Metallica
Ride The Lightning

THE REVIEW

This is my first review, so I don't know if it will turn out decent.
Ride The Lightning, released in 1984, in my opinion is a masterpiece in the history of music, mainly thanks to the genius of Cliff Burton, the bassist. The first album, Kill 'Em All, was very raw and not very elaborate, although I like it a lot. This is the first album where there are tracks also composed by Cliff.
The first track, Fight Fire With Fire, has a melodic acoustic intro, then comes the distorted guitar with a very thrash riff (not to be confused with trash, garbage), reminiscent of the first album. After that, the warm voice of James Hetfield comes in, following the guitar. The lyrics are a pessimistic description of the world of that time ("we all shall die!!"). Kirk Hammett's solo is very fast and evocative. Very nice is the part with just the rhythm of Lars Ulrich's double bass drum.
The second track, the title track, has a famous very rhythmic initial riff, which, honestly, has worn me out a bit. Then the voice comes in, very raspy. The lyrics talk about the electric chair (cheerful!). The solo is longer and more melodic than the previous one.
Next is For Whom The Bell Tolls, which begins precisely with the tolling of bells. At the entry of the instruments, there is a distorted riff that many think is a guitar, but it's Cliff's distorted bass. It follows a riff by Kirk, and then the voice comes in, raspy and warm. In my opinion, it is Hetfield's best vocal performance. The song is taken from the novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Hemingway. The song ends with a fade-out.
Next is Fade To Black, a very melancholic and suggestive piece. It starts with an acoustic riff and a slow, poignant solo. Then the voice comes in, always with an acoustic background. It follows a distorted but slow part, another solo similar to the first, the voice again with an acoustic background, and the distorted part. It follows a faster riff, and then one of my favorite solos, poignant, ending with a fade-out. The lyrics, obviously, deal with a non-cheerful topic: they talk about a man lamenting his miserable life and planning to commit suicide. The fifth track is Trapped Under Ice, a very thrash piece that already starts with a fast solo. I won't dwell on this track, because I don't think it deserves a more thorough description (I'm not saying I don't like it, it's just inferior compared to the others... maybe because Cliff didn't contribute to its writing!). The lyrics are about... well, about a guy trapped in ice calling for help but not being heard. The worst song, in my opinion, is the sixth: Escape (also not co-composed by Cliff!). The initial riff is not bad, but the chorus isn't much, even if it says "it's my life, I live my way, etc." Next is Creeping Death, a great very thrash track. It has a very powerful start, both for the instruments and the voice. The chorus is very beautiful (I know "beautiful" is a dumb word, but I couldn't find the right vocabulary). Next is an amazing solo and a very heavy part, with the background choir "die! die!". The ending is also very evocative. The lyrics talk about the escape of the Jews from Egypt.
The last track, in my opinion, is a real masterpiece. The Call Of Ktulu: I don't know what it means, I tried to inform myself but got no results. Fact is, it recalls the Black Continent, as does the melody of the track. The intro is acoustic: very melodious. It follows the "heavy" riff that will last practically until the end of the song, with Cliff's distorted bass in the background and Kirk's guitar following James' rhythm guitar, "retouching" it. Then comes the fantastic solo. At the end, there is a break, then the acoustic part returns, and in the end, there is a very African-sounding riff that seems familiar, but I don't remember where I heard it before.