 The final cost for the record was $ 15,000, which nearly bankrupted Zazula. "This was mortgage money I 'm spending, not something I've got put by I 'm going to invest," he said later. Zazula had a hard time finding a distributor for the record, but he eventually convinced Relativity Records to distribute the album in the US and Canada, and Music for Nations in Europe. The band initially intended to title the album Metal Up Your Ass with the cover featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. However, Zazula convinced them to change this as he thought distributors would not stock it. The final cover featured the shadow of a hand letting go of a bloodied hammer. Burton was credited with coming up with the name Kill' Em All — referring to timid record distributors, saying, "Those record company fuckers ... kill 'em all!" — as a response to the situation. Ulrich thought Kill' Em All was a good name, and Zazula agreed. Even though the original title was unused, the band did later release a "Metal Up Your Ass" T-shirt with the proposed artwork. A live bootleg recording of a 1982 performance at the Old Waldorf, titled Metal Up Your Ass (Live), featured the original cover artwork. Original pressings of the album came with an inner sleeve that included pictures and lyrics as well as a silver label on the vinyl. Subsequent pressings had a blank white sleeve and standard album label. The 1988 reissue re-introduced the lyrics and photos. The original release can be distinguished by the words "Bang That Head That Doesn 't Bang" at the top of the back cover. This was dropped from the reissue. The phrase "Bang That Head That Doesn't Bang" was dedicated to San Francisco fan Ray Burch, known for his headbanging at the band's early shows.
