No Remorse (song)

Song

Tour Dates

No Remorse is the eighth track from Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All. It was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. The song is at a moderate tempo for much of the song but changes tempo towards the end.

About

The song is about how soldiers in a war are not meant to show any remorse while killing.

An early version of the song appears on Ron McGovney's 1982 demo, and was often played live when Dave Mustaine was still in the band - in this version, however, the ending part has no vocals, and the lyrics for the chorus are slightly different.

In 1993 a sample of the song's chorus was used in the famous game Doom, on the first level.

Live

• "No Remorse" has been performed live 246 times as of January, 2025.
• The song was first played live on August 4th, 1982, in West Hollywood, California, United States.
• It was last performed on November 6th, 2022, in Hollywood, Florida, at the Hard Rock Live Concert.

Lyrics

  No mercy for what we're doing
  No thought to even what we've done
  We don't need to feel the sorrow
  No remorse for the helpless one
  
          War without end
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
  
  Blood feeds the war machine
  As it eats its way across the land
  We don't need to feel the sorrow
  No remorse is the one command
  
          War without end
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
  
  Only the strong survive
  No will to save the weaker race
  We are ready to kill all comers
  Like a loaded gun right at your face
  
          War without end
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
          No remorse, no repent
          We don't care what it meant
          Another day, another death
          Another sorrow, another breath
  
  Attack
  
  Bullets are flying
  People are dying
  With madness surrounding
  All hell's breaking loose
  
  Soldiers are hounding
  Bodies are mounting
  Cannons are shouting to take their abuse
  
  With war machines going
  Blood starts to flowing
  No mercy given to anyone here
  
  The furious fighting
  Swords are like lightning
  It all becomes frightening
  You know death is near
  
  No remorse