I don't know exactly where this album would rank on some kind of official list or a huge vote for the top 10 Heavy Metal albums, but on my website I ranked this timeless masterpiece 3rd behind Reign In Blood. I did have a really hard time deciding if it should be 2nd or 3rd though. Anyway, enough about that, here is my review.

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE - This is easily one of the greatest album openers in heavy metal history and i love how Hetfield sings the song and the lyrics are great. The solo is very solid but nothing too amazing. My favorite part is probally the end of the song where they make it sound like a nuclear bomb is falling and then exploding, you can hear a rumbling sound at the very end like an explosion. A perfect ending to a song that is about nuclear war
RIDE THE LIGHTNING - This is the perfect song to follow after Fight Fire With Fire. A song about a man being put to death by electric chair, it's easily one of Metallica's best songs and the guitar solos in the middle of the song are amazing!
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS - This song is perfect. It has a dark and creepy sound to it and i love the sound of the bell at the beginning and end of the song. I kinda wish this song was maybe a minute longer but like I said, I still think it's perfect.
FADE TO BLACK - This is the best and most famous song on this album and for good reason. The first part of the song is slow and sad but beautiful at the same time, then the song builds up to about a 3 minute instrumental part with one of Kirk Hammett's best solos. This song is about a man who is depressed and eventually commits suicide. I would rank this song as Metallica's 3rd greatest song ever.
TRAPPED UNDER ICE - Once again another great Metallica song. Trapped Under Ice is up there with Metallica's best speed metal songs. It has 3 super fast and crazy guitar solos and the lyrics are about someone being trapped under ice in water drowning. Yea I know, another song about death.
ESCAPE - Finally a song that is more uplifting to give you a break from all of the lyrics about death. I truly think that is why this song is on this album. It has a great chorus that i like to sing along too and even though it may be the weakest song on the album, it sure as hell isn't a weak song!
CREEPING DEATH - This song is normally a personal favorite of Metallica fans and it's one of my favorite songs as well. It has a great guitar solo, some awesome riffs and lyrics.....well what you usually get in an 80's Metallica song.
THE CALL OF KTULU - I'm not real sure what instrumental song from Metallica is better but I do know that it would probally come down to either this song or Orion from Master of Puppets. I'm sure it's hard to make a 9 minute instrumental song without it being boring in some parts but Metallica managed to make all 9 minutes enjoyable and sometimes downright great! My favorite part in the song is the big guitar solo somewhere in the middle of the song. an epic 9 minute instrumental song is a perfect way to end this masterpiece of an album.

Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets is what Heavy Metal is all about and the main theme for Ride the Lightning is death which I think is a great theme for a heavy metal album. If you love thrash metal and somehow don't own this album yet or if you just got into listening to thrash metal then make Ride the Lightning one of the first 5 albums that you get!

I have never spent a better ten dollars than on this product! every song in it deserves praise and is a must for and metal fan!
1. fight fire with fire- probably one of their most fastest and heaviest songs! Awesome
2. Ride the lightning- Probably their best song on here! has the most epic solo ever made!
3. For whom the bell tolls- Amazing riffs, Amazing lyrics, Amazing song
4. Fade to black- sad but awesome solo and great riffs
5. Trapped under ice- A great song to scream along with!
6. Escape- Don't know too much about this song but its still pretty awesome
7. Creeping death- Simply amazing also one of their best on here
8. Call of the ktulu- its all instrumental but dont underestimate it! it has some really awesome riffs and a great solo

Ride the Lightning starts out slow, throwing the listener off at first, but comes in pounding with power after a few moments. Fight Fire with Fire is their best opener and one of their most intense thrashy songs. Then comes the title song, the best one on the album, loaded with solos and harmonies that sound like the epitome of electric guitar music. That cover art takes on real meaning while listening to this song, the lightning scorching the chair coming to life as you hear those harmonies. You can easily imagine the jolts ripping through you if you were sitting there. As a fan of metal you'd probably have that song stuck in your head as you roast for your crimes.

The music doesn't let up there as we have two slower songs that are still chock full of intensity and meaning. Unlike the slower cuts on Master of Puppets, these actually go somewhere and keep you interested for the duration. Then the album hits you with its thrashiest moment in Trapped Under Ice. Even Fight Fire with Fire can't match this for speed and impact. Right out the gate this song bangs your head. There is a quieter moment that was atypical for Metallica with the song Escape, but even this works better than the slow stuff on MoP. It's basically a rock song played by a metal band, something they would become notorious for later on, but here it works well as a breather before the grand finale. Creeping Death is one of Metallica's signature songs, and probably their darkest. Justice's songs were pretty dark, but this beats that entire album for all-out midnight-hour gloom. To close, they have the monster instrumental Call of Ktulu. It's great to hear, but Orion was more melodic, and Megadeth did this particular song better with Hangar 18 later on. Still--what a way to end an album! And what an album!

Metallica reached their absolute peak here, with great production and some commercial value without sacrificing their ability to create great music with integrity and intensity.

This reisues of this past albums of metallica has the best sound!!!! If you had a great machine , you can hear the diference betwen digital vs analog recordings. This LP has the best sound that I ever heard of this album before. I Have the CD but this LP kicks the sound of the CD. Since I Heard this record , I Discover that the LP has the best "Pure" and "Unadulterated" sound , better that the CDs and the digital files like Mp3. So if you wanna to heard this "Pure" sound you only need to buy this record!!!!

NEW METALLICA ALBUM WAS PACKED IN A BOX THAT WAS TOO SMALL, ALBUM WAS PUSHED INTO THE BOX AND ARRIVED WARPED. ALBUM ALSO NEEDED CLEANED TO GET ALL THE POPS AND CLICKS OFF THE RECORD. IT TRACKS OK, BUT MY TONEARM RISES AND FALLS WITH THE WARP AND SOME DISTORTION IS AUDIBLE. A HASSLE TO RETURN I FEAR.......

Metallica's second studio album, "Ride the Lightning", is my personal favorite from the band to date (it sounds like Metallica will release "Death Magnetic", their ninth studio album, later this year). Don't let the opening to the first track "Fight Fire With Fire" fool you, this album is fast and furious from the get-go. The three song tandem of "Ride the Lightning", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "Fade to Black" may be my favorite 3 song stretch from any Metallica album.

I won't discuss all of the tracks, but I'll cover some of my favorites. The title track gives a very strong performance from both the vocals of James Hetfield (I personally like his early work when he has a higher pitch) and Kirk Hammett's shredding ability in the middle of the song. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a stronger, heavier sound than is exhibited on the rest of the album, but it still fits in very well (in a side note, the opening of this song would be my entrance music if I were a pro athlete, it's pretty wicked sweet!). "Fade to Black" is a bit more reflective and is a personal favorite of mine. "Creeping Death" gives an interesting retelling of the plagues experienced by Egypt during the Jewish captivity of Moses time, and it features another killer guitar solo by Kirk Hammett.

However, having written all this, my favorite track on the album is last, "The Call of Ktulu". I enjoy this song in a similar fashion as I enjoy the orchestral piece "Bolero" by Ravel. It is purely an instrumental that starts with a very creepy guitar intro, then proceeds to building intensity through the repetition of a common patter, emphasized by different instruments. It builds to a climax 6 to 7 minutes into the nearly 9-minute song length. It concludes back with the "creepy" guitar and a huge finish, accentuated by Lars Ulrich's drums. I personally feel that a great band can do its most inventive work when vocals don't get in the way, and for me personally the brilliance of Metallica truly shines in this last track.

For me, this album represents the best mix of song-writing and musicianship in a Metallica album. It has many memorable songs, rocks harder than in subsequent Metallica albums, but has a more polished sound than "Kill 'Em All". This definitely gets a 5+ stars from me!!

Metallica's second studio album, Ride the Lightning is a great thrash metal experience. The album's theme revolves around death; this is apparent from the album art alone, which depicts an electric chair. Some songs are fast, some songs are slow, but in my opinion each track is great in its own right. Enough foreplay.

Fight Fire With Fire: The opening track, this song is about nuclear war. It starts off with a calm acoustic intro, reminiscent of some sort of old instrument (a harpsichord I believe). If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was a recording of the National Symphony Orchestra leading up into a masterpiece by Beethoven. But all of a sudden, you get a fast, heavy, low guitar. It's a pretty good song overall, but it isn't the greatest. 8/10

Ride the Lightning: This titular track is nice because it simply sounds great. Hetfield's voice sounds angry, maybe even a bit spiteful. The song is about a man on death row, about to be executed on the electric chair. The solo is killer, as is the bridge leading into it. Great to listen to. 10/10

For Whom the Bell Tolls: This one is interesting, because it's a bit slower than the previous two tracks. The song seems to be about soldiering and the Hemingway book by the same title. The intro riff is cool, as are the various solos throughout the song. That said, I think it's a bit overrated. Not bad, just overrated; there are better songs on here. 9/10

Fade to Black: This song arguably started the 'tradition' that would be followed in the next two Metallica albums of having the fourth track start slowly but end heavy. The song has a catchy acoustic intro leading into a distorted riff. The song focuses on suicide, the mental struggle of a man. Once again you can hear some anguish in Hetfield's voice, and overall the song has a gloomy mood to it. It is definitely one of the slower tracks on the album, but it's very well composed and the solo is great. A classic. 10/10

Trapped Under Ice: Basically Fight Fire With Fire in terms of how it sounds. I like it, but it's basically 'another thrash song.' The song's title speaks for itself. 8/10

Escape: One of my favorite tracks on the album, and interestingly it's the only one that's got a more positive mood in the lyrics. The chorus is one of the best parts, just because of the way it is structured. The song seems to be about escaping from prison or from the shackles of life. Sadly, Metallica has never played it live (or so it would seem), because they don't like it that much. 10/10

Creeping Death: A song about the plagues from the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, told from the perspective of the creeping fog that killed the first-born of each family that didn't paint the X on their doors (or however the story goes). It's a heavier track than the others, and has a good sound to it. 9/10

The Call of Ktulu: Inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, of whom the late Cliff Burton was a major fan, this song is purely instrumental. I do think it drags on a bit long, but it's still a good showcase of Hammett's guitar work. The ending is one of the best parts, because it simply sounds epic. 9/10

If you want to get into Metallica, this MAY not be the best album to start with; I would recommend the classic Master of Puppets or even the Black Album. If you've already heard some Metallica (I'm talking about early Metallica, not the Load/Reload and beyond years) then you should definitely get this if you haven't already.

While MoP deserves it's place in history, I am with the many reviewers here who believe that this is the best Metallica album. This is dark, gut-wrenching, aggressive, sledgehammer, *brilliant* stuff from four intelligent and insanely talented guys who were too young to know that you're not allowed to make music this good. 5 stars all the way.

along with many other metal albums of the 80s this is one that goes right with them. metallica is a great band some key tracks on here are, ride the lightining, creeping death, for whom the bell tolls. the best song on here is for whom the bell tolls. great album buy today

Metallica's sophomore album, "Ride The Lightning" certainly showcases some interesting and classic thrashers. It's hard to imagine what the metal community nowadays would be like without gems like this album. It seems that this album seemed to be an overlooked one in Metallica's early catalogue, considering "Kill 'Em All" is generally considered the birth of thrash metal, "Master of Puppets" is regarded as Metallica's magnum opus, and "...And Justice For All" got Metallica some mainstream attention with the music video for "One".
Regardless of whether or not "Ride The Lightning" is overlooked or not, it's still a classic that should be in every metalhead's collection. One interesting thing about this album is that while it still captured the raw power and fast energy of Metallica's debut, it seems to have a thicker, more polished, and at times, more epic sound. Don't get me wrong, though, I still think "The Four Horsemen" off their debut is one of the finest metal epics, but to get a full review of "Ride The Lightning", simply read on.
"Fight Fire With Fire" starts things off with some classical acoustic guitar playing for a bit over half a minute. Suddenly, a crushing riff rips its way into your sound system at about a hundred miles an hour. The massive drums crash their ways in and you have a fast and furious headbanger about the evils of pollution and nuclear warfare. The singing is also very raw, with James singing a very staccato pattern, "Do!...Un!...-to others!...As!...They've!...Done to you!". Great way to start off the album.
"Ride The Lightning", the six and a half minute epic title track starts off with some high-pitched guitar notes before going into a thrashy, Devil's Tritone riff. Some epic guitar soloing is featured in here, along with an interesting storyline that shows how the band is against capital punishment.
"For Whom The Bell Tolls" is a progressive, five-minute classic with plenty of great guitar riffs that occupy the first two minutes of the song. The nastiest riff of them all is featured in the chorus, and some wild guitar playing closes this war song out.
"Fade To Black" is a personal favorite of mine, one of the best songs on the album, and one of the very best songs Metallica's ever written. Some sad but beautiful acoustic guitar work opens with a lovely electric solo. Mournful but poetic lyrics occupy the verses, then comes a powerful chorus riff. More great guitar soloing fills the rest of the song out.
"Trapped Under Ice" is another heavy song about struggle, featuring some dirty riffage and wild soloing that definitely makes itself worthy to be on the album.
"Escape" is a more melodic, radio-friendly sounding song, but nonetheless a great track, as well. A bit shorter and a pretty cool song.
"Creeping Death" is a song that defines thrash metal. This is an overall great song that you gotta hear. Its lyrics refer to the Seven Plagues in the story of Moses in the Bible, and the thrashing riffs pummel their way into your brain. And, as always, Kirk Hammett shows us why he's an amazing guitarist when he screeches out those awesome guitar solos.
"The Call of Ktulu" is a nine-minute, progressive instrumental. A cool way to end the album, it has an odd but mesmerizing tone that features some mighty and powerful riffs and drums, alongside solos that give the song quite an epic tone. I personally prefer "Orion" off "Master of Puppets", but this song is definitely a great one, too.
So as you can see, "Ride The Lightning" is undoubtedly a classic metal album. I've seen it ranked as being one of the top ten metal albums of all time, and when you give this a listen, you'll see why. All of the tracks are very strong, the songwriting's great, as are the singing, guitar-, bass-, and drum-playing. Get this, along with the other three Metallica releases in the '80s, and even "The Black Album" if you're interested. Overall, this is a very strong and solid album that I would recommend to all fans of thrash metal, and heavy metal in general. Good job to the 'tallica guys! Thanks for the time, and peace.

Great, bought it as a present for my brother.
He loves it, thank you.

"Ride the Lightning" was my first ever Metallica recording, and I love it. Made in less bass-worshipping days, the treble heavy sound is rough and metallic. The playing is, as it always is, fast and furious. Some of the greatest metal compositions are to be found on this album, including "For Whom the Bells Toll", "Creeping Death", and of course "Fade to Black".

The album definitely representend a refinement in terms of playing, composition, and production as compared to the first album "Kill 'Em All", but we are still talking about the very roots of the thrash genre here. Uncompromising metal from the kings of thrash. Highly recommendable.

The only problem I have with it is that the sound quality isnt as good as it should be, but any old school metallica fan should buy this.

4 stars for what it is in the history of metal, 3 stars for how it now
compares to what it was back in the day.

In short: when this came out, heads turned and then banged, hard. Seemed miraculously heavy at the time, but of course this looks like Romper Room now after bands like Carcass etc (none of whom do much for me after a "tune" or two). I love true heaviness, which comes (to my ears) from extreme tightness between the drummer, bassist (kickdrum and bass locked in tight over the riff, specifically) and guitars. Here we have one of the great heavy rhythm players and a fine metal drummer. But Lars and James are only half of this band. Kirk is WAY overrated as a lead player, very prosaic and uninspired, miles from someone like Randy Rhoads. And man, after the decades of Cliff-worship, this album proves that legend is often myth. The bass playing here is merely average, truly. There are dozens of heavier and tighter bassists; Cliff may have been a party monster and added to the vibe that way but his playing is average. Geddy, Geezer, Harris, etc etc etc blow him off the map.
That said, there are some fast and furious highlights here, but frankly everything is so on top of or ahead of the beat that it gets wearing after a few tunes. About one minute into Bell Tolls is a highlight because everybody locks in but the guitars are finally a bit back in the pocket and everything gets much heavier and fatter due to that. That's why the Black album hit so hard: producer Rock knew how to make their groove much fatter and got them focusing on melody as well as heaviness. The Black is too poppy to be real metal but is good for what it is, as is this. But neither is as good as Puppets, which has their most intense moments.
This is a great thrash album, but that genre gets real old if you want music as well as power. But if power and release is all you want, this will do it for you. But if you really want that, go to the various (FREEEEE!!!) Metallica tape-trading sites and get the live shows from this and later periods; that's where the real heaviness lays. Funny that the best stuff is free, ain't it? Who says life is always unfair?

I first heard this album at the age of 14. My rock/metal experience up to that point was composed primarily of Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Ozzy (Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were my favorites). One of my friends introduced me to Metallica one afternoon and it was like a cannon report in the early morning hours! I sat up and took notice immediately as "Fight Fire With Fire" kicked things off with a nice clean channel guitar harmony that suddenly exploded with intensity.

It was like waking up to a whole new perspective. I've had this experience a few times before and since, including Slayer's "Reign in Blood", Tool's "Aenima", Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", and John Coltrane's "Blue Train".

Being a guitar player, I picked "Fade to Black" as the first track to learn from the album. The remainder I learned over the next couple of years. "Creeping Death" was on the cover set list for my first band and I loved butchering Kirk Hammett's solo on a regular basis. "Call of Ktulu" never allowed me to forget (even when Megadeth's "So Far, So Good... So What?" came out) that Dave Mustaine was still out there somewhere and his unique brand of metal music genius wouldn't remain dormant for long.

It's my opinion that this is no "Master of Puppets". I realize that it's all subjective and many Metallica fans would argue otherwise, but I'm going to stick to my guns here. RtL is an awesome release in its own right...but MoP is as close to divinity as a metal album can get without bursting into flames.

All sumo foot-stompin' aside...you really cannot go wrong with this one. I played one cassette and one CD of this album to death during my teen years and it has since found a new digitized home on my iPod, where it'll remain for years to come. I'd even venture a guess that I'll probably be barking about the wasted youth of some future generation from my wheelchair, while Ride the Lightning pops a speaker in the background.

There is Great music, then there is Metallica. This album showcases everything I love about Metallica. Sure, "Master of Puppets" has a few great songs, and so does "And Justice For All". However, those two great albums pale to their predecessor, Ride the Lightning. This album has great vocals, great Guitar playing, good druming and killer Lyrics. This Album is an instant classic.

Such hits as For whom my balls hold, fade to slack, sleeping breath, scrape, get higher with fire, and ride the lightning rod!!! This was my favorite when I was a kid of 12, now it's a classic I play on guitar still!!

Metallica is boldly and appropriately named as it's virtually impossible to have any meaningful discussion about the Heavy Metal genre without any mention being made about the vast impact that this band has made over the 80s and up to the mid 90s. They lifted up the genre from mindless, juvenile topics of wild sex, drugs and fast cars to discussions about serious topics from the meaninglessness of war to environmental disasters and so forth. What U2 did for pop/rock, Metallica did for Metal in blending intelligent topics with very, very good musicianship and hence making the genre more accessible to a much wider audience than ever before. In doing so, they extended the life of Metal and ensured an audience at a time when people were more interested in synth-pop ala Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Howard Jones etc. Metal owes a great debt to this band for ensuring the endurance and evolution of the genre to what it is to this day.

This version of the 1984 album comes in a mini-lp replica sleeve (mlps) design which is very, very well executed and is one of the best that I've ever seen. The gatefold sleeve is made from very good quality thick cardboard and assembled so well that you don't fear it coming apart easily once the glue starts to get old. Also included is a 12 page booklet with all the lyrics in Japanese. For the English ones you'll need a good magnifying glass to read it from the gatefold sleeve itself which very faithfully replicates the original lp design.

Unfortunately, the sound quality is the same as it was in the original release and hence has not been remastered. Although good by 1980s standards, the quality is not as good as what we have become used to with all the releases that have been well remastered these days. For this reason, although the content is very good, I cannot give this version 5 stars as it's hard to justify the value proposition here as you are effectively paying for the mlps design only if you already have the album. I suppose if you don't already have this or if you are a big fan of well-designed and executed mlps sleeves then you may be tempted to cough up the mulah for this. If the sound had been remastered and hence improved over the original cd, I would have no hesitation to give this the full 5 stars and to recommend that you part with your hard-earned dough for this. With "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Fade To Black" you are getting two of Metallica's best ever tracks here and again contentwise you can't fault this album but you'll have to decide if the overall value proposition of this version of the album is worthy of the upgrade.

Most fans will agree that Metallica's first four albums are all stellar examples of metal's ingenuity and potential to transcend the trashy image associated with it and actually identify as art. Kill 'Em All is relentlessly thrashy and admittedly on the immature side, but still features innovation and intense musicianship which makes it stand out as a milestone of the 80's metal movement. Master of Puppets is a more commercial work which features thematically complex material, extended, powerful songs with solid songwriting, and some of the band's more famous material. ...And Justice For All is certainly their most complex and accomplished musically, with even longer and more intricate compositions than earlier in the band's discography, and also some of the most evocative and dark subject matter of any Metallica album. Nevertheless, after much listening and admiration, this listener arrives at Ride The Lightning as his favorite Metallica album.

For me, Ride the Lightning is the most balanced and appealing of all Metallica albums--I'm open to any difference of opinion, but I feel that my views are well-justified. Each song here is wonderful in its own way without drawing too much attention to itself, the collection of songs working together as a unified whole without seeming lofty and overwrought (I would argue that both Master of Puppets and Justice fall for this temptation of overindulgence without adequate focus--great albums as they both are).

Fight Fire With Fire kicks the album off in concise, expert fashion with a pleasant and neat sounding introduction that erupts into a thrashing, rather overwhelming "body." The lyrics and riffs are all very evocative, with a thrash aesthetic that is simultaneously thoughtful and intelligent. As others have noted, there is somewhat of a "thread" of continuity between early Metallica albums, and this song is comparable in many ways to MOP's Battery, Justice's Blackened, and Kill 'Em All's Hit The Lights. Basically, it kick-starts the album and prepares listeners for the aural assault to come.

The title track comes next, and it is certainly one of the better songs on the album, with thematic content surrounding death (specifically The Electric Chair) and a thrashing, overwhelming execution (no pun intended) that will satisfy just about any fan. This song "mirrors" the other title tracks from Master of Puppets and ...And Justice For All--both of which are amazing pieces of metal songwriting.

For Whom The Bell Tolls is another amazing track. It fills the role of a heavy, somewhat slow moving but nevertheless rocking mini-epic, out of which Metallica would go on to shape "The Thing That Should Not Be" and arguably "Eye of the Beholder," too. If you ask me, though, For Whom The Bell Tolls is significantly more well-crafted than either of those subsequent works.

Fade to Black is the prototypical "power ballad" Metallica style, maybe in its least melodramatic and unrefined form, which is a good thing. Whether "One" from And Justice For All or "(Welcome Home) Sanitarium" from Master of Puppets is the better out of these three is all a matter of personal opinion--it still stands that Fade to Black is an incredible, rather depressing song about suicide which has everything one would expect from a lower, more heartfelt metallic rocker. It builds upon itself in a very progressive way and reaches a climax that is simultaneously relieving and disturbing. There's a reason why this song still receives airplay and frequent referencing by fans. It's awesome.

Trapped Under Ice comes next, which is a more straightforward but still jarring and intense piece of metal. It's fast and thrashy, with themes of psychological alienation and depression. It carries with it a strong sense of anxiety and intensity that isn't present in some of Metallic's slower-paced songs. Not my favorite on the album, but I'm glad it is here and it fulfills its role nicely.

Escape contrasts with Trapped Under Ice, chugging along rather than churning, and is generally a less-insane, but nevertheless very heavy number that could easily find a place on the radio or other more "mainstream" musical outlets. It's a fairly underrated Metallica song as it doesn't receive as much recognition as some others on this album, but it is nearly at the level of "Creeping Death" and "Fade to Black" in its solid construction.

Speaking of Creeping Death, the penultimate song on the album is generally considered among the band's most admirable efforts, and with good reason. The musicianship is painstakingly precise, but also groovy and organic. There is a strong sense of pulse and the lyrical content of religious and mythological history (more specifically the story of Moses and the "Creeping Death" which fell across the Pharaos). The chorus is terribly catchy and anthemic, and just keeps coming back at wonderful times. For me, it's one of the most infectious and propulsive of all Metallica songs--one gets the sense that the song really is akin and comparable to the Creeping Death that fell across the land in biblical times--one couldn't stop it even if one chose to. The band all seem very involved and passionate during this song, and it also features amazing solos and complex rhythmic thrashing on Cliff Burton, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett's parts--the song's climax and middle sections are both amazing, as is the entire song. This is probably my favorite song on here, and among my top Five Metallica songs of all time.

The Call of Kthulu is another delightful piece of epic metal, this time sans vocals, but with an even greater sense of mysticism and eerie melodrama than the legendary epic quality of Creeping Death. The subject matter this time is the H.P. Lovecraft tale of the same name, which is a highly imaginative, romantic-gothic-monster-horror story. The song is appropriately fantastical and ominous, with a very expansive, unhinged sound that obviously inspired later instrumental efforts "Orion" and "To Live is to Die." Orion seems to receive more recognition as Metallica's greatest instrumental, but I think that The Call of Kthulu is every bit as important and satisfying. It's lengthy without feeling excessively slow, and never seems to drag or repeat itself unnecessarily, even though the song as a whole is composed of a few key elements which are repeated, morphed and built upon. The ending is especially triumphant and bombastic. A stellar closer to a great album--indeed, likely Metallica's most focused, concise and balanced work...personal opinions aside :)

This album was my introduction to speed metal back in the day. It blew me away then, and I still enjoy it today. I strongly prefer Master of Puppets, so go for that one first if you don't already have it, then come back to Ride the Lightening to see where that came from, then go back yet again to Kill Em All. All three of these albums are amazing, and all have something unique to offer. I think listening to them in reverse order helps you appreciate the earlier albums because you recognize details that will later reach their full potential on Puppets.

After the blistering debut Metallica delve further into their psyche, further into their songbook and further into their fiercely traditional yet updated NWOBHM muse. And it's a more difficult metal experience in general, the songs on the debut cutting with a sharper knife whereas the numbers here tend to pound through only after repeated hammering with a blunter instrument. Fight Fire With Fire is perhaps the most similar to the songs of the debut and is the perfectly thought out album opener.

After that however the differences start seeping in. Ride The Lightning itself clocks in at over six minutes and I'm not sure it needs it. For Whom the Bell Tolls redeems everything however with it's excellent musical and lyrical assault. The production values on this album seem a little dull, the production credit goes to Metallica and perhaps that's the reason why the album always sounded to me like it was blasting away at me from behind a closed door.

But the mental imagery the band were playing with on the debut is expanded on this release. The very essence of metal lies within the sinews of songs such as Trapped Under Ice, Creeping Death and the swirling robes of the apparition that is The Call of Ktulu. And the literary references are a nice touch. Speaking as someone who has regularly had to defend metal to his friends (hey, we've all been there), it's refreshing to be able to blow them out of the water with examples of both mindless metal mayhem AND the more educated aspects of it.

All up I would not recommend this for the total metal novice. There are other more accessable slabs of metal out there. But I would heartily recommend it to any casual fan of the band who wants to explore the earlier stuff. In fact I'd recommend that all hard rock and metal fans accumulate every album this band did from it's debut Kill `Em All through to the black album. If for no other reason than for a useful history lesson regarding the harder end of the music spectrum.

This is an awesome album from my favorite band. The guitar solos are great in this album, it rocks really hard and is one of the best albums besides Master of Puppets. I love For Whom the Bell Tolls which is one of my favorite songs all time and Fade to Black is a awesome power ballad that has a rocking end, and I love the 9 minute The Call of Ktulu and it is one of the best instrumentals besides Orion. For all rock fans, this cd is for you!

Metallica burst onto the scene in the early 1980s with their thrash-tastic debut Kill Em All in 1983. The jolting, relentless, turbo-charged guitar and drumwork set the metal music scene on fire and Ride the Lightning took it 10 steps further. Their sound matured and the songwriting became more sophisticated with more melody while keeping the same breakneck speed. Songs such as "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "Fade to Black, and "Creeping Death" are classic Metal anthems while lesser known songs such as "Escape" and "Ride the Lightning" are supremely strong in their own right. Many of the songs deal with Life and Death and the darkness and light that combines them. A glorious Metallica record and one for the ages!

You would never know that this was an underground metal recording. Shame that it's out of print now, but there are...ways to obtain it for much cheaper.

Ride the Lightning is the one Metallica album that seriously has a lot of aggressive power and remains a classic to this day. While I'm not particularly thrilled with a few moments here and there, overall it's much better than what many of the metal bands in the mid 80's were doing (with all their big hair, constant partying and chicks). Metallica's music remains fresh and exciting all these years later. This album was REALLY underrated back in the mid 80's. People back then didn't know how to approach something with this much speed and punch.

Fight Fire With Fire- a plodding guitar riff, and the idea for an acoustic intro is ripped off from a couple old Black Sabbath tunes. The verse melody is horrible but the chorus is decent.

Ride the Lightning- the best part of the song is the 15-second guitar intro. I love that. Great chorus as well that remains memorable no matter how many times it's played. Great guitar solo as well. Some parts of the solo remind me of the mid 70's Rainbow song called "Light in the Black".

For Whom the Bell Tolls- let's just call it the way it is- this is a classic metal track in the same way "Iron Man" is Black Sabbath's classic.

Fade to Black- a softer number that gradually builds into a much heavier and typical Metallica track. It's not really a ballad. It's a shame the verse melody has been copied time and time again by Metallica themselves as early as their Black Album in the early 90's. The original idea was right here on this album. The lyrics don't sound very emotionally honest though. I like the second half of the song more even though parts of the guitar solo sound ripped off from Black Sabbath's "Snowblind".

Trapped Under Ice- flashy guitar playing that sounds like a leftover from the Kill 'em All album. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

Escape- really good song, though the chorus sounds stuck in the 80's with that dated sound. I like the way the verse melody chugs along. Great lyrics by their standards too.

Creeping Death- another memorable heavy/speed metal track. These guys were clearly more talented than most. The guitar solo sure sounds like it was copied from a popular Scorpions song at the time.

Call of Ktulu- a very slow, rocking build up. It's really good but 9 minutes might tire out some people.

You need to have at least one Metallica album in your collection, and none of them are better than this one. Get it.

RIDE THE LIGHTENING, Metallica's second album, is notable for its musical direction, combining thrash metal with more symphonic, and much more complex, songwriting than previously seen in metal music.

When Metallica recorded their debut, Kill 'Em All, the record was brutal, fast, and noholds barred. The music barrels ahead, and there isn't nearly as many different instrumental subtetlies and flourishes that Metallica would later use to adorn their music with. Instead, the focus was to play the music as loud, and as fast, as humanly possible. They sounded rather like their contemporaries in drawing from the same overall musical milieu. A lot of bands from NWOBHM ("New Wave of British Heavy Metal") were covering a lot of the same territory, such as Black Sabbath, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Venom, Motorhead, early Def Leppard (think On Through the Night, their 1980 album, not their hair metal stuff), Saxon and other bands considered part of that movement..

Beginning with this record, and culminating in ... AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, Metallica changed their approach. Still retaining the aggression and attitude of punk, mixed with the loud, bone-crunching amalgamation heavy metal sound popularized the major bands of NWOBHM then put in progressive songwriting that owes as much to classical music as pop or rock or traditional heavy metal, and you have a good idea of what RIDE THE LIGTHENING, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All sounds like. Those three records are what I call their progressive metal trilogy; with each album their song writing got more complex and more symphonic.

As much as I like KILL `EM ALL, this is the album in which Metallica really comes into their own. While KILL `EM ALL has some very strong songwriting, they don't display the same complexity and melodic integrity as they do on this record.All over we see Metallica opening their sound up.

"Fire with Fire": The soft intro to "Battery" from MASTER feels like a nod to the great acoustic intro to the opening track, "Fire for Fire". After the mellow intro, the band kicks the song into high gear. This shift is clear evidence the band is mastering different dynamics and integrating shifting tempos into a coherent song structure, and they're not just brutally fast like KILL `EM ALL.

"Ride the Lightening" is one of Metallica's more epic compositions. Lyrically the song sets up themes of being powerless in a hostile situation, a theme Hetfield would often return too.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" deals with the futility of war, another theme the and would revisit on both MASTER and JUSTICE, and is titled after the Earnest Hemingway novel. One of the band's more famous early songs. The intro is pretty long, at over two minutes before Hetfield starts singing.

"Fade to Black" is notable as it is the first ballad ever commercially released by the band. [Just because they were labeled sell outs during the load era doesn't mean it diddn't happen fore then.] Those people who hate LOAD and RELOAD should take note that accusations that Metallica sold out first surfaced with this very song, due to how much of a departure this was for the band's clearly established sound. Now, however, most fans and critics, as well as the band itself, considered this one of Metallica's great songs. The song is very much a study in dynamics, and while it is primarily a slower ballad, Metallica works in some heavy passages in the song as well. The song deals mainly with death, and is considered a "suicide classic". This is one of Metallica's most important songs, as it showed the band's fan base there was a lot more to the band than just mind numbingly fast thrash.

"Trapped Under Ice" has some killer chorus work and interesting lyrics. Musically it's very solid as well. The song has some absolutely intense guitar work. Probably the second weakest song though, next to "Escape." Metallica has only performed the song four times live.

"Escape" is one of the few songs the band has never played live. Written as filler because they didn't have enough songs for the album, the band has pretty much disavowed the song. While I don't know why the band hates it that much, it is true that this is easily the weakest song on the entire album, though not necessarily bad par se. It's just the other songs are that good.

"Creeping Death", written from the point of view of the angel of death coming to kill all the first born in Egypt, remains one of the band's principal early epics, and is still one of their most frequently played songs. Drawing their inspiration from the movie THE TEND COMMANDMENTS, Cliff Burton made the observation that the plague of the first born was like creeping death, and the band wanted to use it for a title they liked it so much. One of the band's most famous of their early songs, this one's an undeniable thrash classic.

And last, but definitely not least, is "The Call of Ktula". The second instrumental released by the band (after Anethestia, Pulling Teeth from KILL `EM ALL), this is the last song primarily written by David Mustaine of Megadeath fame that Metallica would record. Originally entitled "When Hell Freezes Over", Cliff Burton had the song renamed, because he was a H. P. Lovecraft fan and was referencing THE CALL OF CTHULHU. Megadeath actually uses the chords for their song "Hanger 18". Discounting the two covers "Tuesday's Gone" and "Mercyful Fate" it's the band's fourth longest recording, and the longest song on RIDE THE LIGHTENING. For my money, this is one of my favorite Metallica songs, and when I really started listening to this album in the late 1990s, this was the song I would play over and over. It's much better than MASTER's instrumental "Orion". Absolutely brilliant, even if Mustaine did write it.

Overall, this is the album that would set Metallica on the artistic path they would follow for the rest of the 1980s. This is the album they became truly progressive. If it weren't for "Escape", this could arguably be one of their top albums; as it stands, this is still one of Metallica's best records, just only slightly flawed for the inclusion of "Escape". And it's important that while hair metal and spandex were giving metal a bad name, bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden were still keeping the hardcore music close to its roots. Hair metal and glam/pop is rather dated. It's too Metallica's credit that their albums stand up as well as they do and aren't dated at all, given they were, recorded in that same era of Def Leppard, Poison (damn Brett Michaels), Ratt, Slaughter, Warrant, Stryper, Europe, Journey, and other rather ridiculous bands were doing commercial hair metal and power ballads.

This is only Metallica's 2nd album, but already they were turning into a great, "thinking man's" heavy metal. Sometimes I like to think this is Metallica's debut, because this is really the first album where they became Metallica. Many early fans bemoan Metallica's later albums, wanting them to return to the days of thrash metal with Kill 'Em All (their weakest album in my opinion). They say they sold out by using slower tempos and multi instrumentation (like pedal steel guitars and hurdy-gurdy). The reality is that Metallica has always been ambitious, and here on their 2nd album, they prove in conclusively. This is a fantastic album, one that has really stood the test of time (it was made over 20 years ago, and still sounds fresh today). It is loaded with classic Metallica tracks. The thrash opener Fight Fire with Fire, the fantastic title track, the brilliant For Whom the Bell Tolls, the magisterial, signature track Fade to Black, another majestic, signature track in Creeping Death (one of my all time favorites), and the brilliant, prog influenced instrumental that closes the album, The Call of Ktulu. It is also interesting to note that Kirk Hammett has a much larger role on this album. He co-wrote many of the songs, and his lead guitar doesn't seem thrown in like it did on Kill 'Em All. This is one of my favorite Metallica albums. It's the 2nd step in a discography that just keeps getting better.

Metallica's second album, and their first for a major record label Elektra, entitled Ride the Lightning is also arguably their best album ever.
First released in August of 1984, Ride the Lightning was considered a metal masterpiece in the underground at the time of its release.
After the promising debut album Kill 'em All in 1983, Metallica (which was comprised of singer/guitarist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, drummer Lars Ulrich and the late great bass player Cliff Burton), the band's cult following got them a major record deal with Elektra Records and the band went to Denmark with the band themselves producing and using one-time Rainbow engineer Flemming Rasmussen to help record their now classic major label debut which I found to be the case when I first got this album in May of 1989 on cassette.
The album starts off with "Fight Fire With Fire" which at first sounded like it was going to be a ballad with acoustic guitars and clean electric guitars playing a relaxing melody but then Hammett and Hetfield's guitars come screaming in as was Ulrich's drumming which sounded like Bruce Lee on speed and Burton's bass playing which was superb. James' vocals on the track sounded sinister. We continue the rocking on the album's classic title cut which is a classic thrashy cut with tempo changes that would make the prog rockers happy. Next is another classic metal track "For Whom the Bell Tolls" which is a superb rocker with a beat that sounds like marching off to war. The first half ends with "Fade to Black" which for the most part was a ballad before speeding up and was IMHO the Stairway to Heaven of the 80s as, like that song, starts soft then picks up then softens then gets harder and harder before the big finale.
The album's second half kicks off with a classic thrash number called "Trapped Under Ice" which is just superb. Next is another great metal number "Escape". However, it's a shame that these two great songs are overlooked by many. We then come to one of Metallica's best pre-1991 masterworks "Creeping Death" which would remain a concert favorite and rightfully so cos this song is amazing. We end the album with the epic instrumental called "The Call of Ktulu" which sounds like the band had been listening to ELP, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Yes as the piece is filled with tempo changes, key changes and is just stellar, especially Hammett and Burton's solos on guitar and wah-wah bass respectively.
While Ride the Lightning scraped the Top 100 upon its release without either radio or MTV or even mainstream media support, the album today is now their third largest selling album with some five million copies sold in the US alone today.
Most Metallica fans from 1991 onward probably don't like this album but us purists who liked their speed metal sound in their early days then this album is for you.
Highly recommended!

I've been listening to Metallica since about a week after "...And Justice For All" was released, nineteen years ago now; since that time, while no other album ever became my favorite by Metallica ("AJFA" will probably always be the best metal album ever created, at least in my opinion), I have always internally debated which one was second-best, usually settling comfortably on "Kill 'Em All." Throughout my teenage years, I never liked the "melodic" Metallica albums as much as the "heavier" ones (melodic being "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets" (the latter always being my least-favorite album by the group (while generally held as critics' favorite))). However, the older I get, the more "Ride the Lightning" grows on me; in my opinion, it is indeed Metallica's best "melodic" album, surpassing MOP in both consistency and originality ("MOP" always bored me to some extent, especially in the second half...though I realize it remains an excellent album...but this is Metallica we're talking about here (it's all "excellent" up until "Load")). "Ride the Lightning," at least in my eyes (ears), is Metallica's most genuine album; it's also the darkest (though I suppose that's debatable). There's something about this one, however, that is very cold (I always associate it with winter, for whatever reason)...which also happens to make it an exceptional album that truly stands out from the pack. Perhaps it's the apparent ode to suicide "Fade to Black," or "Traped Under Ice" that makes it "feel" so cold and dark...but whatever it is, the album is a true masterpiece of thrash metal, and I'm now ready to officially make the claim that it's Metallica's all-time second-best album. In any event, it's truly timeless, and much like "AJFA," it never wears thin. It's an album that I'll listen to for the rest of my life and never tire of, and the bottom line is that this is one of the best thrash metal albums ever created (somewhere in the top five, alongside "AJFA" (1), Megadeth's "Rust in Peace," Anthrax's "Persistence of Time," and perhaps "Kill 'Em All"). Of course, this is all debatable; however, I've heard enough thrash albums to know that these will never be topped (though Kreator's modern-day masterpiece "Enemy of God" comes awefully close, and certainly deserves an honorable mention (perhaps even making its way into the top-ten of all-time)). If for some odd reason you don't already own "Ride the Lightning" (though I can't imagine what that might be), you really must download or purchase it immediately. Simply a masterpiece!

I love Ride the Lightning and this is one of the best albums ever by my favorite heavy metal band Metallica. The best song is For Whom the Bell Tolls because it has the most awesome solo I have ever heard and is one of my favorite songs of all time!! I love Fade to Black as it is the band's best power ballad has the best ending I've ever heard, and The Call of Ktulu is a great, great instrumental masterpiece and Orion still being a lot better. Highly recommended!!! This CD should be in all music collections. Metallica forever!!!

This is metalicas best album ride the lightning 1983. joe fleckenstein here to tell you all about my love for metalica. my love for metalica actauly started with and justice for all. i heard the song one and after playing that classic about 200 times i decided i needed more metalica. so i imediatly purchased master of puppets and ride the lightning. released november 16 1983 lightning was a bold and remarkable step for the band. T heir first album was ok but had no singing and no musical definition. lightning has great melody inspired by the sound of classical music which i love. but lightning is by no means soft it hits hard. these eight songs are all powered by fury and anguish yet some have very pretty melodys. the album masterfully combines mellow intergradable musical harmonies while offering the furious cuthroat tone of traditionial thrash metal. Ride the lightning is a classic metal song and features a wonderful guitar solo. for whom the bell tolls and fade to black are the greatest one two punch on any album. and creeping death is my favirote metal song ever. hate metal listen to call of ktulu- it combines classically influenced music with the hardhitting sound of the best rock music. The point im trying to drive home here is if you arent already a metal fan Ride the lightning will make you one. its the ultimate metal alum and if youre looking for an excuse to get into metal youve found one.

This album is, hands down, one of the best albums ever produced IMHO. Every song has its story and even though they are all different they are all powerful. I fail to see, hear, or feel any weakness in this album; it is a complete work of art. The only other albums that come close to this one are Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and The Beatle's Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; the comparison of this album to these two speaks for itself. A real gem.

I do own this album. I bought it on CD and cassette back when they were released. And to this day, this is one of their best albums. It's just too bad that they they all had to turn into a bunch of a-holes and sign on to be monkey boys for the RIAA, suing children and P2P networks.

For sheer metal mayhem, there are fewer CDs available that are better than this one. Ride the Lightning features some of the finest Metallica material they produced. From Creeping Death to For Whom the Bell Tolls, this is a CD not to be missed. A five star metal masterpiece.

This CD is classic Metallica ALL the CD's shine for a million different reasons. Each one is different and each one is great.