Metallica's Reviews
Ride The Lightning (Average Rating: 9.50 out of 10)
The First Metallica album (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
METALLICA
from Bothell, WA
In my opinion this is the first real Metallica album. While Kill 'Em All displayed the speed and aggression that would power Metallica ahead of all other thrash bands it just had something missing. This album pulls it all together! The lyrics are incredible and Ride the Lightning adds melody to the speed and power of their songs creating a lethal combination. Metallica improved on its sound with Master of Puppets but lost some of their edge. Here are how i would rate the songs on Ride the Lightning:1) Fight Fire With Fire - An incredible classical guitar intro that explodes into a fulfledged thrash classic. Lyrics about revenge and nuclear armageddon add to the frightening imagery in "Fight Fire With Fire." Maybe Metallica's fastest and heaviest song to date. James' best thrash metal vocals are displayed in this song. 8.5/10 2) Ride the Lightning - Probably my favorite song on the album and maybe my favorite Metallica song. Kirk lays down an awesome solo in this one. Note: Dave Mustaine wrote the chord pregression that is used throughout this song and can be found on "Looking Down the Cross" by Megadeth. 10/10 3) For Whom the Bell Tolls - A slower Metallica song. This song to me always seems to lag behind the rest on this album in greatness. While this song has great lyrics based on an Ernest Hemingway book. Lacks the speed and intensity of other Metallica songs but a great intro saves it. 7.5/10 4) Fade to Black - Probably my all time favorite Kirk Hammett solo is the outro solo to this song. Every time I hear this solo it sends shivers down my spine. "Fade to Black", written about suicide, may be the saddest Metallica song written and is and absolute metal classic. 9.5/10 5) Trapped Under Ice - An epic about a person drowning and freezing to death. This song moves at a schizophrenic pace and Kirk comes through with a blistering solo in the beginning of the song. Perhaps a hidden metaphor to drug addiction in this song... it's hard to tell. 9/10 6) Escape - My least favorite song on the album. Moves a seemingly slow pace and the chorus makes me want to shoot myself. I usually skip this one. Lyrics about escaping from a world that tries to prevent you from being what you want to be adds to the dullness of this song. 5.5/10 7) Creeping Death - A song inspired by the movie "The Ten Commandments", "Creeping Death" adds an interesting element to the album. "Creeping Death" is an allusion to the final plague bestowed upon the Egyptians, the Angel of Death, which came and killed the first born of every family that did not have lambs blood above their door. While this song keeps up the speed and intensity of the other song it seems to add something extra to the album. A blazing solo by Kirk and excellent rhythm by James makes this one of the best songs on the album. 9/10 8) Call of Ktulu - The worst of the instrumentals (exluding the bass solo on Kill 'Em All) in my opinion. Picks up at the end of the song but cannot compare to "Orion" or the epic dedicated to bassist Cliff Burton that is "To Live is To Die." 7.5/10 The second best Metallica album trailing only "Master of Puppets." I thought that Metallica needed to end "Ride the Lightning" with one final punch like they did with "Master of Puppets." ("Damage Inc.") Besides that this album has James' best vocals to date and some of the best instrumental work displayed in all of music. "Ride the Lightning" paved the way for Thrash Metal and continues to influence musicians today! Thanks James, Kirk, and Lars! You've changed my life! R.I.P. Cliff!
Buy this album on Amazon at $13.99
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