Battery" used to be a constant part of the band's live set list, frequently as either the opening or closing song.
[19] A report on the situation included how Watts Googled lyrics to Metallica's "Battery"[20] after he had disposed of the bodies of his pregnant wife and children.