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99 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No longer my fave, but still really great., August 2, 2001
When I first bought this album, it instantly became my favorite. I thought it was incredible, and that nothing could ever touch it. Well, since then I have changed my mind. I have found a lot (but not a whole lot) of albums that are just as good as this one, and even better. But, make no mistake, this is one of the greatest albums ever made, for sure. When the acoustic intro to "Fight Fire with Fire" starts out, you might think you bought the wrong album, but then the heavy guitar hits you like a ton of bricks, and before you know it, you're thrashing around, destroying everything in sight. The guitars are very tight, and awesome solos abound. Cliff's bass is very menacing (if not a bit hard to hear). Lars doesn't stand out much, but he does a pretty decent job. There isn't a bad moment on here, but the highlights would have to be the classic "For Whom the Bell Tolls", the amazing ballad "Fade to Black", and, one of the greatest thrash songs ever, "Creeping Death". It all amounts to what is simply one of the greatest thrash metal albums ever made. There is a great deal of argument as to which Metallica album is the best. Many seem to think that "Master of Puppets" is the best, but I am very adamant in my decision that this is their finest moment. If pressed, I would say that this one and MOP are close to equal. I certainly prefer this one to "Kill Em All" and "And Justice for All", but MOP is a very close call. Anyway, if you love great metal, this is one album you should definitely buy. If you like this album, and want to hear more great metal, I would recommend "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden (which came out in the same year as RTL, by the way), "Reign in Blood" by Slayer, "The New Order" by Testament, "Among the Living" by Anthrax, "Peace Sells..." by Megadeth, "Cowboys from Hell" by Pantera, and anything by Iced Earth. Man, this was great metal. I wish more people did stuff like this today.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metallica - Ride The Lightning - 1984, February 3, 2007
An amazing sophomore effort, Metallica showed they could not only top the debut album "Kill 'em All" but produce a record that perhaps replaced some of the raw edge the first album had with more polished track listing. Don't misunderstand me, if anything these songs showed that the band was improving in their technical structure and overall approach at delivering harsh, hard hitting songs that were dark in theme and spectacular in guitar work.
Released in 1984, RTL is an album with 8 tracks and featured founding members James Hetfield on vocals, Lars Ulrich at drums, Kirk Hammet on lead guitar and Cliff Burton on Bass. Burton was replaced years later after getting killed from an accident in Sweden when the tour bus flipped on an icy road.
It's Heavy, its fast and its furious. The track starts off with an almost oriental sounding guitar piece that quickly launches into the song "Fight Fire with Fire". Fire is a thrash masterpiece and amidst the flurry of guitars is the thunder of drums, as well as Hetfield's almost demonic delivering of choppy vocals, which emphasizes power in each word as much as possible. There is some great guitar work just on this song alone, and amidst the speed parts there are nice changeups that offer difference within the tone and overall feel of the song, which in turn gives it more diversity and builds up for a superb ending. Then you get the monster intro for the title track, which is another gem all its own. "Ride the Lightning has a great opening riff by Hammet that is heard off and on throughout the song. The songwriting on this album is superb as we can clearly hear the story of the electric chair's recipient being played out before us. The gothic "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is stoic as it gongs an old church bell at the beginning of the song, which quickly leads into a wide range of guitar work. A stomping, marching beat is installed as well, and the power riffs on this one are some of the best on the album. This song features more melodic, doomy guitar parts as well that hit some great high notes as they escalate into an anxiety type mood that finally drops into the main part of the track.
Oh yes, track four is "Fade to Black" and one of those songs you can't miss! They slow it down into a mournful slow song that has beautiful guitar parts that are layered well. My review of this melodic and dire track won't do it justice. It's not all melody and swooning however, as it assaults into some frenzied guitar pieces that are very heavy, and also a song that I feel you can appreciate the bass of Cliff Burton a little more.
"Trapped under Ice" is just a regular and great thrashing tune that never slows down and yes, has a story to it that is pretty grim. The guitars on here are extremely fast, and as Hammet goes 100mph on six strings, Hetfield belts out the lyrics "No release from my cryonic state/What is this? I've been stricken by fate/Wrapped up tight, cannot move, can't break free/Hand of doom has a tight grip on me".
"Escape" tones down the high angered vocals a tad, as it is a song that rolls along before getting to one of the best chorus parts I have heard. The tones and sound when they start into the chorus:
"Out of my own, out to be free
One with my mind, they just can't see
No need to hear things that they say
Life is for my own to live my own way"
The ends of each sentence are carried out farther and are done with a great style that really made this chorus and this song yes, another gem. At the end it breaks off into a final goodbye of riffs as a siren (like one of those POW Camp type) starts going off in the distance. Overall, it is a song I still enjoy hearing to this day.
"Creeping Death" is another thrash gem, which features Hammet in full force at lead guitar. It is a haunting and powerful track that also has a lot of diversity in chorus and overall structure. The album rounds out with a song based on the Lovecraft mythos in the famous "The Call of Ktulu". You will see the spelling of Ktulu vary from Metallica's to Lovecraft's and other sources as well. This track starts out with a melodic guitar peice that dances along a doom laden soundscape before revving up into an aggressive assault of guitars that progresses further on with the original intro's riffs. Louder and louder it climbs and eventually you are hearing a masterful instrumental track that clocks in at over eight minutes long. This was also the first instrumental in which all the members played together, giving it that much more power. Overall a five star album that is sometimes under appreciated by many fans as it sometimes sank between the lines between the debut smash hit "Kill 'em All" and the masterpiece that was "Master of Puppets".
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ECSTACY IN GOLD, February 1, 2000
This cd, like Metallica's "Master of Puppets" was re-mastered by DCC and sounds just as awesome. I know many metallifans are skeptical about purchasing these re-masters, but to my ears, the superior sound quality is there and is noticeable. I have owned a recording of this album (Ride the Lightning) on either record or cd since 1984, and have heard it probably a million times since then. When I heard the remastered cd version today, I heard many things that I hadn't heard before. For example: The clarity in the intro solo by Hammett on "Fade to Black, the way Cliff Burton's roaring, howling lead bass was meant to stand out on "The Call of Ktulu", crisper drums and background vocals on "Creeping Death" and "Trapped Under Ice" are just some of the many sonic improvements on this cd. I understand that it's a lot of money for a cd that most people who are fans of the band already own. But if you are a long time or serious fan/collector, this is a true must have. If you are on a tight budget, or think the standard cd sounds good enough, don't bother. The cd also features re-packaging just like the original album (right down to the original megaforce records label in the upper right hand side of the back cover), though the differences are minimal from the standard issue cd, but noteworthy to the serious fan. I can only hope and pray that the horrendously recorded "And Justice For All" receives a similar treatment in the very near future.
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