Pure Metal Gold ! (Ride The Lightning - Metallica)

Member Name: blimeycharlie

Product:	Ride The Lightning - Metallica
Date:	14/01/08 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great guitar , great songs , got something for everybody

Disadvantages: vocals not fully refined yet but other than that none

One of the finest metal albums ever made ! Despite metallica's recent negative image and press due to the release of St. Anger they still remain one of the biggest and best loved metal bands of all time, and this album is one of the reasons why.

This was the first metal album i ever bought and it single handedly inspired me to learn to play guitar; every track is packed with a wealth of exciting riffs, solos and generally good musicmanship.

The album kicks off with Fight fire with fire - at first you would be forgiven for thinking that you bought the wrong cd ,as what ensues is one of the most memorable acoustic intros i have ever heard, pleasant and harmonious , but it soon dissolves into a dark and blisteringly fast trademark chugging riff, this is one of the heavier tracks on the album and ,what an opener! the pace remains constant and fast once it gets going and the vocals are barked in a somewhat stoccato manner ,ie ,short and punchy. this track is raw and everso energetic.

next up is the title track Ride the lightening - Again another solid track packed full of great riffs and some harmony guitar , but what i like about this track is the juicy face melter solo which would give any begginer / intermediate guitar player a run for their money. simple in construction but hugely melodic . it also starts with a nifty thunder clap to regain the listeners attention ,probably necessary as the opener FFWF will leave you mezemorized.

Up next is the most commercial track of the album For whom the bell tolls - which is commonly used in association to metallica for promos etc. a sort of trademark song if you will. this track is down tempo compared to the first two and istead of speed relies on crushing brutallity and simple yet brilliant riffs. the solo utilizes just four notes in repetition which on paper should be dull and uninspired yet somehow kirk hammet has made it sound huge and sort of Black sabbath-esque. (just listen to the end of Black Sabbaths Fairies wear boots to know what im talking about) Another point to note is the vocals sound more mature on this track compared to the last two aswel, not to put down them tracks by any means.

Just when you thought this album couldnt get any better, track four, Fade to black- is yet another supurb song that will blow you away. Similarly to For whom the bell tolls it is also another of the more commercial and sucessful down tempo songs on the album, beginning with another clean intro and a lush intro solo it then picks up with a spanish classical inspired chorus, again very melodic for a metal band. the vocals are a little on the depressing side with this song but it is none the less is what can be described as a beautiful song. it then ends with a really epic , over the top sort of solo. I think there is a little bit of showing off going on here as the solo seems to go on for ages but that doesnt detract from the song in any way ,infact it reinforces what is already a great song with the perfect ending.

Track 5 Trapped under ice - I feel is possibly the weakest song on the album , im not saying its bad , it just doesnt meet the high standards already set by the first four songs. It is thrashy and energetic bringing the album back upto the thrash tempo metallica were known for, but it lacks refinement. the lyrics are a little cheesy on this one ,but its still a great song and well worth a listen.

track 6 is also a slight dip in the album , Escape- is again not as refined as the first four with un-memorable vocals , but it still has a tight rhythm section provided by James hetfeild and Lars ulrich.

Here we go ,track 7 Creeping death reminds us why this is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. the sound is kept fresh and interesting on this song by bringing in egyptian sounding phrasings and solos. Another brutally heavy song on the album with good vocals and at the time a fairly origional theme (inspired by Merciful fate).

Lastly the album closes with another reminder about why metal musicians are great , The Call of ktulu - is an instumental track with many technical guitar flourishes and no vocals to get in the way. This is a daring song, not commercial in the least for the fact it has no words but it is genius. clean guitars a woven effortlessly between distorted filthy guitar crunch. Admittedly at times this song can be a tad boring i think personally, as it is long and a little repetetive but it is a good closer to the album and should not be overlooked. I can still listen to it after not having heard it for a while and think WOW.

a point to note is that almost all of the songs are very lengthy, these are not your average commercial pop songs.

Overall i would give the Vocals 8 / 10 (James Hetfeild had not yet fully discovered his voice on this album)
-the guitars 10 / 10
-the drums 9 / 10
-the song structure 9 / 10
-and the sound quality 9 / 10

in conclusion if you are a metal fan but do not yet own this album buy it now! a rock fan , someone who is intersted in getting into metal, a guitar enthusiast like myself , or someone who appreciates good musicmanship then definately buy it now.
This album could change your life!

Summary: an unbeatable album.