Consciousness My Only Friend (Ride The Lightning - Metallica)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Ride The Lightning - Metallica
Date:	17/04/04 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Heavy metal with classical influences, Intelligent lyrics (without being profane), Excellent musicians

Disadvantages: Not to everyone's taste, Production is a little poor- the volume has to be cranked up on this one

Metallica were the hottest and coolest band to like if you were an American youth in the early 1980s, especially as their ?no MTV? policy thrust appealing obscurity upon them. Their 1983 debut album ?Kill ?Em All? was very popular with fans of speedy US thrash metal but lacked any real depth or interest, but their 1984 follow-up ?Ride the Lightning? astounded music fans worldwide with its unique sound and very complex and detailed song styles.


STYLE


The band?s bass player Cliff Burton was not a member of the band when their previous album was written, and as such had little imput into the final product- apart from his fast-playing on the grating bass instrumental ?Pulling Teeth.? A classically trained bassist, his appreciation for intricate song structures was fused with the band?s fast, aggressive music and improving lyrics, and their first truly outstanding album was released. The success of this album led to 1986?s ?Master of Puppets,? in many ways an even better album that expanded on the strengths of this, but Ride the Lightning still contains many of Metallica?s most-loved songs.


TRACKS


1. FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

The most deceptive opening in rock history presents the listener with a soothing acoustic guitar played in a classical, baroque fashion, but thankfully an amplifier build-up and heavy drum slap allow the metal fan to lie back and enjoy the melodies, safe in the knowledge that they have not accidentally bought the soundtrack to Louis XIV?s palace at Versailles. One of the album?s ?thrash? songs, this is not one of Metallica?s most remembered pieces but is still much more interesting and enjoyable than anything by their Devil-worshipping contem
poraries. The song?s relatively simple lyrics deal with the threat of nuclear warfare bringing mankind to extinction, and it ends with an echoing explosion that leads perfectly into the second track.

The fast riff and staccato vocals make this a great and different Metallica song, but its true wonder lies with the original and, dare I say it, beautiful guitar solo after the three-minute mark. A very strong opener that would inspire the later and more popular ?Battery.? The ending riff is reminiscent of the final notes on Iron Maiden?s classic ?Hallowed Be Thy Name,? but that is where the similarity ends.

?Soon to fill our lungs, the hot winds of death. The Gods are laughing, so take your last breath.?

2. RIDE THE LIGHTNING

A fantastic high guitar section opens this song, which isn?t as aggressive as the previous track but is still fast, dark and angry; all that can be expected of a song about electric chair execution. The chorus and bridge sections of this song are great, but there are a couple of factors which prevent this from being recognised as one of Metallica?s most classic tracks; for a start, James Hetfield?s vocals are very annoying and grating when he seems to attempt an AC/DC style delivery in places, and secondly it?s a little longer than necessary at 6:37.

This is still a great song however, and as with all tracks on this album it has clearly had a great deal of effort expended to ensure its success. Not sure why they thought the high vocals sounded good though.

?Someone help me, oh please God help me, they?re trying to take it all away. I don?t want to die.?

3. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

The first recognisable track p
resent on almost all Metallica live sets and collections from 1984 to the present day, ?For Whom the Bell Tolls? features some outstanding work all round from the guitars, bass, vocals and drums. A distant bell ringing leads into Cliff Burton?s classic bass line and the chugging guitars, and Kirk Hammett delivers an excellent, and again classical-influenced, guitar section long before James decides to start on the vocals at around halfway into the track. The song deals with the futility of war (?For a hill men would kill- why, they do not know?) and may be related to the 1960s film of the same name.

This song is a Metallica classic as every instrument is noticeable and essential; the guitars carry out the riffs and solo sections, while Cliff?s bass can be heard setting the song?s moderately slow pace in an excellent way. And while a little unimaginative, Lars Ulrich?s drums are catchy and work to finish the sound. And while James? voice has yet to break into its adulthood, his voice thankfully isn?t annoying here. The only slight problem I have with the song is at the end, as it takes a full, dull minute for the song to bring itself to a close and fade out.

?For whom the bell tolls? time marches on.?

4. FADE TO BLACK

The most popular song on this album is also the band?s first attempt at a ?power ballad,? and most fans, including myself, find it among their finest work. The most powerful and emotional song on the album, this tale of depression leading to suicide is essentially structured into two sections; the first few minutes are led by a soft acoustic beat with heavier electric guitars and hard drums in the chorus, and the second half suddenly becomes far more ?traditional? Metallica, while keeping the tone.

The first half is excellent in itself, showing the ab
ilities of James? voice even at this early stage, but it is the second part which earns this song its popularity and esteem. One of the best guitar sections ever devised plays like a galloping bass riff, and the high guitar section that slowly leads the song into its fade-out and solos is often in my head, especially when I?m unable to sleep and so decide to write an album review at 4am. This is among my very favourite Metallica tracks and one of my favourite songs of all time, and I?m going to let you into a pretty sissy secret: when I bought this album at the age of sixteen and listened to it on high volume, reading along with the lyrics, I shed one very small tear. There, I?ve said it.

?I have lost the will to live, simply nothing more to give.
There is nothing more for me, I need the end to set me free.?

5. TRAPPED UNDER ICE

Following the awesome fourth track comes the most mediocre track on the album, not that that?s a bad thing. ?Trapped Under Ice? has the potential to be a good song but is overshadowed by everything else on this disc (or LP if you?re either very old or just very cool), and lacks the energy and emotion that it really requires. As the title suggests, this is literally about someone being trapped in the very undesirable situation of being under ice, and it?s only James? vocals that stay in the mind following a listen.

The kind of song which you only remember when looking at the back of the album and see the name, and you think, ?I am dying to live, cry out, I?m trapped under ice!? Ner-ner-ner, no I can?t remember the rest. I?ll put track four on and cry again.? It?s not a bad song, and I never skip it, it?s just not great.

?Freezing, freezing, can?t move at all. Screaming, screaming, can?t hear my call. I a
m dying to live, cry out, I?m trapped under ice.? (Ner-ner-ner? no, it?s gone).

6. ESCAPE

Another variation on the band?s style just when you think you have them pinned down. This isn?t thrash metal or a ballad, it?s more of a mid-paced rant with an incredibly upbeat chorus that also sticks in my head a lot. Unrecognised and unappreciated, this is one of the happiest Metallica songs, despite being a bit of a rant about how people always try to give out standards and control feelings. The song ends with a long air raid siren behind the fading music which I a nice, if strange, touch. Metallica fans should check this out if they haven?t already, as it?s very fun!

?Out for my own, out to be free. One with my mind, they just can?t see. Don?t need to hear things that they say, life?s for my own to live my own way.?

7. CREEPING DEATH

A popular song and another that returns to their thrash roots, this also has all the elements that make their later epic songs so popular. A unique intro shows that this is a big song from the onset, and when the riff kicks in it?s clear that it?s no skipper. Similar to Iron Maiden?s ?Powerslave? and at least one song from every metal band in the whole world ever, this deals with an Egyptian theme, and more specifically the Exodus story from the Bible, the eponymous ?Creeping Death? being the Angel of Death sent by the Old Testament?s vengeful God (before he had a son and decided that being forgiving would make him a better father figure) to kill the Pharaoh?s first-born son. In fact, this could almost be an Iron Maiden song if it were focussed more on melody than power, but I?d rather have it this way.

The guitar solo after three minutes begins the latter half of the song and
is one of the finest electric whine sections on the whole album. This second half features a much slower but heavy section, with the original riff returning before the climax of the song with those much-anticipated Egyptian-style guitars. I love it when bands use that sound.

?So let it be written, so let it be done. I?m sent here by the chosen one.
So let it be written, so let it be done. To kill the first-born Pharaoh?s son? I?m Creeping Death.?

8. THE CALL OF KTULU

In many ways, this is the finest track on the album as it showcases everything Metallica are capable of in terms of their instruments. The influence of Cliff Burton?s classical taste and training clearly shine through in this epic, eight-minute instrumental that could not be deemed ?a bloody noise? by even the most hardened metal hater. Well, maybe just them then. The instrumental does sound very fitting to its subject matter, that of raising and calling the mythical Cthulhu beast devised by H.P. Lovecraft in his ?Cthulhu Mythos? which have since spawned a huge worldwide cult that believes in the tales, despite them being fictional as proclaimed by the author himself. The fools.

The ominous guitar section at the start leads into the main, excellent riff and sections which dominate the song, and being an instrumental it is very difficult to describe the appeal and sound of this classic. A symphony-enhanced version opens the band?s 1999 experimental ?S&M? album, but I still prefer this original. Likely Metallica?s finest instrumental, although ?Orion? from their follow-up album comes a close second.


VERDICT



A fantastic album, let down slightly by some dodgy vocals in places and production that could be clearer
. The influence of the bass guitar will doubtless please fans of that overlooked instrument, while the guitars are up to their usual, very high standard. This album marks the start of Metallica?s finest era, and no metal fan?s collection is complete without it. Buy.

Highlights: Fade to Black, The Call of Ktulu, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Summary: