Metallica: Ride the Lightning
There was a time when Metallica were viewed as at the cutting edge of modern heavy rock and metal; considering the relative mediocrity of their more recent efforts it’s all too easy to forget, which makes their 1984 LP all the more essential. At this point the greatness of Master of Puppets was yet to come and they only had one full-length album under their belts; nevertheless, Ride the Lightning should be considered as one of the highlights of the band’s career.
The opener Fight Fire With Fire begins in a deceptive fashion with a classical baroque-style acoustic guitar before the now-famous distorted electrics fade in. It’s quintessential thrash metal from here on in though: Lars Ulrich’s double-bass drum assault is dazzling even today, James Hetfield’s buzz saw rhythm guitar keeps up a pace of aggressive urgency and Kirk Hammett delivers blistering guitar solos that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up before his wah-driven licks singe them clean off.
The album’s title track alludes to execution at the hands of the electric chair; like many songs on the track listing it is built around themes of isolation, confinement and helplessness. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a long-standing fan favourite and no wonder: the late Cliff Burton is possibly one of the all-time great bass players in the industry and delivers a superb descending melodic line that is joined by another Hammett solo figure reminiscent of the Black Sabbath classic Fairies Wear Boots. The main meat of the song consists of memorable riffs and the band’s dramatic, almost melodramatic, insistence to rock and rock hard; surprisingly it still packs a punch after all these years of parodies and imitators.
Fade to Black attracted a bit of criticism at the time of the album’s release for its relatively tender ballad leanings but time has proved it was a wise move on the part of the band to pen a tune that is different in tone and pace to the rest of their material of the time. An acoustic guitar figure drives the song at first before the electric rhythm section builds up the drama and tension before Hammett’s melodic solo carries it home; it is not only a standout track that gives the listener time to catch their breath but has also been a blueprint for their ’softer’ side ever since.
Trapped Under Ice and Escape are fine songs that bear all of the Metallica hallmarks but they are sadly forgotten by many, which is not much of a surprise when they are in such fine company as they are here. Creeping Death on the other hand stands out with its more inventive riffing and biblically-inspired lyrics; Hetfield’s vocals are on top form. Perhaps unusually for its time, the album ends on an instrumental track: The Call of Ktulu is an absolute epic, giving all four band members the chance to strut their stuff with bass and guitar solos galore and pounding drums. It makes excellent use of dynamics too, switching between clean and distorted guitars as the instrumental lines intertwine; the climatic ending is yet another classic metal moment and begs to be turned up loud to be appreciated to its fullest.
In Summary
We can criticise Metallica’s less impressive recent work all we like but there’s no denying that they have given rock and metal some of its iconic moments; Ride the Lightning is one place where many of these can be found. Over twenty years later it can still thrash with the best of them and deserves pride of place in any metalhead’s album collection.
Tracklisting
- Fight Fire With Fire
- Ride the Lightning
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Fade To Black
- Trapped Under Ice
- Escape
- Creeping Death
- The Call of Ktulu
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