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Metallica - Ride the Lightning Audio CD

A fair review of the Metallica "Ride the Lightning" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Metallica reviews here, or go back to the Metallica tabs.

Metallica Band: Metallica
Title: Ride the Lightning
Rating:
Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 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: Call of Ktulu

The only Metallica album that I really love.
The lyrics on RTL are both darker and more mature (in other words, less commercial). Metallica's 1984 album Ride The Lightning was and is much better than their debut album Kill 'Em All, released the year before. RTL is also, in my opinion, better than Master Of Puppets and . . . And Justice For All and is the only Metallica I would rank among my favorite metal albums. Personally, I prefer Slayer to Metallica, but RTL is just as good as any of my favorite Slayer albums. It has many of the same elements of a great Slayer album - speed, heaviness, brutality, and a guitar solo on every song - but also acoustic guitar, beautiful melodies, and even actual singing. The album starts out strong with the relentless Fight Fire With Fire, a song about nuclear war that hopefully will never happen. The second song is also about death, specifically execution by the electric chair. This song has one of the best riffs of all-time and was written, in part, by Dave Mustaine before he was kicked out of the band and went on to form Megadeth. The third song on RTL is For Whom The Bell Tolls, which features a great instrumental intro and of course, the boom of a ringing bell, much like the one heard on AC/DC's Hell's Bells. Next comes my second-favorite song on the album, Fade To Black, which is about suicide. However, the lyrics are not about wanting to commit suicide, but are rather an exploration of why others want to. Take, for example, the lyric "emptiness is filling me, to the point of agony", which is sung by James Hetfield with passion and a sense of deep sorrow. The second half of the album begins with a much faster and heavier song called Trapped Under Ice, continuing the theme of death with lyrics about drowning in freezing cold water. Next is the song Escape, which is all about a prison break, complete with the sound of police sirens. Escape is probably the only song on RTL that couldn't be considered a classic, but it is by no means a bad song. Following Escape is the concert staple Creeping Death, which actually tells part of the Bible story of Passover. Perhaps this biblical reference was inspired by the Iron Maiden songs Revelations and The Number Of The Beast; I don't know. The final song on the album is my personal favorite Metallica song, the epic instrumental The Call Of Ktulu. Every song on RTL is at least 4 or 5 minutes long, but Ktulu is nearly 9 minutes long. It is an unrelenting display of the band's incredible musical talent. It just keeps going and going, like the f***ing Energizer Bunny or something. It is very complex, but has a solid structure, and perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that, since it has no lyrics or vocals, it can be about whatever you want it to be about. It doesn't matter if you don't know what its title refers to (most people don't, myself included). The Call Of Ktulu was also written in part by Mustaine, but once again he doesn't actually play on it. Ktulu is quite possibly the best instrumental heavy metal song ever recorded and it brings the album to one hell of a close. Ride The Lightning is considered by many to be one of Metallica's best and Amazon has honored it with an 'essential recording' label. I highly recommend it as well, especially if all you've heard of the band is more recent releases like St. Anger and Death Magnetic. So buy this album, put in your CD player, and be prepared to ride the lightning!.


Awesome
the seller ibfo was spot on and in the condition I asked for with a great delivery time. This was exactly what I was looking for. I am very happy with Amazon sellers and amazon. I have nothing short of a great experience using Amazon. Thank You greg.


Greatest Bootleg Ever
Its amazing that this album came out in the early 80's and metal bands are still trying to steal their sound 20+ years later. If you dont know why Metallica's Ride The Lightning is the album that put them on the map then you need to buy this album immediately.

However, my used copy from somewhere in Las Vegas was a copy made in South America. The booklet appeared to be color photo copied with Spanish instead of English in the insert. The cd played fine but I couldnt help but think something looks a little unusual about this cd. Hence 4 stars instead of 5.


Awesome!!!
Essential for all Metallica fans and hard rockers. This is the best Metallica album. Truly a great album of music. Fantastically well done.


Another overrated Metallica album.
Still this album is nothing compared to Peace Sells, Spreading The Disease, or Hell Awaits or Reign In Blood. Again Dave Mustaine's awesome writing made this album tolerable, just more of his stuff Metallica stole.


You can see a complete list of all Metallica discography, or go back to the Metallica tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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