Artist: Metallica
Release Title: Ride The Lightning
Release Type: Full Length
Release Year: 1984
Artist Genre: Thrash Metal
Artist Origin: USA
My Rating: 95%
Track Listing:
1. Fight Fire With Fire 2. Ride The Lightning 3. For Whom The Bell Tolls 4. Fade To Black 5. Trapped Under Ice 6. Escape 7. Creeping Death 8. The Call Of The Ktulu
Total playing time 47:23
So it turns out there was a time when Metallica weren't a bunch of Rolling Stone conscious, fame wh*res and they actually were 100% metal to the bone. Yep, they actually were in the early 80's believe it or not and it certainly is hard to believe for some seen as it was so long ago now. If you have to buy one Metallica record this is it. Not the black album or master of puppets like the mainstream would have you believe. "Ride The Lightning" is the best. Why? Because it's their creative peak. They never had any better ideas after this album. Here the riffs along with the melodies and songwriting are grade A and most of the songs are great and stand on their own as model exhibits of what the metal genre has to offer. You can hear an mp3 upload of the the track "Trapped Under Ice" above. This mp3 upload may be the best track from the album.
At this time however the band were still dipping into the Mustaine jar for ideas like the main riff for the title track here which is a spider chord trademark Mustaine riff, even so most of everything else is brutal and epic enough for you to gawp at. The leap from "Kill 'Em All" to this album is glaring. Not that "Kill Em All wasn't a great album because it was but here they exchange the more happy go lucky odes to traditional metal of their debut for a more bleak, angry and full on thrash sound but utilising more classical displays of guitar and epic mood setters. You'd definitely have to say that this was the first proper full on thrash album, with Slayer's Haunting The Chapel from 84 being an EP and the debuts from Metallica and Slayer both being crosses between speed metal and thrash.
The monsters on here that have to be applauded are the furious opener "Fight Fire With Fire" which is the ultimate fighting anthem. It hasn't been bettered. The title track, the zippy and catchy "Trapped Under Ice", the epic closer "Call Of The Ktulu" and "Escape" despite the flack it gets(merely because it's more upbeat and less angry than the rest! It's called having a range of emotions people!). "Creeping Death" is merely solid. Cool but nothing amazing.
I've personally always been repulsed by the helpless suicide sentiment of "Fade To Black" although musically it's a pretty stellar song. For "Whom The Bell Tolls" however is irritatingly repetitive and if you play this on vinyl it's like the record is stuck...
That's the run down of Metallica's crown jewels. Funny the band seem to think Master of Puppets, which is a less interesting rehash of ride the lightning, and the black album, which is a dull mainstream version of their 80's stuff, are better albums! Don't listen to Lar$ and make sure you have this. On vinyl if you can. Check out mp3 downloads of the tracks I recommended and buy it from Amazon.
