Metallica's Reviews

Ride The Lightning

Metallica Raw and how they should be, Thrashy! Not Nu-Metal!

Although Kill 'Em All was arguably the album that revolutionized Underground Heavy Metal, Ride the Lightning assuredly expanded the Underground scene to new heights. Only one year after the release of Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning comes off as a fully realized and ambitious Thrash album that showed Metallica WERE the Kings of Metal, and they never lost their throne until releasing St. Anger. Each track tries something new and it explores the limits of Metallica's creativity, not just in lyrics but in complex song structures that show a maturity most musicians can't capture until VERY far in their career, except like Led Zeppelin, Metallica pulls it off very early on with their sophomore album Ride The Lightning. Although not commercially popular, after the release of the Black Album, many people began to peruse Metallica's early records, and since then, EVERY SINGLE METALLICA ALBUM HAS BEEN CERTIFIED PLATINUM, signifying these albums staying power and popularity. Although none of the songs on Ride The Lightning charted, you still hear such fan-favorites as "Fade To Black" and "For Whom The Bells Toll" on a regular basis(At least on my radio stations!). Although not as grandiose as Master of Puppets and ...And Justice For All(Their Best!), Ride The Lightning stands as one of the best moments in Metallica's career, and it shouldn't be missed by anybody. Below you'll see song by song reviews to see just why this record is so great!

Track Reviews:

Fight Fire With Fire-10/10: Don't be fooled by the classical guitar at the beginning, you're not in for a night at the opera!Burton's bass and Ulrich's drumming immediately pick the pace up to a frenzy, and Hetfield's vocals echo bloody murder behind the instruments! Crazy solo by Hammett, and it shows why he's the best guitarist ever!

Ride The Lightning-9/10: Hammett's deathly riff starts us off, and Hetfield's rather high-pitched vocals scream out lyrics about being killed in the Electric Chair. Great chorus, but Hetfield's vocals are a little iffy on this song, thus one point degraded. Really long interlude where Hammett and Lars thrash it out for 2 minutes straight!

For Whom The Bells Toll-10/10: Echoing eerily of AC/DC's Hells Bells, church bells resound behind Hammett's doomy riff. Thrash is it's supposed to sound, we get 5 minutes of total bliss that revolve around Hammett's mastery of the guitar and his exuberant playing. Hetfield's vocals AND lyrics are great, and I would have to say this beats out all the other competition on this CD!

Fade To Black-10/10: Really overrated, but a great song nonetheless. A far cry from "One"'s mastery, Fade To Black is a sermon about the effects of suicide through Hetfield's eyes. Hammett's soulful acoustic guitar playing and Hetfield's heartbroken vocals truly show Metallica were geniuses. Really thrashy as it goes along, and Hammett's solo is incredible!

Trapped Under Ice-10/10: If you call this or "Escape" filler, you are a MORON! One of the hardest songs here, we are thrusted headfirst to Hammett's heavenly solo at the beginning of the song! Soon after Hetfield takes over, singing the (rather cheesy) lyrics superbly.

Escape-10/10: Hammett's addictive guitar riff starts the song off and stays the entire time, and Hetfield's vocals truly echo the mind of someone trapped and unable to escape, very haunting!Rather creepy solo from Hammett, and it perfectly matches the song's tone! The police siren only gives added effect to this song!

Creeping Death-10/10:A song about the 10th plague sent down by God in Egypt to combat the pharoah is a non-stop thrashfest, and clocking in at 6:36 it's a fully realized one too. Hetfield's vocals are exceptional here, his voice infused with a sarcastic tone about death. Great solo from Hammett and a killer bass line from Burton!

The Call of the Ktulu-10/10: Although not as magnificent as the S&M version, Ride the Lightning's version is nothing short of excellent. You get 8 minutes of some of the best instrumentalists pushing all their instruments to the creative brink. Truly a masterpiece, and my favorite instrumental by Metallica.

Overall, this is a flawless album that won't fail to disappoint Metallica diehards and metalheads alike. Ride The Lightning is a glorius step up from Kill Em All, but it really only hints at the greatness to come. Don't worry about the album only being 8 songs, it still manages to be almost 50 MINUTES LONG, which is a lot more than you can say for most albums today! A casual warning to buyers, Hetfield's vocals on Ride the Lightning sound much lighter and different that his later material, so don't come in expecting that!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! FANS OF METALLICA, METAL, AND MOST ROCK WOULD HIGHLY ENJOY THIS ALBUM! METALLICA AVOIDS THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE! ALSO GET: MASTER OF PUPPETS,...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, AND THE BLACK ALBUM!Thanks for reading!

Buy this album on Amazon at $13.99