[1] It consists of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s new wave of British heavy metal bands and punk rock music rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and then recorded in Los Angeles over the course of six days.

With Metallica scheduled to play the 1987 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, the band's UK label Vertigo Records suggested that they release new material to mark the occasion.

Initial songwriting attempts with new bassist Jason Newsted resulted only in a demo for "Blackened", and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield subsequently broke his arm skateboarding and was unable to play guitar for several weeks.

Newsted utilized his earlier experience as a construction worker to soundproof Lars Ulrich's garage in El Cerrito, California, where the band would rehearse the material prior to recording.

Other tracks considered but dropped include "Signal Fire" by Japanese band Bow Wow and another NWOBHM song, Gaskin's "I'm No Fool".